Shadows of a Slytherin

Chapter 2

"That night, Dumbledore snuck in, we still aren't sure how, and managed to grab you without the wards detecting his presence. We never even would have known he was there if it weren't for the wards surrounding your crib. We placed undetectable weight detection alarms on your mattress, so the moment you were picked up we were alerted. We spotted Dumbledore dashing through the gates and the flash as his phoenix transported him. We knew we had lost you at that point." Tom had to pause for a deep breath. "We knew that Sirius must have been a spy as Bella's mother believed. Otherwise, how could Dumbledore have possibly known where you were?" Lucius saw that Tom was nearly overcome with grief, and decided to finish the story.

"A few days later, we received an anonymous note with your whereabouts. At first, we believed that it may have come from Peter Pettigrew, who we had managed to turn to our side, but the writing wasn't correct. We also considered it may have come from your godfather, Severus as he had been employed at Hogwarts for the past year acting as a double agent on our behalf. In any case, armed with this knowledge, your father set off to rescue you. He didn't want to take anyone else with him, in case they panicked and Apparated you away. As you probably know, when he arrived, he discovered it was a trap. Dumbledore appeared and attempted to kill him. Thankfully, Tom had safeguarded against that. Still, once again, you were lost to us. As you know, it took us ten years to finally find you, and that, only by your attending Hogwarts."

Harry gazed at his parents and aunt and uncle. They were all so saddened by the story, he didn't want it to continue, especially on his birthday, but there was one thing that didn't make much sense. "How did he end up in Azkaban?"

Lucius cleared his throat. He knew he'd be the only one able to continue. "Well, Peter Pettigrew, who, as I mentioned, had become a spy for our side, decided to confront Sirius. The well-known version of the story is that he accused Sirius of betraying the Potters to us. However, that was obviously a lie given out by Dumbledore. What actually happened was that he accused him of helping destroy you, Harry, and our family. Unfortunately, Peter was never a good one for dueling. He was much more suited to spying. Sirius blasted him with a curse that hit a Muggle gas pipe, blowing the street, Peter, and 13 Muggles to bits. It is said that when Aurors arrived a few minutes later, Sirius was standing in the same spot, simply laughing. He was sentenced to Azkaban without even a trial, based on evidence given by Dumbledore. Although this evidence was evidently false, none of us intervened, considering what he had done. He had helped in your kidnapping, he'd sent that note which was obviously to lure Tom into a trap, and he killed one of our allies. We saw no reason to lift a finger for him."

Harry felt anger building inside of him. Once again, his family was awed by the crackle of magic emanating from the young boy. It had obviously grown stronger since the year before. Harry grabbed the daily prophet and stared at the front page. A large photograph of a sunken-faced man with long, matted hair blinked slowly at Harry from the front page. Harry could see the family resemblance, but only slightly. His eyes wandered to the article.

BLACK STILL AT LARGE

Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.

"We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."

Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.

"Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it – who'd believe him if he did?"