I wrote this for April 2016's Monthly One Shot Exchange over on the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges Forum. This one's dedicated to WolfWinks. Hope you enjoy it!

Sirius never expected that he'd die like this.

Of all things, falling through the Veil of Death at the Ministry?

Bellatrix didn't even have the decency to let her final blow against him be a proper Killing Curse.

He huffed indignantly at the thought, before turning his mind to other matters.

Such as where he was now.

He was dead. He felt ninety-nine percent sure of that.

(The other one percent was a sliver of hope that he was just in a coma or something similar.)

"Brother," a male voice, one that he hadn't heard in years spoke suddenly. "It's been a while. Still, I didn't expect to see you up here so soon..."

"Where is here anyway?" Sirius found himself asking before it registered in his mind precisely whose voice he was hearing.

"Regulus?!" he asked incredulously, nearly falling over in his shock. "That does it. If I weren't convinced before, I'm certainly convinced now that I am dead..."

The voice chuckled, before a young, dark-haired man stepping out of seemingly nowhere to speak, revealing that the voice belonged to him.

"Sirius. I was supposed to be the klutz growing up, not you." Regulus grinned at him as he offered a hand to help him steady himself. "Granted, I grew out of it quickly enough, but still..."

"Oh yes. The outrage you caused in Mum and Father when you damaged certain 'priceless antiques'! I think it was the only time that they were ever mad at you..." Sirius scowled, his mood darkening.

"Come on now, brother. Don't be like that. Now that you're dead, it's time to let go and let the past remain in the past..." Regulus said.

"Did the Fates let go of your past?" Sirius spat. "I knew what you were, you know. The things you must have done to become that... Did you come here to escort me to Hell, perhaps?"

Regulus shook his head as if in pity. "Brother, there are things you do not understand. I don't think you will understand them. Not for a while yet. But we have eternity in the afterlife. We might not be the same as we were as young children, but I hope..."

Sirius looked at him sceptically.

Regulus sighed. "Walk with me..."

Reluctantly, Sirius did so.

After all, what choice did he have?

"I was sent to meet you here and escort you to... a Heaven of sorts if you believe in that sort of thing. Apparently, my final act and the things that led up to it earned me my passage here. And... when I was alerted that you were on your way up here, I volunteered to escort you inside myself. I'll tell you, it was quite the fight between James and myself, but in the end..." Regulus let a smirk grace his features. "I won."

"Wait... James is here?" Sirius perked up.

"Indeed," Regulus grinned. "Where did you expect that he would be? Lily, James' parents, the McKinnons and the Bones are all here as well, among others..."

They approached what looked like a giant, glowing white circle.

"I... well, if you ended up here, you mustn't have been all bad..." Sirius relented. "Is this it?" he gestured to the glowing white circle.

"It is," Regulus nodded. "It's a portal. A doorway to the other side. Are you ready to go?"

Sirius nodded, seemingly in awe of the portal.

"Come, then. We have much to talk about and an eternity to do it in..." Regulus put his hand on his brother's shoulder and together, they stepped through the portal.

Just before it closed, a male voice came through, saying: "It took you long enough to bring him here, Regulus!"