Harry held out his wand and flicked it without a word, a small spray of water came out. When the water hit the wall, the stone rumbled a little quietly and slowly the big blocks shifted to the side creating a man size opening. Harry ignored Draco's exclamation of surprise and exited the passage.
Looking around, Harry was satisfied to see them in the same spot he remembered. Outside of the walls and Hogwart's main gates. He looked toward the main gates and saw the outline of the Beauxbaton's carriage in the night air, and the Durmstrang ship as it sat in the Black Lake.
Harry pulled Draco away, moving toward the Forbidden Forest and along the outline of the trees. Draco didn't protest, and Harry said nothing until several minutes later when he felt them pass through Hogwarts' wards. Once through, Harry pulled Draco into the edge of the forest, and canceled first his own, and then Draco's disillusion spells.
"How did you know about that? How did you get the exit to open?" Draco half asked, half demanded. He had been surprised by the secret passage, even more so by the exit, so near the main gate of Hogwarts. Harry chuckled mirthlessly. "I learned this place inside and out during my time here. You'd be amazed the things I know about Hogwarts. As for the exit, you have to cast a water spell on that specific stone for it to open up. Regular water won't do it, and if you cast the water on the wrong stone, it locks up for hours."
Draco was about to comment on the bitterness in Harry's tone, but Harry shook his head, which cut off any more discussion along those lines. "Are you ready to tandem apparate? I ought to be able to get us damn near the coast.
Draco nodded, "Whenever you're ready."
Harry nodded, and without saying anything else, he disappeared with a soft "crack," followed so closely by a second "crack" that it was impossible to tell there were two sounds. Harry and Draco arrived near simultaneously with soft cracks. They found themselves on a rocky coast looking out at the North Sea. Harry looked around cautiously, for any sign that they were heard. When the area remained clear, Harry looked down the coast, in the distance he could see a small house with a boat.
Harry was well aware that there were likely two Aurors on duty in the guardhouse. They were there to guard the ferry to and from Azkaban. The only way to get to the island by sea was to take the ferry, which had been enchanted to make it through the wards. The wards also destroyed any broomstick attempting to approach the island. The ministry on his world had been particularly proud of that little ward.
Harry looked over at Draco, "Okay, unless someone comes out here, don't go anywhere and don't cast any magic. When I come back, be ready to apparate. I will probably have Regulus with me, but until I talk to him, I won't be sure." Harry pointed down the shore, "Aurors, so don't go doing anything stupid."
Draco looked where Harry had pointed and nodded and then whispered quietly, "How are you going to find Regulus in all of the prison? It's not like they give out maps."
Harry chuckled a little bit, "I'm very familiar with the layout of Azkaban… at least the Azkaban of our world."
Draco frowned in confusion, "How's that?"
Harry shrugged as he looked out at the sea, it was relatively calm at the moment but the waves were starting to rise, and he could see the initial signs of an oncoming storm. "I spent a few months there." Draco blinked in surprise and then frowned, "When?"
"I came out on the worse end of a confrontation and needed someplace to hide from Voldemort, and figured that was one place he'd never think to look for me. I had nothing better to do, so I explored that place from top to bottom, and there was no one in it but me." Harry shook his head slightly, freeing himself from the thoughts.
Draco just stared at Harry for several moments before he also seemed to shake himself out of his surprise. "How are you going to get to the island?"
Harry rolled his eyes a moment, briefly irritated with Malfoy. He almost gave into temptation and told him to go back. However he had long ago learned that it was better to have at least some some of backup. The fact that Draco Malfoy barely qualified in Harry's opinion, was something he was trying not to dwell on.
Harry stepped back and then closed his eyes in concentration. This was option number one. His next option was to flame directly to the island, but he worried that might draw more attention than he wanted. For a minute nothing happened. And Harry was just about to give up when he felt it.
Slowly his body started to shrink, his features began to shift. Harry hid a grimace, he could feel his body resisting the change. It was like pushing his entire body against a tide. It was like his body had no clue what to do while his mind did. Harry realized that that might be more true than he cared to admit.
However, for some reason it always took him time to shift into his phoenix form, not that he had a lot of practice. This transformation hurt. His body shifting and compacting into the form was similar to the sensation of scraping his body along a gravel road, and he had no idea why. Harry was nothing if not stubborn though, and nearly three minutes after he began, he finished his transformation.
Draco couldn't help a soft gasp of shock. Before him was a large bird, nearly waist high, and completely pitch black. Draco had a hard time discerning the complete form in the night air. When he recognized the bird, he let out a sigh, though he kept his voice down and tried to sound exasperated, the surprise still filtered through. "Why am I not surprised?"
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