Chapter One
"SIRIUS!" Harry's voice echoed across the bare walls of the death chamber, each syllable ricocheted off the stone steps leading up towards the archway. His words, etched with the sound of desperation, fell dead on the still veil, his voice lost in the midst of a thousand whispers. Before Lupin could grab hold of him, Harry eluded his grasp and sprinted towards the velvet curtain, the veil that his Godfather had clung to helplessly in the few short seconds it took for the shadows to consume him. Harry pulled back the curtain in the half expectation that his Godfather would be there, silently chuckling and he would tousle Harry's hair and say "Gotcha." But all that existed beyond the curtain was a doorway to nothing, nothing except the distressed, muffled voices of the damned.
Harry Potter positioned himself dangerously close to the void and gripped with his all his might onto the stone cloister, a frantic cry of grief lingered on his lips. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, and saw the other Members of the Order caught it their own battles, with the exception of Lupin, who was heading straight for him. Bellatrix Lestrange on the other hand, was escaping in the other direction, a smile of accomplishment apparent on her evil face. Harry realised this was when he had to make a choice, a choice that could lead to uncertain death, and he had to make that choice fast. Either he changed his direction and sprinted after the witch, and avenged his Godfather for whatever fate she had sealed for him. Or, he could jump into the whispering emptiness where he would almost certainly meet his untimely end; almost certainly...
Suddenly he heard the quickening footsteps and guessed that Lupin was finally closing in on him, ready to usher Harry away from danger. That's when realised his decision had already been made. "I'm coming Sirius, hold on." He promised while he shivered in fearful anticipation, unsure whether they were to be his last words. Then he screwed up his eyes, tightened his fists and took a leap of faith, quite literally. Then he vanished without a trace. The last thing he heard, among the eerie whispers, was the far away voice of Remus Lupin hopelessly shouting "NO HARRY DON'T!" But the words of plea had arrived too late, and the boy who lived was gone.
Meanwhile, just several metres away, Ronald Weasley had been hit from a spell he had never encountered before and of its caster he was unaware; suddenly he was overwhelmed with the feeling of confusion and felt dazed: unsure where he was and what to do. However, as he heard Lupin shouting his best friend's name his eyes caught Harry's body disappearing into the curtain. "MATE!" he cried and he was shocked out of his predicament; the next thing he knew he was sprinting up towards archway just as Harry had done a few moments earlier. He stopped when he reached the still, mound that was the body of Remus Lupin who, having been distracted with Harry's uncertain fate, had been hit in the back with a rather large stunning charm, knocking him unconscious. "Sorry Professor..." Ron mumbled as he clambered over him, he still addressed him as professor, having often noted that calling teachers by their first names was just unnatural. "I'm coming mate."
He was about to throw himself into the space that Harry had disappeared when he felt a hand on his shoulder, it was Hermione. "Mione, don't say a word. That's our mate in there, that's Harry! Don't you think if it was the other way round he wouldn't hesitate to come after us? You can't stop-" he was cut-off mid-sentence when Hermione covered his mouth with her hand. "Oh, shut up will you, I'm not here to talk to out of it stupid! I'm coming with you!" she retorted, and then feeling bad about her bluntness she gave Ron a sincere smile of bravery. He took her hand and they both, with closed eyes and clammy palms, threw themselves into the void.
