It had been two weeks since Moody's announcement that he had a theory as to who had murdered Barty Crouch. He refused to speak further on the matter, simply saying that he was "looking into it". Frankly, Harry had been so excited about the Quidditch World Cup that he hardly thought about it.

After the Cup, preparations began for the beginning of the year. Sirius was quite busy arranging his business deal with Mr. Tolby, but he managed to find time to accompany Harry to Diagon Alley.

A few days before the start of term, Harry arrived at Eight Privet Drive as usual, but no one was there. A note had been left on the table:

Harry,

Moody has made a breakthrough in the Crouch murder. Madam Pomfrey and I have gone to Azkaban to see what he's found. Wait for me here.

If you're worried, just check the clock in my special room for reassurance.

Sirius

Azkaban? Harry's heart leapt into his throat. What if the Dementors decided to take back the prisoner that had gotten away? Or worse, give him the Dementor's Kiss? What if they took Sirius away from him?

Harry raced downstairs to the "special room" Sirius had mentioned - the secret room beneath the cupboard under the stairs. Sure enough, there was a clock on the wall similar to the one the Weasley's had at The Burrow. The hands read Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black. Both Harry's and Remus pointed at SAFE.

Sirius' pointed at MORTAL PERIL.

Clearly Sirius had run into unexpected danger. Without thinking, Harry raced back upstairs and toward the front door, his wand out.

"Accio money!" he shouted. His money pouch, which he kept on the kitchen table, flew into his hand.

He stumbled outside, his wand still extended. In a moment, he heard the enormous BANG he had been hoping for as a purple triple decker bus with KNIGHT BUS spelled out in gold lettering appeared in front of the house. Quickly, he stowed his wand.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for-'ay, where you goin', I've not finished me speech!" said a startled Stan Shunpike as Harry pushed past him onto the bus.

"Azkaban! Take me to Azkaban!" Harry said breathlessly.

"Oy, Ern, it's Neville Longbottom!" said Stan to the driver, Ernie Prang. Confused for a moment, Harry remembered he had given Stan an alias the previous summer.

Stan turned back to Harry. "Wha'choo wanna go to Azkaban for, Neville?"

"Please, it's an emergency." said Harry. He shoved his money pouch at Stan, who awkwardly accepted it.

"I dunno. What'choo think, Ern? Shouldn't be takin' a kid to Azkaban without adult supervision, I reckon." The quake in Stan's voice indicated that Harry's safety was not the only thing on his mind.

"Ar." said Ernie.

Stan sighed. "Well, Ern's the boss, I 'spose."

Harry, who was the only passenger, had already scrambled into a bed. Stan stood, his face white, counting money out of Harry's money pouch.

Harry realized he had no plan for when he got to Azkaban. The words constant vigilance floated through his mind. Azkaban was full of Dementors, one of which had managed to knock him unconscious. Of course he could summon a Patronus, but would he even be able to once he reached the prison and felt the influence of all of them?

What would Moody do in this situation?

Harry could almost hear his mentor's voice: Well, there aren't any Dementors here on the bus with you, are there?

Harry took a deep breath and focused on the memory of going to live with Sirius.

"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted. The bus filled with a flash of bright light.

"OY! NO SPELLCASTING ON THE BUS!" Stan shouted as a brilliant white stag appeared.

"Sorry." said Harry.

There was another BANG and the bus stopped.

"Thankyouforchoosingtheknightbus" Stan said, grabbing Harry's arm and escorting him firmly off the bus. Harry's feet had barely touched the ground before the bus disappeared with another enormous BANG. His money pouch fell to the ground next to him.

Azkaban was the stuff of nightmares. Heavy clouds hung above; not a single bit of blue sky or sunlight shone through. The island was solid rock and completely lifeless - there were no trees, insects, or even weeds. The tower itself rose from the rock as if it were a part of it. Hundreds of Dementors flew in lazy circles around it.

Harry moved a step closer to his Patronus, which seemed a little less bright here.

"Can you take me to Sirius?" he asked it.

The Patronus began walking closer to the tower, slowly enough that Harry could keep up. The closer they got, the more he had to force himself to focus on the Patronus and not the horde of Dementors that grew ever closer. As he had done at Sirius' trial, he focused on unpleasant memories. Luckily, he had no shortage of them.

Sirius and Moody were on the other side of the tower, along with Madam Pomfrey, Madam Bones, Cornelius Fudge, and Rita Skeeter. All of them had Patronuses present - Sirius' was a dog, though it was hard to make out. His years in Azkaban must have made it difficult for him to conjure a Patronus. Madam Pomfrey's was also a dog - a St. Bernard - Moody's was a fox, Madam Bones' was an owl, Rita's was a snake, and Fudge's was a weasel.

The group was in the middle of a heated debate. One of Rita's magical quills was working overtime taking dictation.

"-not allow it, Moody!" said Fudge.

"I don't report to you any more, Cornelius." said Moody, a dangerous gleam in his magical eye.

"Minister, wouldn't it be better to let Mr. Moody do this?" Rita said. "The people have a right to know, after all."

"Harry!" Sirius shouted. He ran over to his godson with his Patronus in tow. "What in Merlin's name are you doing here? I told you to wait! Didn't you check the clock?"

"It said you were in mortal danger, so I took the Knight Bus," said Harry. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine." Sirius said with a puzzled expression. "I wonder why it said that? I suppose anyone going to Azkaban is in mortal danger. I should have thought of that."

"What's Mr. Moody doing?" Harry asked, trying to peer into the crowd, who was standing in a circle in what appeared to be a graveyard.

"He wants to-"

"LEVICORPUS MAXIMUS!" Moody roared, aiming his wand at the ground. Clearly he had tired of discussion.

"-exhume a corpse." said Sirius. The ground rumbled, and the earth in front of one of the gravestones broke open, showering the group with dirt. A skeleton rose into the air.

"CORPUS REVEALIO!" The skeleton began to grow tendons and muscles as Harry watched, fascinated and disgusted at the same time. Patches of skin appeared and grew together, and long hair sprouted out of the scalp. Soon it was a fully formed body.

With everyone focused on the body, Harry moved to a better vantage point where he could read the tombstone everyone had gathered around:

BARTEMIUS CROUCH JR.

A chill went down Harry's spine. Mr. Crouch had a son who died in Azkaban? But the corpse that Moody exhumed was clearly a middle aged woman. Judging by the expression on everyone's face, they were as surprised as he was. Rita's quill had even stopped moving.

"Who is she?" Harry asked.

"Agnes Crouch." Moody said. "Barty Crouch's wife."

DEATH EATER ON THE LOOSE FOR 10 YEARS!

Barty Crouch Jr, sentenced to life in Azkaban for the torture of Alice and Frank Longbottom, sentenced to life in Azkaban fourteen years ago, was found to have broken out of Azkaban over ten years ago.

The escape was accomplished with the aid of his mother, Agnes Crouch. When she found out she was dying, she requested a visit with her son and switched places with him, most likely with the aid of Polyjuice Potion. His father, Bartemius Crouch Sr., kept him at the family home under the Imperius Curse. It is believed that he threw off the curse and murdered his father, possibly with the aid of a house-elf named Winky.

An unnamed source has confirmed that Crouch Jr. is the subject of a recent prophecy, which states he will help You-Know-Who return to power. Aurors are-

"How does Rita Skeeter know about the prophecy?" Harry said in shock, putting down the newspaper. "How did she even know Moody was at Azkaban?"

"Because," said Sirius calmly, accepting another helping of scrambled eggs from Molly, "I told her."

Hermione's eyes widened. "You're the unnamed source? Why would you do that? It's going to start a panic!"

"Moody and I knew we couldn't exhume that body without the Ministry finding out. We were worried about a coverup. Now that the word is out, maybe it will be harder for him to carry out whatever he's planning."

"Listen to this." Harry said, continuing to read. "-concerned citizens are demanding that the Ministry do something. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement has responded by increasing Auror raids on areas suspected of Dark activity. Some are even calling into question whether Azkaban is the best method of protecting the public from these menaces, given that two prisoners have now escaped from it."

"Good." said Sirius.

"Surely you can't be serious." said Percy.

"I am Sirius. And don't call me Shirley." said Sirius. "No one deserves to be put in that place."

"Even Peter Pettigrew?" said Harry.

"Even him." said Sirius. "A sentence in Azkaban is nothing more than torture, twenty-four hours a day."

"Muggle prisons aren't even like that." said Hermione. "I mean, they also need to be reformed, to be sure, but…"

"But where else can you put a Death Eater?" said Percy. "Even if you take their wand, some know how to do magic without a wand."

"Oh I'm not saying that getting rid of Dementors is all that needs to happen." said Sirius. "I don't know what the answer is, but at least there's a conversation happening now. Hopefully it will lead to another, more humane solution."

"You think Death Eaters need to be treated more humanely?" said Percy in disbelief.

"It's not just Death Eaters in Azkaban." said Harry. "Hagrid was put in there two years ago, remember?"

"Well…yes, but only for a bit." said Percy. "But he's out now, isn't he? What if he had been the Heir of Slytherin?"

Sirius cleared his throat. "Also, I heard a rumor that at least one other innocent person was sent there."

This took a bit of the wind out of Percy's sails, but he pressed on. "Alright, but you were sent there during wartime. Things were different."

"But they kept him there after the war, didn't they?" said Ron.

Sirius held up his hands. "Look, we're not going to solve this today. Right now we need to focus on getting you lot ready for the Hogwarts Express tomorrow."

The next day, Harry was about to go downstairs to fetch his school trunk, but Dudley came up the stairs dragging it behind him. He placed it in front of the front door, then turned to see Harry.

"I got it out from under the stairs for you." Dudley said.

"Thanks." Harry said, shocked at even this small display of kindness from his cousin. He was also shocked at the amount of weight Dudley had lost. Clearly doing Harry's chores had paid off.

"S'no big deal." Dudley replied. "Figured I'd spare you having to ask Dad to get it out. You know how he gets."

"Yeah." Harry said with an awkward laugh. "Uh - sorry you had to do all my chores this summer."

Dudley shrugged. "It was torture in the beginning, but look at me - I feel great. Honestly, it sounds crazy but after a while I sort of liked it."

There was an awkward pause, then Uncle Vernon leaned on the horn.

"Well...see you." Dudley said.

"Yeah, see you."

When they got on the Hogwarts Express, Sirius removed a small handheld mirror from his pocket and gave it to Harry. "Here, take this. I have one just like it. If you look into it and say my name, mine will vibrate. Then we'll be able to talk through them. I can do the same to contact you."

Moody had mentioned similar devices and how useful they were, so Harry thanked Sirius and placed the mirror in a pocket of his trousers where he would have easy access to it. They boarded the Hogwarts Express, and he found Ron and Hermione's compartment. Sirius sat one compartment down.

"Can you believe he's going to be a professor this year?" Ron asked. "We'll win the House Cup for sure!"

"I wouldn't bet on that, Weasley."

Draco Malfoy had appeared in the doorway to their compartment, flanked, as always, by Crabbe and Goyle.

Harry sighed. He glimpsed Sirius through the glass divider between compartments, watching Malfoy; he started to get up, but Harry managed to make eye contact with him and shake his head. Sirius sat back down.

Draco continued. "Haven't you heard? There's a Death Eater on the loose. No doubt he'll be after Mudbloods and blood traitors, so you lot had better forget about the House Cup and focus on watching your backs."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all stood. Just as Moody had trained them, Ron and Hermione stood behind Harry to his left and right, where they had clear line of sight.

"Say that word again, I dare you." said Ron.

Malfoy drew his wand, causing everyone else in the compartment to draw as well.

Sirius was out of his compartment in a moment.

"What's this?" he said. "Drano - I saw you draw first."

"My name is Draco." Draco said through gritted teeth.

"That's what I said. Ten points from Slytherin for correcting a teacher."

"We're not at Hogwarts yet, so you can't take points. Didn't they explain that to you, Professor?"

Sirius ignored him, and summoned a quill and parchment.

"You - Goiter. Turn around."

"Goyle." Goyle corrected him. He turned around, his back to Sirius.

"That's what I said." Sirius used Goyle's back for a desk, and in large, flowing script wrote the following:

To do list when I get to Hogwarts:

Take thirty points from Slytherin. Reason: coolly premeditated insolence.

"You said ten!" Draco said.

"I took ten for correcting me. You then corrected me again on the timing of my point taking, and Gargoyle here corrected me on the pronunciation of his name."

Harry just couldn't help himself.

"Professor Black, Draco just corrected you on the amount of points."

"Don't forget his general tone of disrespect." Ron chimed in.

Hermione sighed.

Sirius clapped a hand to his forehead. "By God you're right." Sirius again put the parchment on Goyle's back and made the following correction.

Take thirty FIFTY points from Slytherin. Reason: coolly premeditated insolence. Give twenty points to Gryffindor. Reason: quick thinking under pressure by H. Potter and R. Weasley.

Malfoy and his goons slithered off. He turned to Harry. "Sorry, Harry - I'm content to let you fight your own battles, but when wands are drawn-"

Harry grinned. "It was worth it to see the looks on their faces."

"It was bloody brilliant, that's what it was." Ron said. Sirius smiled and returned to his compartment.

"This is going to be the best year ever." Ron said, a dreamy grin on his face as they settled back into their seats.

"We haven't even started the year yet - I don't know if House Point totals can actually go negative." Hermione said. "Also, you do realize that Snape will just find a reason to dock Gryffindor a hundred points, right?"

"It doesn't matter." Ron said happily. "Even if Snape and Sirius just cancel each other out, it's still a win."

"Ron, we don't want Professor Black to get in trouble and lose his job." Hermione said.

"Not like he needs it. He's loaded." Ron said.

"That's not the point." Hermione said. "He's an ally. Someone who can help us while we're at Hogwarts. I bet he would have listened to us about the Sorcerer's Stone."

"He probably would have helped us brew Polyjuice Potion to find the Heir of Slytherin." Ron said. "Not that you really needed help, Hermione."

Hermione blushed slightly.

Harry sighed. "Hermione's right. Taking points from Malfoy is fun, but we should be careful."

Rain began to beat down as they approached Hogwarts. By the time they had changed into their school robes, a thunderstorm had begun in earnest. They greeted Hagrid in passing and rode to the castle in carriages.

Just when Harry was beginning to think the beginning of the year would be uneventful, Peeves appeared outside the entrance to the castle.

"THE RUMORS ARE TRUE!" he cried. "SIRIUS BLACK HAS RETURNED TO HOGWARTS! A MARAUDER IS AMONG US!"

"Hello, Peeves." Sirius said with a smile. His voice cracked slightly, and he cleared his throat. Harry realized that Hogwarts contained a flood of happy memories for Sirius - he hoped that he would be able to maintain his composure.

To everyone's shock, Peeves prostrated himself on the ground before Sirius.

"THE GREATEST OF THE PRANKSTERS HAS RETURNED! TOGETHER, WE WILL RULE THIS SCHOOL!"

"He's never done that for us." Fred whispered to George. "Stings a bit, if I'm being honest."

"Uh, Peeves…you may have heard that I'm a Professor now." said Sirius with a grin.

"Oh, of course." Peeves said with a wink. "Today a Professor, tomorrow Headmaster, 'ay?"

"Peeves! Enough" Hagrid barked. Peeves blew a raspberry at Hagrid and melted through a wall.

They entered the Great Hall and were about to sit down at the Gryffindor table when Harry looked up at the Head Table and stopped dead in his tracks.

Moody was sitting at the Head Table next to Dumbledore. He noticed Harry staring at him and raised a flask in greeting.

"Wicked." Ron said. "He must be the new Defense Professor.

They seated themselves at the Gryffindor table. Harry looked longingly at the gilded plates, wishing they would fill themselves now. The Sorting seemed to take forever. By the time the last first year was sorted, Harry was ready to break off a piece of the table and eat it.

Dumbledore got up and spread his hands, smiling at the assembled students.

"I have only two words for you: tuck in."

After the feast, Dumbledore gave the usual announcements about restricted areas and forbidden items. But his speech did not conclude there.

"I hoped that I would be able to announce that the Triwizard Tournament would be taking place at Hogwarts this year." Dumbledore said. There was excitement murmuring from the crowd. Harry had no idea what the Triwizard Tournament was, but it sounded exciting.

"Alas, due to the murder of Bartemius Crouch, Sr., that will no longer be the case. The new head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation has canceled the tournament, citing concerns over student safety."

"Did he just roll his eyes?" whispered Neville.

"However," Dumbledore continued, "this does mean that the House and Quidditch Cup, which would have been canceled due to the scheduling demands of the tournament, will proceed as normal."

There was applause at this announcement. Oliver Wood choked on his pumpkin juice, no doubt horrified at even the thought of Quidditch being cancelled.

"I can see that competition for the House Cup will be particularly fierce this year." Dumbledore said, turning to the hourglasses that showed the house point totals. The Slytherin point count had extended itself downward through the bottom of the hourglass to show that its value stood at negative fifty.

"I confess I did not realize that house points could go below zero. Even after being headmaster for as long as I have, Hogwarts still manages to surprise me on occasion." Dumbledore said with a smile. "I would also like to introduce two new professors to you. First, Professor Sirius Black, who, along with Professor Lupin, will be assisting Professor Hagrid with Care of Magical Creatures."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione clapped, as did the rest of the Weasleys. There was scattered clapping from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, but none from Slytherin.

"I would also like to introduce Alastor Moody, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." Dumbledore continued. There was more applause for Moody, but still none from Slytherin.

"There is also a Surprise Announcement, and for that, I give you our esteemed Minister For Magic, Cornelius Fudge!"

The arrival of the Minister even surprised the rest of the faculty. Minister Fudge entered the Hall and walked down the aisle with a practiced air. Dumbledore surrendered the podium to him and sat down at the Head Table.

"Ahem, yes, thank you Professor Dumbledore. There is one part of being Minister For Magic that never grows tiresome, and that is recognizing the bravery of our fine citizens. This summer has been particularly eventful. At the end of the last school year, a most grave injustice was corrected within these very walls. I refer, of course, to the wrongful imprisonment of Sirius-ah, excuse me, Professor Sirius Black."

Harry clenched his teeth, remembering how Dumbledore had to strongarm Fudge into accepting Sirius' innocence.

"None of this ever would have come to light if it were not for the bold actions of one man." Minister Fudge continued. "Professor Snape, would you join me, please?"

Fudge continued. "Professor Snape, your quick thinking allowed us to capture Peter Pettigrew, the person truly responsible for the betrayal of the Potter family. For your heroic actions on that fateful night, it gives me great pleasure to present you with The Order of Merlin, First Class."

There was a near riot at the Slytherin table as Fudge presented Snape with a gold medal on a green ribbon. Applause at the other three tables was considerably more subdued.

"My God, what is that on Snape's face?" whispered Fred.

George frowned. "I believe it's the good professor's attempt at a smile."

"He looks to be in pain. Poor devil, he just isn't used to that type of exertion."

Snape let the Slytherin's applause go on for a moment; lapping up the adoration, and then made a swift slashing motion across his throat, at which point the applause from Slytherin ceased instantly. Snape shook Fudge's hand and turned to face the students.

"Thank you." he said. "This... is a great honor."

"Is he...blushing?" Ron whispered as Snape sat down at the Head Table.

"I can't believe it!" Harry said. "Sirius broke out of Azkaban, came here, and spent almost nine months trying to find Pettigrew. Snape...Snape just stumbled on to the whole thing! And Hermione had to paralyze him before he'd listen to reason!"

Fudge departed, and Dumbledore dismissed the students to their dormitories. The Slytherins departed singing For he's a jolly good fellow.