Hermione reset the wards on Draco's office, and headed down the hall, muttering to herself. That name the spell produced sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. As she walked past the room containing the Veil, she paused, like she always did, and thought of Sirius.

Her memory of the day was a little foggy, thanks to that bastard Dolohov, but she could vividly remember the sound of singing that filled her ears as she watched Sirius fall through the arch. She could see Harry, feel the agony in his cry, but her ears had been filled with an almost other-worldly song. She never mentioned it to anyone, as there were obviously more pressing matters to discuss, but that song always returned to her ears when she passed the Veil.

Today she felt an irrepressible urge to open the door. To everyone's surprise after the incident in 5th year, the Veil room was never put under restricted entrance. It still remained freely accessible to anyone with access to the lower level of the Department of Mysteries. She glanced around, and seeing no one, pushed the door open. The Veil stood in the center of the room, just as she remembered. To the right of the Veil was a small pool of water surrounded by large stones that she didn't remember from her last visit to this room, although her memory couldn't really be trusted.

The singing grew louder, and it seemed to be coming from the pool of water. Hermione walked nearer to the still water, peering inside for a clue to the mysterious sound. She kneeled at the edge of the water, being careful to not touch it. She sat there, eyes closed, lost in the song, for what felt like hours. The song was so mournful, so beautiful, Hermione couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

As the tears fell from her face and dropped into the still water, the song stopped. Hermione came out of her trance and opened her eyes. Gasping, she fell backwards, gaping at a beautiful woman who appeared from nowhere, in the middle of the pool. She had lustrous brown hair, that fell in front of her shoulders and came down to rest on her stomach. She was beautiful, so beautiful Hermione knew she had to be fey. No mortal creature could look like that.

'Who are you?' Hermione whispered, unable to tear her eyes away.

'Melusina, daughter of King Elinas and Pressyne of Avalon,' she replied, causing Hermione's eyes to widen further. 'But you may call me Aunt.

'Wait, what?' Hermione stammered, her brain seeming to short circuit with the news. 'But I'm a muggleborn,' she said, her mind quickly cataloguing everything she knew about the legend of Melsina. One of triplets, born to a muggle king and fey mother, half woman half...fish? Something happened to her father, but she couldn't grasp the information now.

'Your heritage is not as simple as that. Those around you only see what they know. You are descended of my younger sister, Melior. When we returned from refuge with our mother in Avalon, she was disgusted by my plans for our father. She didn't have a heart of vengeance. She turned her back on us, left us to our revenge. She followed our mother's path, finding love and leaving us behind. Our mother was devastated at the loss of her youngest. She sent me here, to wait for her to one day return to us.'

'But why here? In the basement of the Ministry? Why would she travel here if she decided to come home?'

Melusina smiled and gestured for Hermione to have a seat on one of the stones. she did, cautiously. 'We are not of this world, Hermione. When we are tired of traveling this place, there is only one way for us to return to Avalon now that the worlds are so strongly divided. My sister will one day come to this place, ready to come home. I will be here with open arms on that day.'

'Wait, is that what the Veil is for? A link between our realm and the fey? They've been studying it for years and the best they got was: People passing it through do not appear to come back.'

'Not entirely. It is a doorway to all the realms. Only someone of Avalon can use the portal to return. Anyone else would simply find their own destination.'

'What do you mean, find their own destination? Doesn't passing through it lead to death?'

'If that is the desired outcome of the one passing through, then certainly. However, there are many other options.'

Hermione's eyes lit up as she stood up, rushing to the faintly blowing curtain. She stopped short, hearing once again that haunting song. She closed her eyes, listening to the melody. Her eyes snapped open as a hand pulled her backwards. Melusina peered down at Hermione, her eyes questioning.

'What are your intentions, niece? I am not sure what brought you into this so called Death Room, but I admit to not being ready to say goodbye to you yet. You do not posess enough fey to travel to Avalon, and I cannot follow you to any of the other realms.'

'You don't hear that?'

'Hear what, child?'

At that Hermione snorted. At 30, it had been years since she had been referred to that way. 'The song that led me to you. I can hear it coming from beyond the Veil. It's calling out to me. It's almost irresitable.' She paused, tilting her head, listening. 'It's not exactly the same song. The song that led me to you was heartbreaking. I think it was your feelings for your sister? I could feel your sadness, your regret. This song is one of grief, pain, but somehow also love? A longing, almost? If you hadn't stopped me, I would've walked right through the Veil to find where it was coming from. I've only heard it once before.'

'You've heard it before? When?'

'The day Sirius died,' Hermione whispered, tears returning to her eyes. 'He fell through the Veil after being cursed by his cousin.'

'You heard the song that day?' Melusina questioned again, eyes soft.

'I did, it was overwhelming. I could see the fighting happening around me, I could feel Harry's anguish, but all I could hear was that song. I had been in and out of consciousness up until that point, I had been cursed, but I know that song.'

'Call him.'

'What? Are you mad? He went through the Veil. End of story. There is no coming back.'

'Do you still hear him calling you? I told you that death is not the only destination for those who travel through. If you can still hear his soul calling you, he is still there. Call him back.'

'His soul? Why is Sirius' soul calling out for me?'

'Our house is blessed with an affinity for water. Just as water is the requirement for life, we are called to a higher purpose than those around us. It can be devastating to our souls, the tasks we are called to do. Knowing this, those who gave us our gifts also blessed us with soul songs. Most commonly you will hear a soul song when someone of our line pases away. Wecan call out for each other this way, but for a select few, so can their true halves. Those of us who are burdened with greater tasks than those around us are given this ability. I have observed it to be a gift to allow you the strength to fulfill the task set to you, as in the case of my descendant Elizabeth Woodville and her mortal king, or as the reward for fulfilling your destiny, which I believe may be true for you. If he is singing your soul song, he is waiting for you. Why are you hesitant?'

'He is…older than I am. How could my true half be old enough to be my father? Wouldn't I have noticed something while he was alive?'

'If he is as old as you say, certainly not. He would've had a strong desire to help you achieve your destiny, but you wouldn't have felt an attraction to him, nor he to you. How old was he when he passed through the Veil?'

'Barely older than I am now, I believe. 31 or 32. Harry would know.'

Melsuina smiled again and said simply, 'Call him. Seize your destiny, niece.' With that, Melusina sank back down into the pool, leaving Hermione alone once again.

Feeling foolish, she leaned toward the Veil. 'Call him, she says. No instructions. Just go on, seize your destiny, niece.' She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

'What am I supposed to do now? Sirius?' Hermione called. 'Are you there? Um, Sirius? Here, Sirius.' Suddenly Hermione broke out into giggles, imagining Padfoot sitting at attention on the other side. 'Come on Sirius, here boy! That's right, I've got a nice tasty treat for you! Come on Padfoot, come on Sirius!'

Sadness broke over Hermione as the futility of this exercise washed over her. For a minute she believed Melusina. She was tired of being alone. It had been nice to think that the reason for her loneliness was because her other half was trapped in the beyond. She closed her eyes, working at getting her emotions under control.

'Sirius? Please. I need you.' She whispered, a tear falling down her cheek once more. Suddenly, the cavernous room filled with song. A melody of joy, redemption, completion. She felt a hand on her chin, tilting her head up. She opened her eyes to see Sirius, looking just as she remembered, gazing at her like a blind man first seeing the sun. He wiped the tears from her face, stumbling into her as he did so. His weight knocked her off balance and they sat down, hard, on the stone floor. She couldn't believe her eyes.

'Sirius?' She whispered, reaching her hands out to trace his face. He looked shocked.

'Her-Hermione? What happened? Where is Harry? Where have I been? All I remember is a lightness and a song. And a woman, I think she was fey. She told me to stay strong, that my efforts were going to be rewarded, that she was so pleased with her daughter.'

'My great grandmother, most likely, many times over. I am descended from Pressyne, a princess of Avalon. We thought you had died because you passed through the Veil. But Melusina explained to me that there are many paths on the other side of the Veil, and death only greets those who pass through searching for it. She said that you are my soul half, some sort of blessing from those who gave us our gifts, as a reward for fulfilling my destiny.' She hadn't removed her hands from his face and now moved them into his hair.

He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. 'I know that I shouldn't feel this way, but I can't explain it. When I last saw you, you were a child. There were glimpses of the woman you would become, but I never saw you as anything but that. Now, however…' he trailed off, gazing into her eyes.

'Now, what?' Hermione asked, breathless. 'Now I find I have an overwhelming desire to kiss you. To worship you.' He replied. 'You feel like home, like the part of me that has been missing since that Halloween, since Azkaban, has found me again.'

'You've make my brain quiet,' Hermione breathed, a grin breaking out on her face. 'All day long it's been running, racing, processing information. When I look at you, my head has peace. As you can see, I am no longer a child. I want you to kiss me. Please, Sirius.'

At that, he pulled her to him and kissed her, hard. There was no gentle searching, no delicate caresses. She gasped, giving his tongue the entry it demanded, and time seemed to stop. Song filled the chamber once again, a song of undeniable joy. They continued snogging, Hermione crawling into his lap and the song faded out. As the last notes drifted away, Hermione and Sirius broke apart, panting, unable to keep the looks of wonder off their faces.

'What just happened?' Hermione asked, eyes wide.

'I don't know, Pet. Want to see if we can do it again?'