Harry-Dementor

3- Return To Hogwarts

Harry was sad to leave his new haven. Everyone else, especially Sirius who was still stuck there, was itching to leave. Harry wished that Sirius could see the house the way he did. It just had personality and some interesting quirks. Kreacher was really the only unpleasant thing about the place, and Harry had only seen him the one time he'd run away screaming. He thought he saw the elf a few times out of the corner of his eye or leaving a room as soon as he entered, but he couldn't be sure. Even Sirius's mother was fine, you just needed to know how to handle her…like unleashing his full aura at the painting in the middle of the night until she was as much afraid of him as Kreacher, but yeah, problem handled.

It wasn't just leaving the safety and comfort of Grimmauld Place, it was also leaving Sirius and going into the unknown by himself essentially. He wasn't one hundred percent sure his magic would work, he was worried all the house elves would scream and run, he was certain Ron and Hermione would eventually figure out what was going on, what if Jamie got hurt and he had to go to Madam Pomfrey and she figured it all out, and what if Voldemort attacked again? Also…what did that dementor mean when he said, "We'll see you again?" Really, how ominous can you get? If all that weren't enough, what if he sucked all the happiness out of his friends and they were miserable and suffering from dementor exposure by the end of the year?

It was with even more fear than when he started in first year, that Harry pulled his trunk down the stairs and made ready to leave for Hogwarts to start his fifth year. "Has anyone seen Crookshanks? I haven't seen him in days!" Hermione asked frantically as she ran through the house trying to collect her wayward cat.

Harry shrank into the corner, knowing the cat was hiding from him. It had a similar reaction as Kreacher when he saw it in the hallway a few days before. Thankfully, no one had been there to witness it that time. "I'm going to miss you around here, pup," Sirius said dejectedly as he joined Harry in the corner. "Maybe Snuffles can come visit you some during the year," he added on with a hopeful grin.

His first instinct was to yell at Sirius to not be an idiot and stay where he was safe. On second thought though…that was probably asking too much of the man that was nowhere near emotionally stable. Feeling Sirius's emotions, Harry knew better than anyone that staying isolated was draining the life from his godfather. He seemed to be constantly fighting severe depression and anxiety.

Granted, the man still called him James occasionally, but Harry loved him regardless. The man, as unstable as he was, emitted strong emotions that he cared for and loved Harry, maybe for being James's son, but Harry was certain that in his more lucid moments, Sirius was cognizant of the differences between Harry and James. He just wasn't always in one of those more lucid moments.

"Oh Padfoot, please don't get yourself arrested," Harry sighed tiredly, giving up on the man staying put in the house. "I'd really hate to have to break you out of Azkaban. It'd completely ruin my reputation with the ministry…well what's left of it anyway."

Harry actually thought about that statement for a minute before continuing, "I guess there's not much left to ruin…sure, I guess I'll get you out, but please don't try to get arrested anyway. Let's save that as a last resort."

As a dementor, Harry was certain he could break his godfather out, but he really didn't want to have to try it. The other dementors might not take too kindly to it. However, it might be nice to go on the run with Sirius to some tropical climate where it was warm and people were happy…it might not be the worst back-up plan.

"Awesome!" Sirius exclaimed happily, and gave Harry the largest smile he'd ever seen on his godfather's face. "The first prison break was hard enough though; I'm good with not doing that again any time soon."

"Yeah, sure," Harry chuckled. "If you decide to visit, just owl me first so I can meet you with the map, ok?"

"Sure thing!" Sirius was almost vibrating in excitement at that.