Chapter 1

Hermione lay the couch snuggled close to Harry, halfway to falling asleep, as some muggle show on paranormal encounters played on the tele. She and Harry both knew there would be no genuine paranormal phenomena because the magical community carefully diverted the types of people who filmed these from any true ghostly activities. Though really most ghosts would have deigned to appear for this gaggle of "investigators" currently tramping around the displayed home. Surely even the muggle viewers could tell the shaking chandelier was doing so because other members of the crew were jumping in the room above.

"I really don't understand why you like these shows Harry," Hermione commented sleepily as she let her eyes drift shut.

"Because they are hilarious Mione. The jump at noises, and make a big deal over flickering lights caused by faulty wiring, and of its real. There are unknowable things, and unimaginable horrors in the world and this is just silly," Harry replied his arm squeezing around her tightly when he mentioned unimaginable horrors.

Hermione did not reply she only pressed herself even closer to him, letting him know silently that she was still there and they were safe. Just then, the front door slammed loudly, and footsteps rapidly approached them in the living room. They both jumped slightly at the noise instincts still honed from years of constant vigilance and danger, but neither turned to see who had just entered number twelve Grimmauld Place.

"You know, I don't know why you two don't just date or bloody hell just skip that stage altogether and just get married. You already live together, you do everything together anyway, you love each other, you are always draped all over each other when I come by, and unlike me you two are not getting any younger," Sirius informed them as he dropped into one of arm chairs next to the couch.

"You are not getting younger any more, at least not according to your last test results," Hermione pointed out.

"Besides you don't really want us to be involved Sirius, you'd have to start knocking," Harry quipped back.

"I don't see why. I've never been one to be overly modest myself and I don't see that either you have anything much to be modest about," Sirius replied casually.

"I can't decide if that's a compliment or an insult," his godson said speculatively, "But if you truly don't mind, your blessing is all Mione and I have been waiting for and since we have that we'll just get too it then."

Harry pulled Hermione into his lap and rested his forehead against hers. From the angle at which Sirius was sitting, he could see Hermione's gaze drop to Harry's lip as her tongue darted out to moisten her own. A lump caught in Sirius's throat as he thought that just for a minute they really were going to kiss, that he set in motion something he really had not intended to. Then Hermione turned her head and planted a kiss on Harry's cheek instead, and laughed as she caught sight of Sirius's expression.

"Disappointed," Hermione teased likely, "or perhaps you'd like to be invited to join us?"

Hermione rose, draped herself over Sirius lap, and fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"Oh Sirius, darling handsome wonderful Sirius, please consent to join Harry and myself in my bed to make the most passionate and ardent love of our lives. If you don't I shall simply perish of longing."

Hermione went dramatically limp to emphasize her point and then all three of them burst into laughter. It took Hermione a moment to regain enough control of herself that she could off of Sirius. Then she gave the older man a quick hug.

"I'm so glad they were wrong about what the veil was. I'm so glad you have returned to us," she said quietly not quite loud enough for Harry to hear. But somehow he just seemed to know what Hermione was saying and smiled warmly at his godfather telling him without words the same thing.

About six months earlier a young girl and Sirius holding a baby had been flung forcefully from the veil. The girl landed with a heavy thump against the wall and was dazed for a moment but otherwise unharmed. Sirius twisted quickly landing so he was curled protectively around the infant. His elbow hit the cold stone floor of the department of mysteries floor shattering, nothing a little a good healing charm and maybe some skelegrow wouldn't fix, and successfully protecting the babe. The girl regained her senses and quickly rushed to Sirius yelling for help and a group of shocked unspeakables quickly rushed to aid them. They quickly rushed all three to 's hardly noticing the torn veil and cracked arch now lying broken on the floor and no longer standing.

In the hospital they began to understand for the first time what the veil truly did. Sirius was younger than he had been when he had gone into the veil. Six years younger, the same amount of time that had past since he had first fallen through it. The young girl had gone through as a woman in her forties some thirty years ago, and the babe was one of two old men who had accidentally been pushed in when the veil was briefly open to public viewing who had be jostled by the crowd into it. For a brief while the three continued to grow younger Sirius's elbow mending by itself. The healers were concerned the baby would deage right out of existence but he did not. All three stabilized at the ages of twenty-nine, eleven, and six months respectively.

The unspeakables determined that what they had previously thought to be a portal between this life and the next was actually an early form of time travel magic, based on principles not dissimilar to that which made time turners function. However, constructed as I permanent portal it needed a source of magic so it drew on the magic expressed over years life, which translated as witches and wizards deaged as the portal fed on years of their magical life. Anyone who went into the portal from a point farther in the future the years they had already lived, became younger and younger until they ceased to exist. Sirius, Dorothea, and Albert had been lucky to be within the time to survive.

After his return, which was handled quietly thanks to Kingsley Shacklebolt, Harry tries to return Grimmauld place to him but Sirius refused opting instead to take up residence in one of the other Black estates now returned to him. Sirius came to visit often, almost daily sometimes, and after the first few times of knocking. Harry and Hermione both told him to stop being ridiculous and just walk in, which he did now with regularity.

There moment of happiness was shattered by a white faced blonde haired man apparating into the living room. Draco Malfoy collapsed against the wall, leaning on it heavily for support.

He looked as if he had seen a ghost, "Potter, Granger they're gone they're all gone. You have to come now," he gasped out.

"Malfoy, make sense," Hermione commanded, "Who is gone?"

Harry crossed over to Draco and put a steadying hand on his shoulder, "Draco breathe, then tell us what's going on."

Draco shook his head, "No time," he panted. Draco's hand shot out and grabbed Hermione's wrist. She instinctively reached back and grabbed Sirius's hand as Draco sidelong aparrated the four of them to a scene of devastation. Hermione stared in shock and horror at what had been the holding area for her department, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, was burning.