Hello everyone! This is a story I have been working on for a while ever since I read the chapter in OOTP where Sirius dies. I am far ahead in chapters, so there will be at least 1 new chapter a day. I really hope you enjoy this story. There will be plenty of twists and turns. :) Enjoy and review!

Ch.1

"The Flustered Minister"

"You will lose everything, Harry Potter."

Harry lay on the cold, black, sanded stone floor of the Ministry. Looking up into the red, fiery eyes of his arch nemesis, Harry closed his eyes so that Voldemort couldn't invade his mind for the second time that night.

Suddenly, the Ministry fires roared to life, and people came flooing in. Harry, Dumbledore, and Voldemort looked over as the crowd of people drew nearer. One of those people was the Minister himself, Cornelius Fudge. As he caught a glimpse of Voldemort, he froze right where he stood, jaw dropped.

Voldemort disapparated, and silence filled the Atrium. Then, one of the Aurors screamed, and everyone around began asking the other, "Did you see him? Did you? They weren't lying".

Dumbledore helped Harry to his feet. The moment he stood though, he swayed, almost falling. Dumbledore caught him by the shoulder and steadied him. Once he knew Harry was okay, Dumbledore took his hand away, turned around to face Fudge, and said, "Cornelius?"

Fudge came out of his reverie and looked around to see who had said his name. Catching sight of Dumbledore, he yelled, "Dumbledore!" He marched over to him and then proceeded to ask, "What is the meaning of all this, Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore stood before Cornelius, calm as ever. He stared at Cornelius for another second, and then said, "Cornelius, tonight, Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters invaded the Ministry in search of a particular prophecy. You will find, if you go down to the Death Room of the Department of Mysteries, several Death Eaters captured and tied."

Fudge, as flustered as ever, began stammering and looking around. He could not find one word to utter in response to Dumbledore. When his eyes landed on Harry, Fudge suddenly found his voice, and asked, "Harry? Wha- How? Dumbledore, explain this!"

"I already have, Cornelius. I am sending Harry back to Hogwarts right now, and then you and I can discuss this further."

Dumbledore turned away from Fudge, waved his wand, and then walked back over to Harry. On his way, he picked up a piece of what once was part of a statue, pointed his wand at it, and said, "Portus."

There was a flash of blue light, and then nothing. Seeing this take place, Fudge then said, "Now see here, Dumbledore, I cannot have you making unauthorized Portkeys in front of the Minister!"

Dumbledore turned around to Fudge and simply said, "Cornelius, I need to get Harry back. Just wait a moment."

Dumbledore turned back to Harry and said, "Take this, Harry. I'll be along in a few minutes." Harry took the Portkey and looked at Dumbledore. He was confused. Where was Dumbledore sending him?

Before he could even ask though, the Portkey began to vibrate and glow, and then Harry felt that all too familiar hook behind his navel. In the next second, he was gone.

Harry reappeared in Dumbledore's office. He fell to the ground, allowing the now useless Portkey to roll away. Harry sat there, with his hands holding him up from behind, looking around the circular office: all of Dumbledore's instruments on tables or shelves; Fawkes, resting on his perch; the Sorting Hat resting on one of the top shelves near Dumbledore's desk; and the Sword of Gryffindor gleaming in its case. Most of the portraits were now awake, everyone staring at Harry, wondering what was going on. Harry pushed himself up onto his feet and gazed out the window onto the Hogwarts' grounds. Dawn was nearing; a little strip of sunlight could just be seen on the horizon.

Harry stood, by the round table in the middle of everything, tired than he had ever been. Barely holding himself up, he clutched the desk for support and tried to keep his eyes open. It had been a very, long night. He had put all of his friends into incredible danger. All because he, Harry, had succumbed to Voldemort's game and really thought Sirius was in trouble. "Oh crap," he thought. Sirius. What about Sirius? He didn't see him fighting, but then again, everything was a blur. Was he alive? Was he dead? Sickened by the thought, Harry put both hands down on the table and then his head. He couldn't even think about the possibility of Sirius dead. To distract his thoughts, he walked over to Fawkes and laid his hand on the phoenix's head.

All of a sudden, the grate in the fireplace came to life with emerald flames, and seconds later, Dumbledore appeared. He walked out of the fireplace, and immediately, applause and cheering filled the room. The portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses smiled because Dumbledore was back to where he belonged. Dumbledore turned to look at Harry, smiled, and said, "You know, he doesn't allow many people to do that."

Harry smiled slightly and continued to pet Fawkes. Dumbledore walked over to where Harry was. He looked at how tired Harry was, smiled again, and then said, "Harry, I know you are tired beyond imagination, but I would like to speak to you for a few minutes."

Dumbledore then gestured over to the chair directly in front of his desk and said, "Please."

Harry stopped petting Fawkes, made his way over to the chair, and sat down. "Ahh, what relief!" he thought. It felt really good to Harry to be able to sit down. Dumbledore walked over to his desk, sat down, and clasped his hands together. A few seconds passed, and then Dumbledore said, "Harry, I first want to apologize to you for once again putting you into danger. See, I thought that by distancing myself from you, Voldemort might not learn so quickly of the connection that you and he share. Clearly, I was wrong, on numerous occasions. An old man's mistakes."

Harry looked at Dumbledore, slightly confused. What connection? What did Dumbledore mean by a connection between him and Voldemort? Whatever the answer was, Harry wasn't going to get it at that moment, for Dumbledore continued, "Before I tell you about that, I have a second thing for you."

At that moment, Dumbledore looked up, away from Harry's gaze, to the door. He then said, "You can come in now."

Now, Harry was extremely confused. Who was it that Dumbledore wanted him to see? Harry heard the door close behind him, and a familiar voice rang out, "Hey there, Prongslet."

Harry's eyes widen. There was only one person that called Harry that. Harry turned around in his seat, and there, standing just a few feet away from him, was Sirius, smiling widely. He opened his arms wide, and before he knew it, Harry was up, out of the chair, running toward Sirius. Harry launched himself into Sirius, hooking his arms around his neck. Sirius, likewise, wrapped his arms around Harry, placing one of his hands on the top of Harry's head. It was a few minutes, of standing and hugging, until Harry uttered, "Sirius…"

After a few minutes, both broke away and walked back to Dumbledore's desk, Sirius having his arm over his godson's shoulder. Harry sat back down, Sirius beside him, noticing that Dumbledore had got out the Pensieve. Dumbledore sat behind the Pensieve, smiling broadly at the fact that Harry was once again smiling. Then, Dumbledore said, "Harry, I am going to show this memory to you, explain its meaning, and then you can go head off to bed."

Dumbledore swirled his wand in the misty, sliver vapor. As if on cue, a small figure of a much younger Professor Trelawney appeared out of the basin, and said, in a grave and mystical tone, "The One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives… The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"

The figure that was Professor Trelawney disappeared into the basin. All was silent; Harry stared at the Pensieve and then at an empty desk as Dumbledore carried it back to its cabinet. He couldn't say anything. Dumbledore made his way back to his chair, sat down, and simply looked at Harry. Harry looked into Dumbledore's face, waiting for him to give the answers. As if obliging, Dumbledore opened his mouth, and spoke, "Harry, what this prophecy means is that you have to fight Voldemort. However, the thing is, only one of you can live."

Harry stared at Dumbledore, all of this a little surreal. He then turned his head to look at Sirius. Sirius was hunched over, hand on his mouth, eyes closed. Harry turned back to Dumbledore, and then said, "So, neither can live while the other survives… you mean, it's either me or Voldemort? One of us dies?"

Dumbledore nodded. Sirius was still looking at the ground, only this time his eyes were open, with tears streaming down. Harry looked away, thinking. Just a few moments ago, he was smiling. He had his Padfoot. He had his godfather. But now, that might not matter? Harry leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. Dumbledore saw this, smiled, and said, "I think it's time for bed, Harry. I want you to go up to Madam Pomfrey, have her mend your wounds, and then, if you feel strong enough, go back to your dormitory and sleep. I need to talk to Sirius alone."

Sirius's head shot up, looking at Dumbledore. Then, Harry got up and began to walk to the door. As he opened it, he turned back to look at Dumbledore, who, in turn, was looking at him. Sirius, however, returned to looking at the floor. Harry walked through the door, shut it, and left Dumbledore's office.