The Veil Beyond

Archive: Padfoot...Snuffles, SBRL, Azkaban's Lair
Summary: He may been in the Veil Beyond, but what does it hold for those trapped there?
Pairing: Remus & Sirius
Disclaimer: JKR owns everything character etc. mentioned here not me
Spoilers: OotP
Author's Notes: "Resero" has been taken to mean "reveal". During / Post OotP. Sirius' thoughts are in /

"I like your version MUCH more than JKR's! Thanks for keeping him alive." Lee.
"THAT is what should have happened!" Winter
"That's lovely, it's always nice when the Pups get another chance to be together. Good fic." Catclaw

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Sirius opened his eyes and looked up. Peering through the darkness he could see a black cloth suspended over what appeared to be a doorway. Looking around him, Sirius cast his mind back over the events of the last few minutes to try and work out what actually caused him to be in this strange place. It didn't take him long to work out that it was Bellatrix's spell knocking him off balance that pushed him beyond the veil.

Sirius had expected to appear behind the veiled archway, and to launch a sudden attack on his cousin: he had never realised there was another room beyond the veil, but that was what appeared before his eyes. There was no light, but he could hear muttering voices. Transforming into Padfoot he was able to see clearer, and he began wandering in the direction of the muttering.

He had been wandering for what felt like hours, but was probably only a matter of minutes, before he walked straight into someone. Transforming back, he found Lily staring at him. Looking at Sirius, she waved a hand slightly over his shoulder, at someone in the distance. Sirius turned to look, but could see no-one in the darkness. Sirius looked back at Lily as if waiting for an explanation of who she was waving to, or where he was.

"Sirius, you're not due here yet"
Sirius turned so fast his neck hurt, whirling round to find himself face-to-face with James Potter.
"Where am I?"
"It's known here as the 'veil beyond' but most wizards know it simply as 'death'." explained Lily. "Those who haven't tried studying it here are afraid of it. We've grown more used to it through the years, but it is nothing like being alive."

"You mean you've been here for fourteen years? I thought Azkaban was bad enough, at least there was light there, if only a little through the windows."
Lily looked at Sirius, tears glistening in her green eyes.
"I'll never forgive Peter for what he did to you" she whispered.
Sirius gasped. "You know what he did? How?"
He looked over at James who just winked. "In good time, mate. First we have a question for you."
Sirius nodded slightly, impatient for them to finish to find out how they knew what had happened if they had been behind this veil all the time. Maybe there was a way of them escaping that room, but then how could no-one else see them. He looked over at Lily, who was staring at James as if deep in thought. James continued,
"the one question we have. Really irrelevant to our situation, but just a thought from our time at Hogwarts: the Marauder years. Were you... were you and Remus... you know..." he broke off staring at Sirius' knees, his cheeks burning red. Sirius took a deep breath.
"If you mean were myself and Remus 'together' then yes we were, and still are... were. That is, until I fell into here, yes."

Sirius stared at Lily, then looked back towards James.
"Is there any way of getting out, or at least finding out what's going on out there?"
"Of course there is mate" replied James placing a protective arm on Sirius' shoulder. "Follow me". James lead Sirius up to a corner of the room, closely followed by Lily who was checking who else had seen Sirius.
"We saw the whole fight through this little gap in the archway. That's how we made sure we were the first to find you." James moved slightly to allow Sirius room to reach the gap in the stonework making the archway. He could see Dumbledore running out of the room from the dias, but there was no sign of Harry.
"Harry, where is..."
James looked up at Sirius, staring him straight in the eyes. "He's chased after Bellatrix, Sirius. I heard a great deal of shouting, but not much else. That's the only problem of being trapped here. You aren't allowed as much freedom as a ghost has. We can only hear activity outside the veil."
James looked at his shoes. "There is one advantage though."
Sirius looked round at James, willing him to continue, "what is it?" he whispered.
"If there are two people out there who truly love you, and you can do more good out there than you can in here, you are able to be released from the veil beyond."

Sirius stared at his best friend, as if unable to comprehend what he'd just been told. "How come you're still here then?"
Lily looked at Sirius, her eyes filled with sadness. "My blood gave Harry his greatest defence against Voldemort. If I had returned, he would lose that protection, and James didn't want me to be left here alone."
"All you need to do," continued James, "is to be standing here at midnight tonight. If the conditions are right, and those two people care enough, the veil over there will part and allow only you to pass through".
Sirius stood, his gaze fixed on the veil, thinking of Harry and Remus. Those were the two he'd pin his hopes on for releasing him. He knew Harry would be wanting him back, despite the stunner that knocked him backwards, he'd heard Harry's cries as he fell. Remus would be missing him already, it was too near the full moon for him to think straight anyway, let alone without his mate. They had never been apart since he'd returned from Azkaban, and Sirius was hoping Remus' thoughts would be as strong now as they were back when the Dementors were prowling outside Sirius' cell. Those thoughts were all that kept Remus going for those long twelve years, and Sirius was sure he'd need those thoughts again.

"I'll never forget this, James" Sirius whispered as he waited for midnight to strike. "You and Lily have been so kind, yet it almost seems wrong to leave you here, stuck in this room while I can be free."
Lily moved closer and placed her arm on his shoulder. "You need to be out there, Sirius. Harry needs you, and from the look on Remus' face when you fell through here, he will need you even more. Especially after what you just told us about you and him at Hogwarts, he definitely needs you now."
Placing a gentle kiss on his arm, she moved away slightly, followed by James.
"Good luck Sirius".
Speechless with emotion, he turned and watched them move back to the shadows of the room, a silent tear creeping its way into the corner of his eye before escaping and trickling gently down his cheek. James and Lily were both out of sight, but neither were out of his mind.

Midnight drew close, and Sirius waited on the spot with baited breath. At the second stroke of midnight a little light appeared over his head, and as the other ten strokes sounded from a small but elegant clock in the corner of the room, the light angled towards the veil. Sirius waited for it to light the curtain, and on the twelfth stroke moved from the spot, and ran towards the veil. The black cloth began to open slowly, and Sirius gave a final look and wave at the spot he'd last seen James and Lily, before leaving to room, and stepping once more onto the dias.

The light from the room wasn't intense, but compared to the room behind the veil, it was like a beam of halogen light piercing the darkness. Sirius remained still while his eyes adjusted to the brightness, then looked around him. The Deatheaters were sitting in a group, struggling against the rope binding them together. Sirius suspected Dumbledore had ensnared them there before chasing after Harry.

His heart jumping slightly at the thought of his godson battling against Bellatrix, Sirius looked around again, trying to find someone from the Order. He could see no-one, but he could hear a voice. One voice echoing around the room, bouncing off the dias: Dumbledore. Not wanting to be found so suddenly, especially if Fudge happened to be with him, Sirius ducked down behind the archway.

Looking around the edge of the stone archway, Sirius could see Dumbledore walking towards the Deatheaters, heading for the exit of the room. Muttering "Resero, Dumbledore" he took a step from behind the dias, facing Dumbledore who stopped in his tracks, and beckoned to someone behind him to enter the room. Sirius held his breath, unsure who may be following the Headmaster, and let out a sigh of relief as he realised it was Remus.
/Will Remus understand what had happened? Will he believe me when I tell him about James and Lily/
Remus ran over to him faster than Sirius had ever seen before, wrapping his arms protectively around his mate's shoulders, clinging on for dear life. Sirius nestled his nose into Remus' hair, breathing in Remus' memorable scent, and looked up as he realised Dumbledore had Apparated next to them.
"I know what has happened, Sirius," he stated in a quiet, calming voice, "I am one of the few wizards who have learnt what is beyond that veil, and that is one reason why I kept both Remus and Harry here tonight. I've also explained it to both of them, to save you a job." He smiled at Sirius: the first smile that had encroached its way onto his face in months.

"I suggest you two both take this Portkey to my office, where we can finish telling Harry what has happened tonight." Dumbledore paused, looking at Remus who was still holding onto Sirius as if he would disappear again if he let go, and whispered, "then I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on if you know what I mean."
With a wink, Dumbledore handed over the Portkey and with a flash of Phoenix fire he had disappeared. Remus hadn't noticed the headmaster's disappearance: as far as he was concerned, they had too much to catch up on at this moment to move anywhere. He had his Padfoot back, and wasn't going to let him go.