July 31st, 1990, Island in the North Sea, Azkaban, 5:52 PM.
The constant of howling winds, raging waves, and thunderous clouds echoing within these fortress's walls for centuries. A lonely fortress stood firmly amid the ocean, seemingly separated from the rest of the world.
And, adding to the dreadful atmosphere, was its everlasting scabby grey creature, Dementors, Azkaban's most trusting warden, floating endlessly, slithering at every nook and cranny of the fortress.
They fed on human happiness and thus generated feelings of depression and despair in any person in close proximity to them. They could also consume a person's soul, leaving their victims in a permanent vegetative state.
A true death kiss.
All of this was carved into every prisoner's dilapidated minds, an overwhelming truth that they could never escape. Or so it was...
*Rattle Rattle*
The sounds of scratching and water droplets echoing for eternity along these dimly lit stone walls. In a solitary cell lay a ragged man seemingly in his early thirties, Sirius Black, haggard and utterly thin.
His once brilliance grey eyes now bore a look devoid of any vigour as a result of Dementor's devour. Despite his seemingly hollow gaze, there was a glint of deep, dark mixed emotions—an obsession—that stemmed from his innocence, his brooding over his friends' deaths, and... Pettigrew's betrayal.
How ironic, for it was the very thing that kept him at bay, keeping his mind from succumbing to madness.
"Oh James, Lily, Remus... I'm sorry, I should have... Peter Pettigrew!" The utterly haggard man gritted the last name under his breath with all the extreme emotions he had left. Hatred surging his mind once more; he had swore one day he'd deliver that bastard justice... once he got out of this damn hellhole.
But in reality, all Sirius Black had was this damp, dark cell and the discordant screams of his cell mates whenever those horrid fluttering creatures passed by.
His fragmented mind once again drifted back to when he was young, the time of innocently running in the middle of the full moon night with his best friends. "Moony, Prongs..."
As if out of the old habit, Sirius subconciously manoeuvred a touch of his magic to transform into Padfoot, a black dog, his Animagus. However, his little action also drew the attention of the wardens of Azkaban.
*Swoosh Swoosh*
Accompanied by the whistling of the damp and cold wind, came three to four dreadful Dementors. They came and hoovered over his cell. Sirius mind tensed up as he was embracing for the worst to come. For the longest time, he felt like a guillotine hanging over his head, just as if it were about to go down, The Dementors just walked away.
'They left!?' Sirirus puzzled, his mind swirling with speculations, not craziness. He deliberately waited for them to pass by three more times before he came to the conclusion that those creatures seem to regard lesser creatures like dogs as unworthy of being their prey, or simply that such a low-intelligent creature could not produce a decent meal for them.
Whatever the case, the Dementors seem to regard Padfoot as another regular dog; they seem incapable of discerning the Animagus.
Sirius must steady his breath so as to stabilise his mind; he must not let this sliver of hope slip up. With such a thought, the black dog began calculating his way out of this prison.
Now that the biggest issue regarding the Dementors had been solved, Sirius only needed to pass those wizards, the wardens sent by the Ministry. This was by no means an easy thing for the haggard man; ten years tormented in this place could do wonders for a healthy man, physically; mentally, and spiritually.
So Sirius waited, and he began to save his strength as he observed wardens. Having spent enough time in this hellhole, one ought to grasp that those wizards and witches that watch over this place rarely patrol along the alley, Merlin! They didn't even dare stay near this place for a long period of time for fear of stumbling upon some sort of curse left by the previous owner of this place, that famous dark wizard, creator of the Dementor.
Eventually, the Ministry had a way to control those Dementors so their personnel would also receive a kind of charm, artefact, or whatever it was Sirius didn't know, regardless, it would help them avoid being targeted by the Dementors.
However, he knew when they would change the shift. Only in this time would leaving the island be possible and...
"It's raining..." Sirius whispered as the sound of the heavy rain reached his ears, as well as the sounds of hasty footsteps echoing in these dark, damp halls.
Using the small size of his Animagus, Sirius swift got out of the cell, through the space between the bars, and took careful steps as the Dementors pass by.
With that, the silhouette of a black dog was quietly passing through these halls without notice. Sirius use the peculiar sense of smell of the dog to navigate his way out. Soon, he reached the entry gate.
Despite the heavy rain, in this Animagus form, he could still discern his surroundings. 'Just a little more'
Not so far away under the heavy rain he could make out there were at least three to four wizards or witches; they seemed to be chatting about some thing that happened not long ago in China: the capture of many criminals through the ambush of two Aurors forces as well as the escape of the leader despite many efforts.
Sirius could careless about that. With quickened heartbeats, the black dog located the way towards the main land and swiftly jumped down the dark, cold waters towards its long-lost freedom. Somehow, at the place where it jumped, there was already a large chunk of wood floating there as if a boat had been set up there waiting for this moment and so the black dog hold onto it and started paddling his way towards the mainland in the middle of the heavy rain,
...
*Pant Pant*
Hours had passed, the heavy rain had stopped for a while, yet the bright sliver crescent moon still hung high among the cloud, vaguely illuminating a haggard figure stranded on the shore.
Despite being soaked and utterly looking pitiful, the man let out a content laugh like never before, like a maniac laughing amid the chilling night.
"Ha... Ha... AHAHAHAHAHA..." Tears could be seen streaming down his face, yet his expression was a mix of joy and despair.
When the high died down, Sirius just stay like that, sitting quietly on the shore with his swirling thoughts. 'I'm out, but what...'
'What could there be out here for me?'
'No friends, no home, i'm now but a dangerous criminal managed to escape from that place, Soon enough, the Ministry will send out a recaptured issue, and I'll be hunted down in no time!'
'...'
What answered only the howling of the sea winds, the echoing of the waves... and the sound of a fluttering piece of newspaper that settled down right in front of his eyes, It was from The Daily Prophet. The Author of this edition was none other then the infamous Rita Skeeter, with her quirky capabilities, Before Ethan and Samantheus issued a covert order to destroy all those that regarding Harry's abuse at the Dursleys and Ethan adopting him, She still managed to slip a few out. All but this was the only one that managed to still exist until now, for this moment.
Merlin knew how it got here, but here it was. Upon reading the content printed on it, although other parts were blurred by the weather, Sirius could still read the most crucial part, detailing the re-adoption of Harry Potter!
"Harry! My godson..." Holding the newspaper tremblingly, Sirius was first furious about the abuse of Harry, but soon his face lit up as those monster got what they deserved and Harry got to live a much better life.
It was at this moment that a spark of desire to see Harry surfaced his mind. "Maybe... I just want to see how's doing... to his smile..." Sirius mumbled as he still remembered how happy the little boy was when he was gifted a toy broom.
So it was settled, and Sirius was determined to see his godson while he could. Lucky for him, Rita Skeeter manage to narrow down the address of Harry's new home to somewhere along Baker Street.
With that in mind,. Sirius once again turned into Padfoot, marching towards Baker Street.
....
August 1st, 1990, Baker Street, London, 0:49 AM.
Right now, outside the dimly lit street of London, a black dog could be seen walking slowly by every house. His eyes and nose were examining everything, looking for clues that indicated where Harry could be.
Suddenly, Sirius stopped right a few metres away from the resident bore the template 221B, his pupils in the Animagus form dilated in surprise, and somewhat frightful of what he perceived.
'Merlin's beard! What kind of fortress in disguise is this!'.
As a Senior Wizard and, on top of that, a descendant of the Black family, Sirius ought to possess above-average capabilities. What lay before right now was a translucent dome that engulfed the 3 story house, resembling a transparent curtain that enveloped every nook and cranny of the said building.
Sirius could feel the intricateness of this dome as well as how hostile it was to any uninvited guess.
'This must be it.'
This could highly indicate that this place is where Harry was, Sirius thought that Dumbledore was the one behind this.
Just as he was about to take another step, suddenly the light around him became dimmer
"Grrr..." The black dog growled, striding into a defensive stand as its hair stood on all ends.
Right before Sirius's view, he watches as large, somewhat transparent curtains fall from nowhere, creating a dome blocking every way out. Sirius could feel that he was inside some kind of barrier that separated the inside from the outside, he could still see the quiet Baker Street through the thin fabric; yet it was beyond his capability to reach it. 'Such spectacular magic'
*Thud Thud*
The sound of a steady footstep echoing from the opposite side of Sirius slowly came to his ears, as did the figure of a scholarly-looking young man dressed in his evening suit, elegant yet exuding immeasurable pressure.
The young gentleman adored his usual pair of glasses that brightened his frame; on one hand, he was fidgeting with a distinct golden pocket watch while the other hand was holding a peculiar wand.
Sirius narrowed his eyes as he realised who this man was, as he did recognise him from the description in the newspaper.
Ethan spoke with his usual monotone voice: "Well, well, what a distinct guest we have here, taking a stroll in his Animagus form in the middle of the night, but one shouldn't stay so close to that protective barrier."
Ethan's dark amber eyes sparked with star-like brilliance as he slowly pointed his wand towards the growling wizard in his Animagus form.