If you haven't already read The World as We Knew It, I'd recommend reading it before you read this.

Sirius and Harry followed the man down numerous corridors and up a labyrinth of staircases. "Act like you're getting weaker," Sirius hissed in Harry's ear. It was part of the plan.

Harry nodded slightly to show he'd heard. It wasn't hard to pretend. The corridors were guarded by Dementors at every turn, and every time they passed one, Harry felt his knees weakening as the screaming filled his head. Finally, his knees buckled on the twentieth staircase, and Sirius had to grab his arm to keep him from falling.

McNair looked back. "What's the matter with your cousin?" he said sharply.

"He's never been around a Dementor before," Sirius said quickly. "He's having a bad reaction, that's all. He'll be fine."

McNair grunted and continued on up the stairs. Sirius supported Harry, who was still finding it hard to walk. He tried to memorise each turn they took, but it was hard as his eyes kept trying to roll back into his head. The screaming was relentless. Block it out, he told himself. Think of Ron and Hermione. Think about Leila, and Mum and Dad. Anything happy.

Now they were passing cells with prisoners in them. Harry couldn't really see into the cells, as each cell was closed in by a huge steel door with one tiny barred window near the top. The stench of urine and feces was overpowering; Harry choked, and even Sirius seemed to be trying not to breathe.

"Here we are," the Death Eater grunted, stopping by one of the cell doors. He pulled from his pocket a large ring of severe-looking keys and fitted one into the massive bolt lock. With a couple jerks, the lock turned, and the cell door swung open.

Harry got one glance of a barren, dirty cell and a flash of red before something came smashing down on his cheek. He stumbled back, reeling and blinking away the bright lights that had suddenly obscured his vision. Sirius steadied him.

"Ginny? Bloody hell, what was that for?" Harry exclaimed, fingering the spot where she'd hit his face.

"For leaving me in here for two sodding months, you bastard! Why didn't you come sooner? What's happened? Why am I here?" Ginny exclaimed, her face furious. "Holy mother of Merlin…" She trailed off when she was who Harry had brought with him. "Is that… Sirius?"

Harry's mind was spinning. This was all happening too fast… She was acting like she knew him. And her reaction to Sirius was genuine… It couldn't be…but what if it was true? What if she was the third person in the Aperio?

There was only one way to find out.

"Ginny, in my fifth year, we formed a secret Defence club. You came up with the name. What did we call our group?"

"Dumbledore's Army or the D.A.," she said, her brow crinkling. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

It was her. It was really Ginny! Harry wanted to hug her. She was pale and thin, but alive, and her eyes were still bright—unlike his godfather's eyes after his long imprisonment.

But then again, she'd only been here for two months.

"Harry, what on earth is going on?"

Ginny's question jerked him back to the present. Harry looked helplessly at his godfather, but Sirius was shaking his head bewilderedly.

"I don't have time to explain," he told her. "We've come to get you out, but you have to do what we say. As soon as you get out of here, contact Remus Lupin. He'll tell you what's happening."

"Remus? What's going on?" Sirius asked, looking more confused than ever. "You told Remus about our plan to break Ginny out of Azkaban? But…"

"No, I didn't tell Remus about this," Harry said. "I'm talking about something completely different, something I didn't tell you before…"

He felt torn—torn between the panicky feeling that time was ticking, and the deep desire to explain everything to both of them right here and now

Sirius seemed to suddenly realize where they were. "Harry, the potion…"

"Oh, right. Drink this, Gin."

"What is it?" she said, frowning at the vial he'd handed her.

"Polyjuice," Harry told her. He yanked out a few hairs and handed them to her. "Uh, you might want to put a robe on before you drink it, though."

"But if I'm becoming you, then why…" she trailed off, and her eyes widened. "Oh."

"Just hurry…we've only got ten minutes."

"Actually, it's more like five now," Sirius said, looking annoyed.

"Where's the robe?"

Harry handed it to her, and she slipped it over her head, then shoved the hair into the bottle. The potion sizzled and turned bright red.

"Here goes nothing." She tipped the vial up and emptied the potion. "You taste good, Harry," she commented, then gasped as the potion began to go into effect. A second later, the transformation was complete, and Harry was staring back at himself.

"I can't see anything. Why can't I see?" Ginny said, looking annoyed.

"Here," Harry said, handing her his glasses. "I won't need them."

"You've got horrible eyesight," Ginny told him. "So, do I look like you?"

"I can't tell," Harry said irritably. "You just took my glasses."

"Listen, you two, I don't know what's going on here, but if we want to pull this off, we need to get a move on," Sirius said, shifting back and forth uneasily.

"Right," Harry said. He handed another vial to Ginny, who yanked out a few of her hairs and plunged them into the bottle. The liquid simmered before turning a light shade of orange. It smelled like lavender.

Harry gulped it down, and immediately he could feel himself shrinking. "Wow," Ginny said, surveying him once the transformation was complete. "Did I really look that bad?"

"Worse," Sirius said. "Here, Harry, put this on over your clothes."

Harry slid the tattered black prison-robe over his head.

"Now, no peeking, Harry," Ginny was saying, scowling at him. "I still have a little modesty left."

"Hey," he protested. "You're in my body! I should be telling you the same thing. Tit for tat."

"But my Polyjuice will run out in an hour, and it looks as if you've got enough for a month," she said, surveying the box of vials Sirius had pulled out from under his robes. "Hang on… You're going to be here for a month?"

"Not quite," Harry told her. "This Polyjuice'll last for three days at the most."

"But…but... We're leaving you here?"

"That was kind of the point," Harry said wryly. "You can leave disguised as me, and I'll stay here disguised as you. I'm going to need some more of your hair, by the way."

"But how are you going to get out?"

Harry grinned. "I forgot to tell you, didn't I? I'm an Animagus. Sirius taught me."

Ginny's eyes widened, and then rested on Harry's godfather. "Sirius taught you? But…I mean… Harry, what is happening? I thought…I mean…"

"He was dead, I know," Harry said tiredly.

"What?" Sirius said, taking a step back. "Harry, what is going on?"

"We don't have time… But I promise, Professor Lup... I mean Remus… Just talk to him. He'll tell you both everything. I swear. And I'll be out in a couple of days, and then we'll have time to sort all this out. Sirius, the other potion?"

Sirius seemed to be struggling with something for a moment, but then he nodded and handed Harry the Instant-Grubbiness potion. "Pour this over your head."

Harry did and shivered as he felt layers of dirt accumulating on his skin and in his hair. It's only for a day. Ginny survived this for months. I can do this for a couple days.

Sirius reclaimed the bottle, and packed the other empty vials and extra supplies. "You two should probably switch shoes," he observed.

"Oh, right," Ginny said. "I was wondering why they were so tight."

"I can't believe your shoes didn't split," Harry said, kicking off his own shoes.

"I have big feet," Ginny said, sighing. "It's my burden to bear."

Harry laughed. "Even if your shoes had split, I'm sure you won't want to keep them after this."

"Oh, no, they're a souvenir," Ginny said, grinning. She tossed the shoes to Harry, who did the same with his trainers. " Don't loose them."

"Fine, fine," Harry huffed, slipping the leather oxfords on his feet. "Where'd you get them, anyway? They don't look like standard Azkaban attire."

"Someone's been sending packages," Ginny said. "There was no note. Usually the packages contain food, but the last one had the shoes and that blanket over there."

They fell silent, and Harry suddenly heard footsteps echoing in the corridor outside.

"Quick," Sirius hissed.

Harry sat down in the corner as Sirius and Ginny took their positions by the door.

"Thank you, Harry," Ginny said quietly. "You do realize I owe you one after this, right? This is the second time you've saved my hide."

Harry managed a quick grin before the cell door opened and he had to rearrange his features into the "listless" look.

"Time's up," the guard snapped, and with one last look, Sirius and Ginny left the cell.

The metal door slammed shut, and with a sinking feeling, Harry realized that he was locked in Azkaban.