He could hear voices. Whispering, at first, then growing louder, more urgent, all around him. He groaned, trying to block them out, not wanting his blissful slumber interrupted. Now someone was shaking him, calling out his name, in a familiar tone. He knew that voice. He knew it all too well.

Sirius Black opened his eyes. A dozen faces stared down at him, smiles breaking out across their previously worried faces. He rubbed his eyes in confusion, not fully comprehending what was going on.

"You're not--" he couldn't finish his sentence, unable to tear his eyes away from a smiling woman with flowing red hair and strikingly familiar green eyes. "Wh-what's going on?"

"Oh, Sirius!" she exclaimed, hurriedly pulling him to his face. "I thought you were crossing onto--Well, nevermind, it's really you!"

She was acting like a little girl, her eyes bright, her expression deleriously happy. Sirius gazed blearily at the others. Benjy Fenwick, Dorcas Meadowes, Marlene McKinnon, Gideon and Fabian Prewett. All looked happy, excited and... alive. But that wasn't possible. It had been over fifteen years since he'd last seen any of them, over fifteen years since they'd each died a heroic death. Sirius didn't understand. Blinking in confusion, he struggled to his feet as the group backed away to give him room.

"Well, Padfoot, it's been a long time," a voice said. Sirius turned his head and found him face to face with Harry Potter. Only--He was a good ten years older than he had been only minutes before. And, oddly, his eyes were a deep brown, opposed to their normal emerald.

"Harry?" Sirius asked skeptically. The man looked at him, an odd expression coming over his face. He made a choking sound and fell to the floor, his head in his hands.

"Oh, James!" the red-haired woman exclaimed, joining him on the ground, her arms wrapped tightly around him. "James, not now, please not now."

"James?" Sirius whispered increduously. "No. It's impossible..."

The man on the ground didn't respond. His face was still buried in his hands and he had started to gently rock back and forth. The woman's bright eyes were now filling with tears as she held onto him, looking as though she were lost. Neither of them looked at Sirius.

"Sirius," Gideon Prewett said, breaking the silence. "I think you'd better come with me."

In a daze, Sirius followed this man he had once known so well. This man whose body had been found, inches away from his brother's after Voldemort had stormed their home. He'd held their younger sister in his arms as she'd sobbed, racked with guilt, having run when Voldemort had arrived. Sirius knew that these two had died. So why was one of them walking just in front of him?

"Gideon," Sirius said hesitantly as the man leaned against a wall. "Are-are you real?"

The man laughed, the sound all too familiar to Sirius who felt an unexpected sadness wash over him.

"Yes, Sirius, I'm real," Gideon replied. "As real as I possibly can be. As real as you are."

"Then what is going on?" Sirius asked, feeling young and small. "I don't understand."

"You fell through," Gideon said simply. "It doesn't happen to many, but every so often we get one. Imagine our surprise when we realized it was Sirius Black!"

"I fell through." Sirius repeated. "That doesn't explain what you're doing... Alive."

"I'm not alive, Sirius," Gideo replied heavily. "But I'm not dead either. None of us are quite sure what we are, so suppose we could be alive. Or dead. Though neither of those seem probable. Rather, we merely exist, here together."

"Where exactly is here?" Sirius asked, looking around.

"Can't tell you that either," Gideon said, closing his eyes. "No one really knows, though we have discovered that it lied behind a veil in the Department of Mysteries. You, of course, already knew that."

"You fell through the veil, too, then?" Sirius asked, wishing his old friend would open his eyes.

"Oh no, I didn't fall through," Gideon said. "Surely you know how I went. Surely you heard!"

"Well, yes," Sirius said. "But then how did you get here?"

"'Tis a good question," Gideon said cryptically. "We figure there's a reason, though we aren't sure as to what it is. Few wizards end up here, and those that do have no idea why they have. Perhaps that's why the veil is in the Department of Mysteries."

He chuckled and opened his eyes. Sirius merely stared, unable to speak.

"You mentioned Harry," Gideon said. "I can only assume you were referring to Lily and James' son."

Sirius nodded.

"You saw the reaction this received," Gideon continued. "Harry is a sensitive subject for James, even after all this time. He feels this, all this, is somehow all his fault. He finds ways to blame himself for the fact that Harry is constantly in danger. He was never there for him as a father. This wasn't his choice, but James tends to ignore that fact. He believes that Harry must also blame him, in his own way. James never takes into consideration that he did all he could for the boy. He gave his life for him. But he doesn't see it that way. He'd give anything to have his son back, to go back to his son. To have his family complete."

"But he can have him!" Sirius exclaimed. "Harry's in the Department! Right this moment. All James has to do is go through the veil. Why hasn't he done it before now? Harry's out there!"

"I'm afraid it's not that easy, Sirius," Gideon said heavily. "I mentioned that we're all waiting. We're waiting for Voldemort to meet his demise. To die, truly die this time. Because when he does, that's when we can all return."

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This is my first story, so if anyone has any feedback, positive or negative, i'd love to hear it! Let me know what you think