Pain. Chaos. Loss. The words have become a constant in his life, carving deep scars that refused to heal. Sirius Black was tortured, as he had been for the past three years. The Dementors found him irresistible and so the demons of Azkaban enjoyed hanging around his cell.

What had he done? Why had he ever suggested to his best friend to use Peter? The guilt had eaten away at him these past three years. Never lessening and instead becoming stronger. He had started to feel like he deserved to be here.

"I did it… I killed them…" Sirius cried, tears streaming down his face as he curled up into the corner. His shabby prison robes were in tatters, and no guard had even come to see if he was alive. The only thing that happened was the magical bowl and spoon appeared once a day, and he had to eat the disgusting gruel only for the bowl and spoon to disappear exactly ten minutes later.

It had been like this for three years. Three long, arduous years where he had been prisoner here. It was the eve of his imprisonment, and he had barely survived thanks to turning into his animagus form. When he turned into a dog, the dementors left him alone… for a time.

Sirius waited for the sun to set, as he turned back into his black dog form. He couldn't dare use it during the day, but at night, when there were no lights in the cells, he was able to hide his animagus form quite well thanks to its black fur.

As the Dementors finally dispersed and allowed his mind some respite, Sirius found himself obsessively replaying the events of that day. Any moment of quiet became an opportunity for his thoughts to return to it, gnawing at him relentlessly. That filthy rat had escaped him. If only…

But no. His mind started to berate him. He couldn't focus on revenge. His mind immediately went to the small baby he had given to Hagrid. Had he not chased after Peter, he would be with Harry right now.

Suddenly, his mind snapped to attention. He had thought of Harry many times, but never this clearly before. What of Harry? Where would he go? James was an only child, the last of his line; a fact he had used to get out of punishments in Hogwarts. But Lily… Lily wasn't an only child. His mind wandered, thinking of Petunia. He hadn't met her, but heard awful stories of the woman. Could Petunia have taken Harry in? Would they?

His newfound clarity slid through his mind like a wave of cold water. Petunia must have him. But a muggle? Harry was a Lord of the Wizengamot! How would he learn of his duties?! Then again, he never wanted the duties of being one himself… and he probably was disinherited. But still, surely someone would teach him, right? Dumbledore would make sure of it.

Sirius, in dog form, started pacing. His mind had latched onto this clarity like a wolf capturing a rabbit. Analyzing was something he had always done. He was the one who always made sure to think things out in the Marauders. Remus was the brains, James the face of the operation, and Peter… oh, that rat!

He was always the most stealthy of the bunch. But how would they have known he was a traitor? Sirius continued pacing as he considered the situation before him. He couldn't let Harry just get raised as a muggle. And maybe… just maybe, he might be able to get his own case looked at. The beginnings of a plan were forming in his mind. Heading over to the rock wall, he slowly started to scratch at the stone and mortar with his claws. The prison was made for a human after all, but this form had claws!

So the days proceeded. With an actual goal, his mind felt a bit less dark when he was visited by the dementors. He found himself pouring more and more of himself into his work. His mind would race at night, thinking of what he would do when he escaped.

It was around a month later when he heard some guards talking down the hallway. "Thomas, isn't the Minister going to be coming soon?"

"Nah, he says he's going to be skipping his prison duties this year, again." A second guard responded.

"That Fudge. Always thinks he's better than us, and shouldn't have to be around Dementors…" Sirius was over the moon when he heard that. The Minister wasn't coming to the yearly inspections? That means the prisoners aren't going to be checked on regularly; this was good for him.

After that news, he continued to work. Sirius didn't know how long it was, but tally marks scratched into the wall indicated that as he finally got the first rock from the mortar it had been six months. After that one was done, the stones began sliding from the wall faster and faster.

A year passed, as his makeshift tunnel was getting wider. A little while longer and he'd make his escape. The Dementors weren't able to take the thoughts of escaping from his mind with it so close.

And on a fateful day with the clouds dark in the sky overhead, his canine paws pushed through.

Feeling the open air behind the hole, Sirius shoved his muzzle within it and took a deep breath. It was the first outside air he had tasted in five long, arduous years.

This encouraged him further. Slowly, the hole got wider. From a golf ball, to a peach, to a volleyball. Sirius was close. Ever so close to his escape.

Finally, on the very eve of what would be Harry Potter's sixth birthday, he felt the rock give way.

Sirius stood there looking at his work, a sensation of excitement welling in his chest. The hole was now large enough for his animagus form to squeeze through.

Sirius waited for the dark cover of the night to fall for when he would finally push through. Then, as the last of the daylight disappeared, he knew it was time.

Pushing through the hole, he carefully scrabbled on the side of the prison and used his animagus form and human form to jump from stone to stone. His form was light and the stones were jagged, which allowed him to haul himself from stone to stone and carefully climb down.

Once he reached the soil of the island, he immediately turned back into his canine form and rushed to the shore. Without another sound, he jumped into the water, and soon, Sirius Black was out of sight.

Without Minister Fudge coming on his yearly inspections, how long would it be until someone noticed he was gone?

-Author's Notes-
And so begins my first story on this site. Despite the suggestions of many, I am going to be diving headlong into the story that I have come up with. Hopefully, this story is coherent and enough of a spectacle to be fun. As a longtime reader of fics, I decided it was time for me to give back to the community; especially if I was to eventually try to become an author.

Any who like the sound of this story, please send me a private message. I need as many betas as I can, and I currently have 180k words already written; a completely remake of the first book with more coming that tells a tale of a different Harry, in a world that is larger and more expansive than JK Rowling's own. There will be adventure, there will be excitement, and of course some badass moments (I hope, at least) that keep you eager for more.

And, of course it remains to be said. I do not, will not, and have never owned the concepts of Harry Potter. This work is a fan take on the work made by JK Rowling.

Remember, if you like what you see, Private Message me! I desperately need a few beta readers to bounce things off and catch mistakes I make with the story. It's large enough that I can't handle doing it alone.