(A/n: I know some of these have been done before, but this SHOULD be different…but, I was half-asleep when I planned this out and have forgotten most of it now. Please bear with me.)

Sirius let out a strangled cry and threw himself at the softly swaying, tattered black veil. But he could not get close. For some reason, the other side of the veil was out of reach to Sirius Black. Slowly the man fell to his knees, knowing he was never going back. Dimly he could hear a voice:

"Sirius! SIRIUS!"

"There's nothing you can do, Harry--"

"Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!"

"It's too late, Harry--"

"We can still reach him--"

"There's nothing you can do, Harry…nothing…He's gone."

Sirius's head spun when he heard the words come from Lupin's mouth. In that split-second, it finalized. The tall man let go of any hope he had thus harbored and closed his eyes.

It's not so bad, he mused. I don't hurt, and I guess I still am someone.

But Sirius's heart went out to Harry, who lost his parents, and now, the closest thing to a father he had. He could still hear Harry's cries, muffled by the curtain. Futilely Sirius reached forward one more time…

"My old friend," a voice said from behind Sirius, hoarse with emotion.

Sirius stopped, afraid to move. Afraid to breath. He thought he had just heard…but no, it can't be.

"Sirius?" The voice ventured. "Are you okay?"

Slowly Sirius turned on his knees, terrified that he would be imagining things. There, standing in front of him, was James Potter, Lily on his arm.

"James," Sirius croaked. James looked just the same: unruly black hair, long nose, mischievous hazel eyes. "Oh, God, James. I'm so sorry. I should have stopped Peter. You never would have--"

"Stop, Sirius," admonished Lily. Sirius was amazed to see tears glinting in her eyes. "You did more for us than we could ever hope for. You did more for Harry--"

Harry's ringing cries had finally died down, but the three friends could still hear people beyond the veil.

"I've missed you, James," Sirius whispered. "And you have no idea…Harry is…he's just like you." With a shaky smile he stood, and he and James embraced like brothers."

Finally Sirius looked around him. He seemed to be in a room of an old mansion; it had sturdy stone walls, a roaring fireplace, and elegant, worn-out furniture. Yet no one else was to be seen. And, it seemed to Sirius, the tattered veil was the only means of entrance or exit.

"It's for those who had wrongful deaths," James answered quietly, before his friend even voiced his question. "I don't even know how big this place is. It seems to keep growing as it fills…"

"You don't know every nook and cranny of this place, Prongs?" Sirius took a stab at lightening the mood. James and Lily laughed.

"We're not doomed to be here, you know," Lily explained with a small smile. "The place for those who had wrongful deaths…as soon as we are avenged, the curtain will open."

Sirius let these words sink in before he let out a small laugh. "Then this won't be so bad!"

Lily shook her head, so wisps of mahogany hair fell into her emerald eyes. "No. The only bad part is watching it fill up, and knowing that you can't help the cause."

Sirius nodded in understanding. He had spent a year in Grimmauld Place, not being able to help the Order. He knew the feeling well.

"Well, Black," James said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "Tell us about Harry."

Sirius smiled as they settled themselves around the fire, and started recounting his tales.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4, Privet Drive

Summer vacation

Harry Potter glumly picked at his bacon as the Dursely family watched him with apprehension. Ever since their encounter at King's Cross, they had been very careful about how they treated Harry. Already, three people had come to call on Harry since that day.

"So…Harry," Vernon began, staring determinedly at his newspaper. "How come you never talk about that….godfather of yours--the criminal?"

Harry jerked so hard the table shook. Dudley gasped and fled the room as fast as he could waddle. Petunia and Vernon watched with horror as Harry's fists clenched and shook involuntarily. Finally he spoke.

"Don't ever talk to me about him," he said through gritted teeth. "Ever!" Immediately Harry looked away, a blush mantling his cheeks. He hadn't meant to let his emotions get out of control, even if it was the Dursely's who he exploded on. The less he thought about the Department of Mysteries, the better. Harry mumbled an excuse and stalked out of the kitchen.

Fitfully the boy ran up the stairs to his room and yanked the door open. To his surprise, two people waited inside. Harry froze, dumbstruck, as Fred and George smiled.

"Hello Harry!" Fred exclaimed.

"Good to see you, mate," George supplied.

"Um…hi," Harry said, wrong footed.

The redheads pulled him into his room. It was much nicer these days, with a special corner for his trunk and broomstick, a corner for some dark-detectors that Moody had given him, and a table set up for communications with the Order. Fred pulled something from the pocket of his coat.

"Have something for you, Harry," he said, voice much more somber. "Direct from you-know-where."

"They wanted it delivered in person," George interjected, "and since we happened to be handy…here we are!

In Fred's hand was a roll of parchment, Harry examined it, interested in the seal. It was and elaborately worked phoenix, with the word 'ORDER' in the middle. Carefully, Harry opened it as Fred and George examined his belongings.

Dear Harry,

I hope everything is going well for you. Please don't allow anyone else to read this. It's time for the Order to take action. Fudge is still running in circles, trying to make excuses for his behavior, but we now have the aurors we need. Unanimously, all of us decided that we didn't want you alone there when everything started. We are coming to get you TONIGHT. Make sure all of your school things are ready and you have everything you need. STAY IN THE HOUSE. DO NOT COME LOOKING FOR US.

See you then,

Lupin