Sky full of stars {Harry Potter Fanfiction}

19. Hello, Father

Within the hour the Knight Bus deposited us at the visitor's entrance to Azkaban, and I couldn't concentrate on Remus' paper, I was too nervous. It was just as grim as I'd always imagined. It was practically a shack that led onto a small harbour with one single dingy boat.

A single wizard sat at the admissions desk. He was slumped down in his chair looking miserable as he read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. A faint patronus of a snake flickered above his head.

I'd read about dementors in the Ruby series, but it was obvious this was where their effects began. Already I felt sad, like any happiness to meet my father had been sucked out me like a vacuum.

"Hello," Mum smiled to the wizard, who finally looked up from his book. She'd cast her own patronus, which was a lynx cat. "We're here to visit Sirius Black."

The wizard practically sprang up, dropping his book on the floor. "Well, well, well—whole family day out is it?"

Mum pulled Sasha and I closer to her. "Not that it's any of your business, but yes these are his daughters."

The wizard got up and beckoned us to follow him the harbour. "That's not fair—I can't keep a woman, but a mass-murderer gets an attractive wife and kids? Geez."

Sasha began to storm towards the man, her wand coming out of her pocket. Mum grasped her by the arm. "Stop it, Sasha. He's being affected by the dementors."

She wasn't wrong. As we climbed into the boat and set off towards the murky figure of Azkaban, all the moods in the boat dropped. All I could think about was how my father would probably hate me for being different, hate me for being such a bother...

"We're here," the wizard grunted after about half an hour bouncing in the choppy North Sea. "You get one hour of visitation. My college will take you to the cells."

Climbing out of the boat, we got our first glimpse of Azkaban fortress. Sasha gasped, and reached for my hand.

I'd seen pictures of Azkaban, but it looked more horrifying than I'd imagined. The building was cracked black brick that stretched into the endless abyss of overcast clouds. Bars covered the building by every few inches, and as we walked closer I saw the scrabble of hands grasping for freedoms.

Over the whipping of ocean spray, you could hear high-pitched screams of prisoners, begging to be freed. What was more unsettling was the outline of black hoods of dementors that surrounded every barred cell.

"I don't like it," Sasha whispered, her voice hoarse. "Maybe Remus was right... this is a bit, much." She lightly touched her forearms and I was reminded again of the red lines.

Maybe mum was as well, because she clenched her jaw tight and blinked away tears. "We're here already. We can't turn back now. Come on."

She took each of us by hand and we walked sombrely into the entrance hall. One woman stood there with her jaguar patronus, and she gave us a grim nod as we approached.

"Cara Black?" she asked, and my mother nodded. "This way. Keep up the pace—it's a long walk to the highest security wing."

If looking at Azkaban was bad, being inside it was worse. We advanced up narrow weather worn stairs, getting glimpses at the prisoners at each floor. The number of dementors increased due to the dangerous nature of the prisoners, and so did the screams and wails.

After what seemed like forever, we reached the top of the stairs. "Mr Black is in the cell at the end," the woman nodded curtly. "You have an hour of visitation. If anything happens, I'll be waiting here with my wand ready."