Harry saw the stunning spell leave Bellatrix's wand and strike Sirius in the chest. The man's barking laughter abruptly cut off, and Harry screamed in horror as he saw his beloved god father topple backwards into the ominous veil.

"Sirius, no!" He yelled, and ran towards the deathly arch. He felt a strong pair of arms wrap around him, holding him back. He elbowed the man- Remus- in the nose and ran up the stairs. He heard Bellatrix's cackles and the Order member's worried yells before he flung himself through the veil.

X-X-X-X

It was cold. And very dark. Harry could barely see his hands in front of his face. "Sirius?" He called out, searching the blackness around him for some sign of life. Nothing, just his own heavy breathing, answered back. He was alone, he didn't need to see to be able to know that.

He sighed, and pocketed his wand. He felt the heavy weight of the prophecy in his pocket, and he felt bitterness rise up within him. If he's have known Sirius was okay none of that would've happened. If he'd used the bloody mirror his god father had given him, he'd still be okay. He didn't even know if he was alive anymore, for all he knew he could be dead.

"You're not." A voice answered from behind him. H couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, the voice seemed to be a perfect blend of the two. Harry whipped around, and saw nothing but blackness. "You won't be able to see me, mortals can't." The voice said, and chuckled.

"Wh-who are you? Where's Sirius?" Harry asked, voice faltering.

The voice laughed and boomed, "I am Death! All powerful and all knowing!" Harry swallowed, and clenched his hand, retrieving his wand. "That won't do you any good, you can't fight me." Death said, suddenly serious.

Harry frowned, but kept his hold on his wand. "Where's Sirius? Are you going to kill me?" He asked, swallowing thickly. He didn't want to die, but he supposed it was his fault for jumping into the veil after his god father.

"Sirius Black has passed on to the other side, and no, I'm not going to kill you." The voice said. It didn't sound sad, or even sympathetic towards the fact that Sirius was gone. Harry figured it wouldn't, it was Death after all.

"Why am I still here then?" Harry asked, suddenly angry. He didn't see the point of him being stuck in this place. What was it, limbo? Harry didn't know, he just wanted to leave. "Why can't you just send me back if you're not going to kill me?"
Death chuckled again, but this time it came out menacing. "Have some respect, I could leave you here for an eternity." Harry froze, and furrowed his brows. "I require a soul to take on to the other side. Luckily for you, you appear to have a fragment of another's soul latching pitifully onto your own. It is a horcrux, a silly attempt at cheating me."

Harry shudder at the low tone Death grumbled in. "What's a horcrux?" He asked shakily. "You said it's a soul, who's soul?" He wasn't sure what having another soul latching onto his own implied, but he didn't like the sound of it.

"A wizard can split their soul and bind it to an object, and that shard can stop them from moving on to the Afterlife when they die. A wizard in your world, Tom Riddle, appears to have left a shard in you. A foolish wizard he is, no one can truly escape dying." The voice seethed. "In your situation, I would normally take your soul and lead you into the Afterlife, and our business would be done. However, I can only take one soul from each body, which means I would be left giving your mortal shell to this slight against me. No, I'd much rather take the fragment."

Harry was confused. "What does this mean for me? Can you send me back?"

Death was quiet for a moment. "No, I'm unable to send you back to your own world. It seems fate had not wanted you to follow your beloved Sirius into the veil, and by doing so you have disrupted that world's destiny."

"What? Fate, destiny, what do you mean? Are there other worlds?" Harry asked. His head was throbbing with the information he was receiving. So he couldn't return to the people he loved, Sirius was gone forever, and he had a piece of Voldemort inside of him. That must be why the blasted Dark Lord never seemed to die, Harry realized, he had a horcrux that prevented it. "What are you going to do with me once you take his soul?"

"Fragment. It is only a fragment. The filthy little thing has been leeching off your magic for years. It's a wonder you have any at all." Death muttered. He let out an amused noise. "Hmm. I can not send you into that world, but surely another? Yes, that would do nicely I think." Harry raised a brow and shuddered. That horcrux, that thing, had been stealing his magic. It made him feel sick.

"Well, if you took it, would I be alright? My magic, I mean?" Harry asked.

"Yes, your stolen magic would possibly be returned. But that's all hypothetical, human horcruxes have never existed before. Your case is definitely a peculiar one." Death mused. Death suddenly went quiet.

"Alright, I will make a deal with you, Harry Potter. I will send you to a world where your Sirius is still alive, and in return you will round up the shattered soul of Tom Marvolo Riddle. Do you agree?" Death said suddenly, making Harry jump.

Harry shifted. "Well, I don't really have a choice, do I? If it means I can see Sirius again, yeah. I'll do it." He felt Death grow happy around him.

"Good, that's very good. But, I can't send you looking like that, Can I? No, no, that simply won't do." Suddenly Harry's face felt as if it were melting. He dropped to his knees and screamed in agony. His body burned as it slowly shrunk, and he felt an extreme pain in his face. The flesh was shifting, and his bones felt like they were breaking. It suddenly stopped, and stroked his face slowly, wincing at the contact. Where he expected to feel blood and bone, he felt smooth skin. He reached up to his forehead and felt nothing. Death had taken his scar. "Oh yes, the irony is certainly worth the pain!" Death laughed and Harry frowned in confusion.

"Well Mr. Potter, I believe it is done!" Death said happily, and Harry winced as the blackness suddenly began growing bright at a maddening rate. "You have six shards to find, I wish you luck." Death added before he felt himself fly out of the cold veil into the amphitheater.