I stood outside in the rain. I'd been standing out here for the amount of time it takes to get completely soaked about five times. I kept waiting for a sign of any kind that I should take another step, one closer to the place I had been tracking down for the past year. But to do something in theory, to have a purpose to keep your mind occupied, was the easy part. The physical act was by far easier than the mental realization that I was at the end of the line.

The building was red, worn like the look I saw in my eyes and skin when I looked into the cracked mirror of no particular place. Not vibrant, nothing about it stood out. It had once seen days of fire house red paint, dogs with collars, and no rogues.

I followed one girl up the stairs with my eyes. She was dressed to disappear; a long black cloak, with enough of a train to stop her in her tracks, but it didn't. Didn't slow her period. She was already moving slowly, but fluidly, like an underwater ballet, grace under pressure.

I couldn't see her face, but I felt a desperate serge go through me. This was my sign. My shoes made a sound that made me wince. It was so loud and awkward. Everything about this felt loud and awkward. I felt like I was a million different people with a million different places to go. But I chose the one that's been in my head the longest; find Her.

So I slip through the cracked door.

The room looks like the entrance of a long forgotten palace; still preserved. There is no one in there but me. I watched the slightly moth eaten curtains flutter and flap against the gusty wind. I watched the saint, forever imprinted in stained glass, cry silent tears created by the rain. I broke my gaze; remembering why I was here, my dread slowly seeping back in. I stumbled upon the dimly lit stairs, each step bringing me higher and higher into darkness.

Then I caught sight of something. There was a flutter of black in the shadows. I know that sounds impossible but my eyes had so adjusted to the dark that when something flickered in the light; I saw.

Then the cloak disappeared behind a thin dark blue veil. I held my hand outstretched; touching the veil of butterfly wings. Amazing how such a thin piece of material can separate two worlds. It reminded me of the veil in the Department of Mysteries, the one I lost Sirius behind forever. I was not going to lose you behind this one. So I pulled back the frail thing and stepped inside.