Blood (thicker than) Water (but what about) Lemonade?

Breaking the Code

Avril lifted the heavy iron handle on the trapdoor and pulled. It was heavy, probably made of some sort of oak wood or similar. She opened it wide and set it down on the other side before peering into the dark abyss-like hole in the floor under her bed.

She felt around for a ladder or rope or something, but was disappointed.

Still, there was no question as to whether or not Avril wanted to investigate it. Her natural curiosity had been greatly nourished and praised during her early childhood and this often resulted in Avril thinking before she acted.

Placing each hand on the edge of the hole, she sat down, letting her legs dangle off into the darkness. Then, with one deep breath, she let herself swing down into the unknown.

******

"We're almost there, Harry," Sirius told him as they looked up at the mountain they'd have to scale.

"No sweat," panted Harry.

They'd gotten off lucky (if you can call them crashing lucky) by flying over the first few mountains and then hitting the side of the one they crashed on, but there was still a whole other mountain left to climb over, and it was looking treacherous.

They were now between the last mountain and the third, and there was no longer endless rocks and dried grass covering the ground. Now there were pine trees and the occasional pond or creek.

At Sirius' insistence, he and Harry had stopped very little, traveling as quickly as they could and stopping only to drink water.

It was growing dark, and Harry had the feeling (as well as the timid prayer despite Avril's predicament) that they would be stopping to sleep soon.

Sirius stooped to drink from a brook leaking from a crack in a rock, looked at the sky and sighed.

"I guess we'll sleep here tonight and try for the summit in the morning," he said. "We need to build up our strength for the summit tomorrow." He sighed again. "I wish we'd brought food, but I expected that we'd have been on our way home from Azkaban by now, and didn't think to bring any."

Harry dropped down onto a bed of moss at the base of a tree.

"That's all right," he lied, "I'm not that hungry."

Sirius scooped up some scattered twigs and sticks before sitting on his own bed of moss and held his hand out for Harry's wand.

Harry handed it over, eager to have some sort of warmth- after all, it was only late March, and he was frozen- wishing he hadn't dropped his heavy black robes back at the pass.

"Lacarnem Inflamare," Sirius muttered, pointing it at the sticks, which immediately burst into flame, providing them with a soft, comforting glow of warmth.

"We're leaving early tomorrow Harry- before daybreak," Sirius said, leaning back and preparing to sleep.

Though Harry was very anxious to rescue Avril, he was also very tired and it almost seemed hopeless that they would ever rescue Snape and reach Avril in time- how would they reach Azkaban at all? It was in the middle of the ocean!- and Harry couldn't help but feel discouraged.

He was also very surprised that Sirius was so eager to keep going. First of all, he was on his way to rescue someone he loathed with every fiber of his being then onto rescue someone he obviously didn't trust very much, and second, they were about to break into a place Sirius had worked so hard to break out of. They were facing the Kiss, and Sirius knew that.

Is he doing this for me? Harry wondered, gazing at his Guardian over the flickering flames of the fire. I can't think of any other reason he'd be so eager to get into Azkaban.

No, that had to be it.

******

Avril landed quickly with a thud. It hadn't been a long fall- only about six feet or so, and Avril was relieved. She'd be even more relieved if she had a source of light, or at least, her wand, as she couldn't very well light up her eyes.

"A lamp would be greatly appreciated," she muttered to herself. "Hell, something to set fire to would be something."

As fearless as her natural curiosity was, Avril still couldn't help but feel uneasy about standing alone in a totally dark room (if that's what it was- she didn't even know that).

She wondered if this were one of those situations that she had read about, when the adventurer found his/herself in a tomb where the walls were covered with insects.

With a shudder, she hoped that wasn't the case at all.

Timidly, she took a step and immediately kicked something. She heard it roll and stooped to pick it up before her imagination jumped to conclusions.

It didn't bite her or feel slimy. Actually, it felt hard and rough, like a stick of wood. Avril decided to take a chance and held it up to her face.

Then, focusing on what she guessed was the tip of it, she concentrated hard and nearly jumped out of her skin when it burst into flame.

Holding it much further away from her face, Avril then peered around her surroundings in the dim light.

It was a normal looking room, with a wooden floor and drywall.

There was no furniture, only a chest, which greatly resembled a pirate's treasure chest.

Avril approached it carefully, preparing her senses in case something jumped out of it.

Nothing leapt from the chest, however, so she knelt down in front of it and held her torch up to reveal several complicated dials and switches.

First, she used her free hand to try and lift the chest's lid.

It wouldn't budge.

"Hmm," she then fiddled with the switches with one hand. It was clear that they were what was locking the chest shut.

After spinning the dials and flicking switches a few times, Avril sat back.

"Maybe there's a certain code," she whispered.

Avril leaned in to examine it closer.

Tiny letters were engraved on the first dial, numbers on the second and strange symbols on the third.

The switches were golden; they shone in the firelight, and they could be flicked either up or down, but Avril had a feeling they needed to flipped a certain time.

After a fair few minutes of studying these dials and switches, Avril tried to think of what kind of code her parents would use to lock up whatever was inside (she had a strong implication that it was something important).

Avril racked her brain as hard as she possibly could, but after spinning the various dial to spell Avril/ Ardree/ Our/ Daughter, then Ministry/ Of/ Magic/ Aurors (etc.) then flicking the switches a few times, once for each letter, she gave up, frustrated that her mind was so hopelessly blank.

"Stupid," she muttered angrily, kicking the chest. She felt a sudden pinch of pain and knew that her eyes were acting up again. What she didn't know was that it was with a combination of anger, frustration and deep, deep fear that had provoked her eyes to switch suddenly. She also didn't know that a new color had been formed: brown.

Suddenly, the strangest thing that had ever, ever happened to her happened (yes, even stranger than your eyes developing a brand new color).

The dials began to spin uncontrollably, so fast that they began to make a soft whirring noise, and the switches started flicking up and down, creating an insane clicking noise.

This went on for quite some time, and Avril could only stare at it, petrified that someone down stairs would hear it, or the chest would explode.

Then, she felt a slight slack in the unconscious need to keep eye contact with the dials and switches she had felt and immediately averted her eyes.

The mad whirring and clicking stopped abruptly, and somewhere from inside the chest came a soft click.

Then, the locks binding the lid shut slid down as easily as if they'd been made of butter.

Breathless with curiosity and decidedly very freaked out, Avril hurried to open the chest.

******

It seemed that Harry had only just fallen asleep by the warm light of the fire when he was wakened by a loud crashing noise.

He opened his eyes a crack, his mind whirring about Muggle stories he'd read about campers being eaten by bears.

"Sirius," he whispered, pulling at the wizard's tattered robes. Sirius didn't move.

"I heard it," he whispered back, having already been awake.

"What is it?" Harry asked, glancing around the area. The sun hadn't yet risen, but was instead casting a low, bluish light on the mountains. The fire had burned low and was now only glowing in the embers.

Sirius had no time to reply, however, as the next moment, a hand about half the size of Hagrid appeared out of the trees and pinned Sirius against the tree. Another hand did the same to Harry before he could reach his wand.

Harry squirmed, and he could hear himself yelling in fear, though it didn't seem that he was the one doing it.

"Giant!" Sirius gasped, as the hand was tight around his chest.

A face appeared, large, round and frightening. How they had failed to see it, Harry did not know.

Not taking the time to ponder it, he raised a foot and kicked the embers into its eyes.

With a cry of pain, it threw its head back, though didn't release its grip.

Harry struggled vainly against the hand, but soon grew tired.

The giant watched through teary eyes, then in its own turn grew tired of watching them.

"Stop, Harry Potter," it growled, loosening the grip it had on each of them.

"Fridulg will not hurt you."

Harry did stop, only surprised to hear it speak.

"Sorry," he said, glancing at an exhausted Sirius, "but did you say something?"

'Fridulg' nodded. "Yes, Harry Potter."

Harry frowned. "How do you know my name?"

"Harry Potter hunted in the mountains. Dark Lord orders Giants to kill Harry Potter. Fridulg looking for Harry Potter for a day. Fridulg wanted to warn Harry Potter," he grunted in reply.

Harry looked at Sirius in shock.

Sirius, however, did not look surprised.

Instead, he looked calmly into the eyes of the Giant. "We are friends of Hagrid's. Let us go."

Fridulg looked suspicious, and Harry felt his heart sink. He had told another monster of his friendship to Hagrid, but that had proved to be little help.

"Fridulg knows Hagrid."

Harry's head shot up. "How do you know Hagrid?"

"Fridulg met Hagrid in summer. Fridulg is on good side. Dumbledore's side," he grunted, releasing them.

"Harry Potter and friend need to travel in Lockhead Pass. Not so many Giants, easy for walking."

Harry felt himself slump against the tree, gasping for breath.

Sirius stooped to see if he was all right before looking and Fridulg. "Thank you Fridulg. Now, I need you to go and tell Hagrid of our troubles saving Snape," he said.

"Tell him we crashed, and we're continuing on foot. Understand?"

Fridulg nodded.

"Careful traveling Harry Potter. Dark Lord has many Giant friends, and some not so giant."

Then turned, muttering the message given to him over and over, in case he forgot it.

Harry shook his head. "Is he really a friend of Hagrid?" he asked Sirius, who was kicking dirt over the embers.

Sirius nodded. "Hagrid and Madame Maxime were both sent as envoys to the mountain Giants last summer," he said, beginning to lead Harry on. "They managed to befriend a few, but only a few. Most Giants are too bloodthirsty to even consider helping others. Its funny though: I didn't even think that the Giants would be looking for us. I suppose Voldemort knows of our mission. We'll have to be even more careful than before Harry. From now on, try and be as quiet as possible. Walk lightly. We've only to climb through the next pass and we'll be at the sea. C'mon!"

Harry was hungry and tired, but eager to push forward.

They listened to Fridulg, taking the Lockhead pass, which proved quiet and safe.

Despite the calm, even pleasant surroundings; singing birds, grass and flowers, and a cool morning breeze, Harry and Sirius continued to walk softly, carefully, and spoke little.

The pass led them through a breach in the mountains, so they didn't have to climb over them. Around early evening, after stopping only a few times for water, they had reached the other side of the mountains. They now stood in a large, rolling marsh. It was rather soggy, due to it being early Spring, and Harry looked at it with distaste.

"We must cross this to reach the sea," Sirius said. "Careful Harry- creatures like Dugbogs and Hinkypunks live in places like this, and they aren't exactly what you'd call cuddly. Follow me and step where I step."

Harry nodded and began following Sirius, placing his foot down only where his Godfather felt safe to step.

The process was long and time consuming. The bog wasn't large, but it was very damp and there were few dry places to walk. Therefore, travel had to be done carefully.

It was better than traveling in the mountains by some aspects though, because now that there were no trees to block their surroundings, Harry and Sirius could talk back and forth, and discuss their journey ahead.

"Here!" Sirius cried, bending down to pick a clump of weed-like water plants.

Harry, who had been close behind him lost his balance.

"Sirius!" he gasped before falling. His back and lower body landed with a splash in the thick slimy water, and he hit his head on a clump of dry, dead grass. He grabbed onto a piece of dead wood for stability.

Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his right arm.

Sirius turned at the shout of pain, and saw the piece of wood had sunk its sharp teeth into Harry's arm. He kicked the log swiftly, and with a high yelp, it released Harry and disappeared into the murky waters.

Sirius grabbed Harry by the front of his shirt and hauled him up.

"Christ, Harry- are you all right?" he examined Harry's arm, which was bleeding profusely. The area around the bite was green, and he was soaked from his shirt to his knees.

"Uh... yeah," Harry answered, obviously in shock from the attack.

Sirius tore off a dangling bit from his already torn robes and wrapped it around his forearm to stop the bleeding.

"All right," he said, shoving Harry's arms into the sleeves of his robes, "let's get to a safer spot so I can look at the bite a little better."

Harry managed to continue walking with Sirius over the remainder of the swamp, and was relieved when they reached a rocky beach where he could drop.

By now the shock had worn off, and a dull, mind waning pain had over come Harry's entire arm.

"Don't worry about it Harry," Sirius told him, untying the strip of robe that had been used to stop the bleeding. "This isn't a very bad bite. You got lucky. Still, in order to heal it, I'm going to need your wand."

Harry handed it over and watched as Sirius simply tapped the bite marks and muttered something quietly. The skin returned to a normal color and the teeth marks disappeared entirely.

He no longer felt pain, but rather a twisting feeling in the pit of his stomach when he turned and looked out to the ocean. It stretched beyond anything Harry could see, though in the very far distance he thought he could detect a plot of land.

"Thanks Sirius. Is that-"

"Yes. That's Azkaban," Sirius replied, his face paling. "We'll take a rest here for tonight- I'll see if I can't find any crab or something to eat. We need strength for the amount of swimming we'll be doing."

Harry swallowed. "Sirius, I haven't told you this before, but the Dursley's never really taught me to swim. The only reason I was able to do the lake challenge last year was because I had-"

"Gillyweed?" Sirius asked, reaching into the pockets of the robes Harry wore and pulling out a handful of slimy weed.

"I picked it just before you fell. There's enough to get us where we need to go, if we use it accordingly."

Harry stared at Sirius in wonder as he headed off to catch food.

He started a fire in a pile of driftwood, not wanting to be useless, and found himself hoping they were Dugbogs.

Ten minutes later, Harry felt better. The crabs had been normal crustaceans, not magical or poisonous, and Sirius had managed to collect enough of them to satisfy he and Harry's hunger.

"What are you thinking?" Sirius asked Harry, who looked distant.

"Avril," he replied simply. "Why did they take her Harry?" Sirius asked, feeding the fire with more wood.

Harry shook his head. "She knows something Sirius- at least, they think she does. That's my best guess. I just hope we're not too late to save her."

"Harry," Sirius said, "we're making near perfect time. We've managed to reach the ocean in less than two days. It's not exactly as good as what we would have accomplished had we been on brooms, but we got lucky. Maybe Avril will too."

Harry grinned, despite the worry he felt for his friend. He didn't doubt the treachery of Lord Voldemort, and he could only hope that Avril had found some way to stay alive until they reached her.

******

Avril lifted the heavy lid of the chest with one hand and peered into the box.

There was no blinding light or awe-inspiring music, but there were three old and dusty books wrapped in a silky cloth inside.

Avril lifted them out and set them on the floor. She held the torch up and examined the first one. It was very ordinary looking. It was made of green cloth, with the picture of an embroidered snake on the front, done in silver thread.

The second one was decorated in a similar way, with the exception of red cloth than green.

The third was black, however, and Avril had a nasty feeling that this had been the one made by Salazar Slytherin.

The texture and appearance of the books intimidated Avril.

Holding the torch high, she opened the black one. Inside, there were immensely complicated spells, written in a language she didn't understand.

The text was a combination of complicated twirling lines and zigzags, and would have been considered attractive had Avril not known the severity of the situation.

"Parseltongue," she whispered, remembering the traditional language of dark wizards.

There were also pictures inside the book, which were far more easier to define. They were merely pictures of people being killed, and snakes- more snake pictures than Avril had ever seen in her entire life.

She seemed to lose herself in the reading and studying of the three books. She couldn't read much of the words, but found deciphering the messages contained in the pictures easier with time, which she seemed to lose track of.

Finally, Avril finished the third and most frightening one, which contained graphic illustrations and harsh lettering, then closed it with a thud.

"Voldemort cannot get these books," she muttered to herself, closing the black one and trying to think of a plan.

"That is indeed an interesting thing to say," said a high, cold voice.

Avril jumped and turned.

Voldemort stood behind her, clenching his fists and looking at the books hungrily.

"For it is not entirely true. I will have the books Avril. Give them to me!"

28

Cat, Dog and... Weasel?

Harry felt as if his arms and legs would fall off. The amount of swimming he and Sirius had just accomplished over the last hour was mind-blowing. He dragged his body onto shore as the Gillyweed wore off and lay in the shelter of a sand dune, trying to catch his breath.

After he and Sirius were rested enough to speak properly, Sirius stood up.

"Right. We're here. Now, As you might have guessed, we can't very well go waltzing into the prison, and we can't even think about entering the prison as people. They'll be able to sense us too well."

His voice sounded hollow, as if he were frightened.

Harry didn't blame him.

"So, what are we going to do?"

Sirius gazed through the trees at the prison of Azkaban.

"We go at night. Underground."

They lay low for the rest of the day.

This gave Sirius time to draw an amazingly detailed map of what he remembered of Azkaban in the sand, and tell Harry about the plan he had.

He also made a diagram of the underground tunnel they'd be using.

"I dug it myself while escaping," he told Harry, "but I never dreamed that I'd be using it again."

"Sorry," Harry muttered apologetically.

Sirius studied his Godson carefully.

"Harry, this is all part of being on Dumbledore's Order. You have to expect to do things that you'd rather eat raw liver than do. None of this is your fault."

Later that night they wet round the island, watchful of creatures able to survive on such an unhappy island, and finally reached a large bush.

"This is where the tunnel begins," Sirius said in a low voice. "We'll crawl under here and it'll take us right into Azkaban."

Harry peered under the bush and saw a hole of darkness just big enough for a large dog to crawl through.

"Sirius, how are we going to see where we're going?" he asked.

"It only goes one way Harry. Plus, we'll be able to see in the dark. I'm going to transform into my dog form, and I'll transfigure you. Once we find Snape, we'll have to transfigure him too, but we'll worry about that later. Ready?"

"Wait," Harry handed his wand over and held up his hands. "What're you turning me into?"

Sirius looked thoughtful. "I thought a cat. That way you're ferocious and travel easy at the same time."

Harry grinned. "Rats. I'd had my heart set on a lion, but I guess that wouldn't be too convenient.

Right then- go on."

He closed his eyes, having never been totally transfigured before, and felt a strange twisting and grinding sensation in his bones and skin that was not unpleasant, but not something he'd like done to him every day.

When he opened his eyes he was seeing things in a slightly lighter sense, but had kept his own mind. He now had everything that was to be expected of a cat, including black fur, four paws and a thin, curvy tail. He blinked his green eyes (they hadn't changed) and looked up at Sirius.

"Great," Sirius approved after studying Harry. "I've still got it."

He tucked Harry's wand into his pocket and transformed in a matter of seconds.

How'd you like that? Harry heard a voice ask him. It echoed off the walls of his tiny cat brain, and he realized they were communicating through telekinesis.

It was all right. It felt weird, he replied. I don't know how you do it every day.

You get used to it, Sirius thought back before gesturing to the hole. Ready?

Harry flicked his black tail in response.

The two entered the tunnel, both feeling slightly sick to their stomachs, both knowing what lay ahead.

Harry found it slightly difficult to walk with four legs now rather than two, but it was easy to adjust- easier than he might have thought.

The crawl might awhile, Sirius thought to Harry, who was behind him.

Crawl? Maybe for you. I'm small enough to walk, Harry replied, not keen the view he had from behind.

They walked in slightly lessened darkness for what seemed like hours, hardly speaking as it seemed that talking casually while sneaking around.

Finally, Harry, who had sunk into a deep stupor while walking endlessly, heard Sirius think to him.

We're there- I can smell it.

Smell what?

The depression. And the sadness.

Harry sniffed the air with his now much more sensitive nose.

I smell it too. But there's something else... What is it?

Sirius was silent for a moment. Then-

It's insanity.

They stopped just outside another bush.

Sirius turned to Harry.

There aren't any Dementors outside- they only patrol the prison. Follow me and stay low.

Right, Harry thought back.

They emerged from the tunnel and Harry blinked with the light (yes, it was still nighttime, but remember, cats and dogs still see much, much lighter than humans).

They were inside the walls of the prison. Harry looked around.

The prison was most likely the gloomiest building he had ever seen.

The walls were smooth and flawless, as well as tall.

The windows were about the size of his hand as a human, and no lights came from them.

They neared a side door. Sirius scratched on the door and Harry looked at him in surprise.

What are you doing?

Relax. They can't really sense animal emotions, so we're all right.

The door was opened, however, not by a Dementor, but by Fudge himself.

Sirius and Harry froze.

Fudge's eyes grew very wide.

"Who are you?" he asked, knowing very well that they were not really a cat and a dog.

Sirius backed away, wagging his tail.

Fudge approached him, leaving the doorway.

Go Harry! Sirius thought furiously, leaping onto Fudge and giving Harry room to scurry inside.

He ran after the cat, letting the door slam behind them. Fudge was left outside.

What's Fudge doing here? he asked Sirius as they ran for cover.

I don't know... I thought he'd be at the Ministry or something. This isn't weird Harry. He visits for inspections all the time.

Yeah. Maybe. I'd just think that he'd be somewhere else. Like looking for Avril. I mean-

Suddenly, Harry froze. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hooded figure turn the corner.

Then, out of nowhere-

"Run Lily!"

"I'm not leaving you James-"

"Take Harry and go! I'll distract him! Alert Dumbledore!"

"No James!"

"Go!"

Harry! Harry!

Something was licking Harry's face.

He came to and looked around.

It seemed he had been carried to a ventilation system, where the two of them were now hiding.

What happened?

I heard my Mum and Dad, Sirius.

James and Lily?

Yeah.

What'd they say?

Dad told Mum to run and- and save me.

And?

And she wouldn't leave him.

Lily always was a stubborn redhead. You OK?

I'm fine.

For awhile there were no transferred thoughts toward each other; only silence. Then-

Let's find Snape.

The sense of sound cats and dogs have is very sensitive. Far more so than that of human beings.

Harry found that out as Sirius led him out of the vent and down a dark hallway.

They entered the main room, where all the cells were located.

As soon as they entered this room Harry's ear drums almost exploded.

It was unlike anything he had ever heard before.

Men (there were women too, though not nearly as many) were sobbing and screaming steady streams of indecipherable profanity.

The noise was almost unbearable.

OK. Dementors can't sense animal feelings nearly as well as they can with humans, so try and keep a low profile, Sirius thought to Harry.

Right Harry replied.

Together they climbed the stairs to the first landing.

As they trotted by cells Harry glanced in, seeing women and men shaking and crying. The sights and sounds made Harry's cat fur stand on end, and he could feel his tail expanding and growing puffier.

One man in particular leapt at Harry from behind the bars, whispering and repeating a crooning sort of cat call. His eyes were unfocused, and the tip of his tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth.

"Here, kitty. Here, kitty kitty kitty," he crooned.

Harry froze, unable to move. He felt his fur rise threateningly and his tail curl in defense.

He opened his mouth and hissed, no longer completely conscious of his actions.

All he knew was that he couldn't move. There was some instinct, some natural curiosity that kept him standing there and holding his ground.

The man reached for him between the bars and, when his gnarled hands were only inches from Harry's cat throat, he felt a tightening around the scruff of his neck and he jumped. There was a whir of claws, then a stern growl from Harry's captor's throat.

When he realized it was Sirius, he relaxed.

That was a close one Sirius, thanks.

Yeah, that'll happen. They do weird things to your mind in here. Keep close, don't look in the cells for more than a moment.

Sorry. I won't.

Freeze!

A Dementor turned the corner and paused, sniffing the air. Then, apparently satisfied that no one was there, it glided by, its cloak brushing Harry's whiskers.

He shuddered, which feels even more unpleasant when you're a cat. Sirius nudged him with his muzzle.

You're all right, Harry. Let's go up the stairs.

Harry followed him closely up the next set of stairs. He was very, very relieved to see a familiar head of greasy black hair in the nearest cell at the top of the stairs.

Sirius!

I see.

What do we do?

Slip through the bars Harry. Just don't scare him. Get his attention first.

Harry trotted up to Snape's cell and paused to stare inside.

For the first time in his entire life, Harry felt compassion for the bastard.

Snape was terribly thin; Harry could hear it in his shallow breath.

He sat on his bed and held his head in his hands. His fingers were tangled in his hair.

Harry could sense that the sanity was far from gone, but there was a great amount of suffering.

Not quite knowing what else to do, Harry cocked his head and gave a soft meow.

Snape's head shot up at the sound.

His face was more sallow than Harry could have ever thought possible, and there were enormous dark circles under his eyes.

His lips were colorless. They didn't look as if they'd been moistened for weeks.

He stared through the bars at the small black cat sitting outside his cell. It was pure black, except for its bright green eyes and a thin, white, lightening bolt shape just below its right ear.

"P-Potter?" he said, sounding unsure.

Harry slipped through the bars then turned to Sirius.

Right. What now?

The coast is clear Harry. I'm going to transform and transfigure you back. Then, as quickly as possible, explain to him what's happened. I'll transfigure him and we can escape. Tell him to be prepared. Do this quickly, as we won't have much time as humans before the Dementors sense us.

Right. Well, Here goes.

Sirius transformed back and then quickly did the same to Harry.

"Professor Snape!" Harry said in a low voice, "we've come to rescue you. Avril's in trouble and she needs you to help her. There's not a lot of time to explain, so Sirius is going to transfigure you. Dementors don't sense animals as well. Then we're getting out of here. Understand?"

Snape didn't reply at first. "What took you so long?"

Harry sighed. "Glad to see you too. OK Sirius!"

Sirius waved his wand at Harry, who turned back into a cat. He then turned to Snape.

"Try to do it right please," Snape said sarcastically.

"For you I'll try extra hard!" Sirius replied with equal sarcasm.

A moment later, they were all animals again.

Snape looked at his paws, then his tail, then felt his enormous teeth with his tongue.

Black, I'm not-

A weasel? Yup. It just wouldn't be practical to turn you into a jackass. How'd you fit through the bars? No, a weasel is far more convenient.

Snape bared his teeth. Sirius growled.

Quit it. We need to get out of here fast.

Harry was right. A Dementor had obviously sensed additional human presence in the cell and was gliding over to investigate.

C'mon, Sirius thought, leading them away.

They hurried down the stairs and out of the main cell room.

There seemed to be Dementors everywhere now, and Harry felt himself get slightly unsteady.

He teetered, but was nipped sharply by Snape.

Stay awake Potter, he thought to Harry.

The three reached an empty corridor and came to a halt when they heard a voice- the first real one they'd heard in hours (or in Snape's case, minutes).

"I am Apparating to the Ardree home right away. The Dark Lord should be aware of this."

Harry turned to look at Sirius in amazement.

Since when has Fudge been on their side?

Since the ambush on the Ministry, Snape thought, answering what Sirius could not.

This is too perfect. We may not get another chance like this. On the count of three, jump on Fudge. We'll be Apparated with him. We need to do it accurately. Ready?

"Send word straight away when you find him."

One.

"I know that cat and dog had something to do with this. Find them too."

Two, Sirius picked Harry up by the scruff, which slightly annoyed Harry, though he knew it was because he had never Apparated before.

"Right then."

Three!

*******

Avril stood and faced Voldemort, whose red eyes were shining dangerously.

"Hand me those books," Voldemort whispered.

Avril stuck out her chin but said nothing.

Voldemort took a step towards her, his eyes on the books laying on the floor.

"They were written for me. They belong to me! Give them to me!"

"No!" Avril made her decision, stooped, grabbed the three books at her feet and somehow managed to duck away from Voldemort's outstretched arms.

Using the powers granted to her as a Lamia, Avril directed the books upwards and out of the hole, while at the same time grasping them. They lifted her through the trapdoor just as Voldemort grabbed her shoe.

Avril screamed in surprise and tried to concentrate all her energy on forcing the books upward. When that didn't work, she lashed out with her other foot and kicked Voldemort in the side of the head.

He yelled in pain and let go of her. Avril shot up, hit the ceiling, then dropped to the floor. Not pausing to breathe, Avril scrambled up and ran out the door.

I've got to hide, she thought desperately. She stopped at the end of the hall and looked up. There was another sort of trapdoor in the ceiling that she recognized as the attic door. She made it swing open then, at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, hurried up the ladder.

She heard someone enter the hallway before she could shut the door, and clambered to find a hiding place.

Unfortunately, the excessive use of her powers had drained her and Avril could do nothing more than sit with her back to a box of clothes and hug the Thaumaturgism spell books to her chest.

She buried her head in her arms and, feeling slightly sick, listened as someone slowly and quietly climbed the ladder.

She squeezed her eyes shut and issued a death grip on the books as a shadow passed over her.

This is it.

*******

The three animals rounded the corner and threw themselves at the Minister of Magic.

He shouted with surprise, and yelled to the Dementor he had been speaking to, but it was too late. There was a whir of color, and Harry felt an unpleasant feeling, as if he'd splinched himself.

Sirius, however, had him tightly in his mouth to prevent such a thing, and was simply waiting.

The next moment they found themselves on a rocky beach. In the distance, there was an old house with a dim light on downstairs.

Sirius transfigured quickly and attacked Fudge quicker than he could say "Black!"

He pinned the little man down and grabbed Harry's wand from his robes pocket.

He transfigured Snape and Harry next, then pointed Harry's wand at Fudge.

"You never were a very good Minister of Magic, Fudge," he growled.

Fudge looked petrified. He was unable to move, and his eyes darted from one person to the other.

For a moment Harry thought Sirius was going to kill Fudge, and a moment later, rather than a blinding green light, there was a small pop and a wriggling silver fish had replaced the Minister.

"Throw him in the ocean Harry," Sirius said, standing. "With any luck he'll get eaten by those whales out there."

He nodded toward a pod of breaching Orca whales.

Harry picked the fish up by the tail and threw him into the water before turning to Sirius and Snape.

"So what's the plan?" he asked, wiping fish slime off his hands.

"Voldemort's in there," Sirius said. "We can't just burst in there. We don't know how many Death Eaters he's got," he glanced involuntarily at Snape, "so we'll have to be careful."

"We should have reinforcements as well," Snape said, staring hard at Sirius, as if trying to decide whether to hit him or thank him. "We should inform the Ministry here."

"There should be Floo powder in the den," Harry said, "Avril said they used it when they went to parties, because she couldn't Apparate."

"Good, Harry, good. Seeing as I'm a convict, and they sure as hell won't believe an under aged wizard that Voldemort is in an abandoned house holding a girl hostage, Snape should go."

Snape narrowed his eyes. "No. I am not leaving my niece now that I'm here. Besides, I know Voldemort better than both of you. I am remaining here."

Sirius glared back. "Then I don't see who can go. I sure can't. Are you afraid, Snape? You always were a bit of a coward."

Snape took a menacing step towards Sirius. "And you never knew when to shut your-"

"Hey!" Harry interrupted. "Avril's in there, and she needs our help. Can you guys put aside your differences for at least one second? Sirius, you go to the Ministry. Sure, you're an escaped convict, but this is important. There's a good chance they'll listen to you. Just bring up Avril's name or something. Snape and I will go inside and try to get Avril out. That's our best shot."

He stood, glaring at the two adults who were still in threatening positions, though their heads were turned to him.

Sirius suddenly smiled.

"You are so much like James, Harry. He'd be proud."

Snape wrinkled his nose and said nothing.

"Let's go inside. Sirius, you try and find a fireplace with a jar or vase on the mantle piece. Snape, you come with me. We'll go and find Avril."

Together the three jogged up the sandy trail towards the house.

"You do know that once this is over, I'm Professor Snape, right?" Snape muttered to Harry.

Harry pretended not to hear as they hovered near the back door.

Sirius was peering through a window a few feet away. "I see a fireplace and a fancy sort of glass," he told them. "I'm going to try that out."

"All right. Snape and I will keep watch. We've got a pretty good view of the hallway from here. When you've left, we'll come in through the back door and find Avril."

"Sounds good," Sirius said, carefully opening the door and slipping inside. From the window Harry and Snape watched, darting their eyes from the living room to the hallway.

Sirius took the glass vile down from the mantle piece, threw some in the fire and stepped in.

He said the name loud and clear, and with a burst of flame he was gone.

Harry let out a breath of relief, which was muted by a scream followed by a yell of pain from inside the house.

Avril, he thought.

He and Snape exchanged identically frightened glances.

"C'mon," he muttered urgently to Snape, holding the door open.

He was surprised: Snape was being very cooperative. He assumed it was due to Snape's determination for rescuing Avril.

The two entered the house silently, then glanced around.

"I'll check down here, Potter," Snape said, opening a closet door, "you check upstairs."

Harry nodded and tiptoed over to the grand staircase.

He crept up it and jumped at a sudden sound coming from a ladder dangling in the hallway.

Curiously, and gripping his wand very tightly, Harry climbed the ladder.

He poked his head up the opening in the floor of the attic and saw a huddled figure in the shadows.

He pulled himself onto the dusty floor and stood.

He approached the figure, who was hiding its face, hugging three thick books to its chest.

Harry leaned close.

"Avril?" he said, squinting in the semi-darkness.

The figure lifted its head and stared at him with deep brown eyes.

Suddenly, they burst with a shade of green that equally matched Harry's.

Avril dropped the books and launched herself at Harry, wrapping her arms around his neck in unspeakable relief.