Sirius Black POV
Another day, another bloody chance to listen to the screams of the damned that seemed to constantly echo through the prison. Worse, it was getting colder. Not that Azkaban could ever be considered warm, what with the soul-sucking monsters guarding the place, but when autumn and winter rolled around, the prison-island got even colder. Never quite cold enough to allow the prisoners to freeze to death, the wardens weren't that cruel and careless, but even as a dog it was horrible.
He often had to take off his clothes before transforming into his hound form, and then use those scraps of cloth as an extra layer of protection against the chill. That meant he was often naked when the human guards wandered by to check on him, but that reinforced the Aurors' belief he was insane.
'And maybe I am,' the last Scion of the House of Black thought to himself as he lay on the floor in his Animagus form. 'Maybe I am crazy. Why else would I be seeing a bat flying around my cell?'
Because it was there. A cute little critter, with a fuzzy face, going in circles around the ceiling after flying in through the barred window. Well, calling it a window was generous. It was too small to stick his head through, even as a dog, and the thick iron bars had spells on them to alert the guards if he touched them. Not that he could, it being too high to reach even if he piled up all of the stuff in his cell and then stood on it.
Looking up at the bat, Sirius' dog instincts wanted him to chase it and bark at it, but he managed to clamp down on those thoughts.
'Poor thing looks confused,' Sirius mused, watching it. He was glad it hadn't flown into a different cell. The prisoners nearby, including his 'darling' cousin Bellatrix, would have tried to catch and eat it. Raw bat was probably tastier than the gruel they served. Meatier, too.
Not him, tempting as it was. Bats were too cute to treat that way. He'd always liked bats. Wanted one as a pet instead of an owl, but his parents had said no. Couple of killjoys.
After a bit, he decided to sit up, and morphed back into a human. 'Maybe if I catch it I can set it free,' he thought hopefully.
Yet when he did so, the bat suddenly stop circling and divebombed him, flying right into his lap.
"Huh, okay?" he muttered, surprised as he tentatively stroked its chest. This was nice… but then he noticed the letter tied to its leg.
"What the-?" he uttered, perplexed. Cautiously, he undid the piece of wire binding the slip of parchment, freeing the letter, and after a moment of hesitation, unrolled it.
'Padfoot, Wormtail is still alive. Captured him and discovered the truth of what happened that night. I know you are innocent. Prongs Jr. is also alive, but so is the Bald Snake. We can get you a trial, but only if you escape Azkaban. Old Man not to be trusted. Moony.
PS, the bat is named Wiggles von Snub. Not sure if the enchantment will work, but if it does, it should allow him to lead you to me. See you soon.'
Sirius stared at the tiny writing scrawled onto the slip of parchment, eyes growing wide as he read and reread it. For a moment he forgot to breath, and it was only when the bat – Wiggles von Snub – began to cuddle with him for warmth did he remember to suck in air.
'Is this a joke?' he wondered. But the names… only four people in the world knew them. And two of them were supposed to be dead. If it was true…
Sirius threw his head back and began to howl with laughter, the sound tinged with madness, regret, but also, for the first time in years, hope.
He then crumpled up the letter and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing it up and swallowing it to destroy the evidence. He then looked down at the piece of wire in his hand, and the bat in his lap.
'Thank Merlin I begged Lily to get me that book on lockpicking for Christmas all those years ago,' he thought to himself, using Occlumency to dredge up long-forgotten memories.
It had been a long time since he'd used the mental art. It wasn't safe to do so in Azkaban, where even the slightest glimmer of positive emotion was like a beacon for the Dementors. Trying to retreat into your memories to escape the unholy guardians of the prison was risky. Either the Dementors sucked out all of your happy memories to the point not even Occlumency could recover them, or you got trapped inside the bad ones, unable to escape due to a lack of will power.
In fact, he'd have to hurry up, as his own moment of madness-tinged hopeful laughter would have attracted the specters. Quickly, he bent the wire into a new shape using the knowledge he'd hastily recalled reading one time, then stuck the makeshift lockpick into his mouth. He then transformed back into a dog just in the nick of time as several of the floating black robes began to approach, turning the area bitterly and unnaturally cold.
Wiggles began to shiver, but Sirius tucked the tiny bat into his side to keep him warm, which calmed him down. Together, they would wait for a chance to escape.
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