Chapter 1
James Potter had come back the day after a long mission only for his heart to drop when he picked up the daily prophet and saw the headline. In bold letters it read:
-Suspected Death eater Sirius Black behind bars!-
The article detailed how the former Black heir had been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Fabian and Gideon Prewett after being caught on the scene of the crime. Under it was a large picture of Sirius’ mugshot. On it he looked defeated, drained of all joy. The mischievous gleam in his eyes was gone and his face was drained of colour.
This wasn’t right. In no world, under no circumstances would he ever want to join the death eaters. James knew he had risked his life for Fabian and Gideon Prewett. Naturally, James stormed off to the ministry, demanding answers. Turns out they didn't even have a trial.
He needed to hear the full story from Sirius but his application for a visitation right was denied. They thought he would break Sirius out of Azkaban (which he whould do)
An auror referred James to her boss, who told him there was nothing they could do unless more evidence came to light. Finally, James demanded a fair trial from a ministry official who told him that Black was nothing more than a dangerous criminal who he shouldn't bother with.
James was just about ready to hex everyone in the ministry. All these frustrating backs and forths had not gotten him anywhere. He only knew that Sirius was in the wrong place at the wrong time, in their eyes that was confirmation of his guilt, and nobody was looking further into it.
Frustrated, James confided in Peter Pettigrew. But when talking, he immediately knew that something wasn’t right. Wormtail was acting like a guilty person trying to appear innocent. Peter pretended like he didn't know anything other than what was written in the proppet, but he let slip a small gap in his story. Peter Pettigrew had become a suspect in the eyes of his friend, when only a few hours earlier, he was undoubtedly a person that James Potter would have died for.
Of course, he needed actual proof before he could act. During a confrontation the very same day, James managed to catch Peter off guard and drew up his jacket sleeve. On his forearm was the dark mark. Peter just came with every excuse he could think of. Turns out he would have found himself in hot water after the death of the Prewets, but saw a way out by framing Sirius
The feeling of betrayal was a thing the dementors would later love to use against him
He must have looked threatening, because Peter pleaded for his life as James was aiming his wand towards him. The truth is that James wasn’t out to kill, but he would do whatever it took to make Peter confess to the authorities. He whould pay for what he did to the Prewetts
"Please, understand that it wasn't personal" Those were Peter's last words spoken to him before the world exploded. All that was left of Wormtail was his finger
James hardly remembers what happened after that, just that the aurors dragged him away, his hands manacled, into a room where he was given the grey uniform. Next they took his mugshot that would most certainly be used in the daily prophet the following day. When trying to give his explanation, it fell to deaf ears. By the time he stepped foot into the dreaded fortress, it had already been decided that he wouldn’t get out.
"Prongs!?"
No.
He hoped to hear that voice speak to him again, but not like this, not in this situation
Sirius grasped at the bars, looking horrified like he had just seen someone get sentenced to death “What happened!!!?” he shrieked.
"It was the rat! It was the rat!” understanding flickered across Sirius face
The aurors had to hold a very steady grip on James' arms to keep him from running towards Sirius. “I'm sorry!” shouted James. Sirius needed to know that he was sorry for not being able to help him. He looked over his shoulder until the cell door was out of view. From now on they would always be in the same place but never close.
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On some days, James felt overwhelming sadness, other days he felt hollow, devoid of all emotions, like he was existing in a void. When the sadness became too much, he would turn to prongs. It didn’t save him from the boredom, but at least the dementors would leave him alone.
Despite being mentally exhausted, he forced himself into some sort of routine. Time moved slowly in Azkaban and to keep himself occupied; James had started counting. He had been counting punch-ups and pull-ups, he paced around his cell, counting his steps. He knew that there were fifty-eight bricks on the walls and that it's been five days since he got arrested. At Hogwarts, he read that inmates on lower security levels had windows, but he had nothing that connected him to the outside world, only the grey brick walls.
The three meals being delivered was how he knew a day had passed. Today was one of those days where he didn’t have any appetite. In the morning, he only took a few bites of the flavourless porridge before the bowl was taken away. As the second meal for the day was delivered, he was lying in bed, his back was hurting from how hard the surface was
Sometimes shrieks from neighbouring cells could be heard, but today was a quiet day. The only sound was a whisper of claws scraping against the stone floor which stopped outside his cell door. He considered ignoring it, but for a reason he couldn’t explain to himself, he looked up
At first, what he saw made James think the dementors were pulling a cruel trick on him.
James put on his glasses which had a small crack from when Peter set off the explosion. Nothing changed. The black shaggy dog was still there, looking thinner than before Azkaban."Padfoot? It's you?"
Immediately he guards flooded like moths to a flame, greedy for any form of joy. The dog's entire body stiffened. A fight or flight response by the looks of it.
The night Sirius left his childhood home his back and arms were bruised. James had assured him that he would never have to return. There was no doubt that the guards had made him relive the abuse he suffered at Grimmauld place. Just when James thought he couldn’t get more furious at the ministry for allowing the dementors near Sirius
“Padfoot, look at me” He wanted nothing more than to follow him, but even without his antlers, Prongs would not be able to slip between the metal bars, not even the hatch from which his food got delivered “You have to leave me. Your soul won't be of use if its taken”
Very reluctantly, Sirius left and ran down the hallway. James watched until he was out of view.
As three guards gathered around him, James saw the day his parents died. It was a cold room in Saint Mongos, he was told by a nurse that Euphemia passed away three in the night while Flemont died two hours before he arrived. One evening James was with them, holding their hands, the next day they were gone. Even though he knew dragon pox would be hard on them, nothing could have prepared him for the heartache that came from losing them.
He doesn’t know for how long it’s been when he turned to prongs. That’s when it finally dawned on him what the escape could entail. Sirius is going to be hunted by the same guards that forced him to relive all the times he felt unsafe in his own home. If they were to find him, they ministry would make sure he couldn’t escape again