At The Beginning
By: xxSilmarilBladexx
Dedication: Many thanks to all the countless authors who have inspired me (especially those fan fiction authors who have written truly remarkable stories about Sirius Black and the afterlife, and, of course, the HP authoress JKR herself). Many thanks to my friends as well.
Summary: After the end, what happens to those who die? Sirius Black is about to find out.
*****
As Sirius Black's knees unbuckled and he was falling through the tattered veil, he squeezed his eyes shut. Damn! Sirius swore to himself silently. I just had to let my guard down, didn't I? And I got hit by *her* of all people! He clenched his fists in anger and rage, as he envisioned the nasty hag of a woman who had just killed him. Bellatrix's lips curled into a horrible smile of triumph, and she threw her head back, laughing......
The vision faded, but the laughter he had imagined didn't, and it echoed in his throbbing head as his head hit something hard (the ground?). He still heard his cousin's peals of mirth even as he was dimly conscious of the sound of a loud thunk! This it, Sirius mused to himself, I'm dead...
As he steeled himself to face eternal darkness, however, he thought he could make out lights flickering, and he heard astonished gasps. The man's eyes fluttered open, and, brushing the long strands of ebony hair out of his face, he saw he had not hit the ground as he had guessed, in fact he had been thrown back into....a seat. A seat in what looked remarkably like a train compartment. What the hell?! Sirius wondered, as he bolted upright and his eyes went wide and round.
In this train compartment were a few people, all of whom Sirius didn't know, and they were all open-mouthed and gaping at him and suddenly a thought struck him......they knew who he was! Sirius didn't know nor cared for the moment why the hell he had been falling through the veil and suddenly ended up transporting into a train compartment and falling back into a seat, all he knew for that moment was that he was an escaped convict and he had suddenly made himself --- albeit, accidentally --- known to the public. They would know him immediately by sight, and they would tip the Ministry off. Sirius had to run. As he sprang to his feet, a familiar voice came from behind ----
"Sirius?!" Sirius's eyes widened even more. I know that voice.....but no, it couldn't be....he's dead Sirius was thinking as he whipped around, Bode is ----
Broderick Bode was standing right in front of him, with body, hands, wand, and all. He was staring at Sirius with stunned disbelief.
Sirius dropped his own wand, which he was strangely enough still holding. "Bode?!" Sirius exclaimed in shock, and poor Sirius could do nothing but stare at Bode, his own jaw going slack.....
Bode knitted his eyebrows together, looking confused. "I thought you were alive!"
"I thought YOU were dead!" Sirius countered, taken aback.
An odd look flickered in Bode's eyes, but it disappeared quickly as it had come. His face once more was stoic and completely unreadable. "Why yes, I am." Bode said rather pleasantly, flashing Sirius a small grin. "This is the Spirit Express. Souls that have fled their bodies --- for example, me --- go to Fallen Souls Central, a.k.a. Mors Station. *If you were really evil at heart you go to Platform 666; if you were really good deep down inside you go to Platform 777.* There, you wait for the train to come and take you to one of the two separate other train stations. And from there on...." Bode paused. "Well, we'll see."
Trying to take in all this information, Sirius sank back into his seat, and nodded, dazedly. "So I *am* dead."
Bode chuckled. "Sorry to break it to you, mate, but yeah, you are."
Sirius groaned. "That's okay.....I...erm.... guess I had it coming."
Bode looked at him searchingly, an amused look breaking out on his face. "You died laughing at someone's face, didn't you?"
Sirius nodded, sheepishly. "I know, I was a git," Sirius admitted, his cheeks flushing red in embarrassment.
Bode shook his head. "No, you weren't. You were being defiant of your enemies 'til the end. Its really not that bad of a way to die, actually. Especially if you compare it to the way I did." Bode's smile faded, grimacing. "It was bad enough I had already been knocked out of commission, and just as I was going to recover, I----" Bode stopped abruptly in mid-sentence. His kindly face broke out into a hideous scowl. At length, he continued, gritting his teeth, "I get strangled by a plant."
Sirius was laughing nervously when he heard Hem, hem. The first thought that flew into Sirius's mind when he heard that was UMBRIDGE! Did the dratted woman want to capture him so badly that she actually followed him into the afterlife? At the sound of the cough, Sirius jumped, and he whirled around, looking wildly. The stricken expression of anxiety on his handsome face quickly turned into one of relief. It was only a homely, petite old man with a walking stick. He had cleared his throat, having wanted Bode's attention. Bode turned to the man, and a look of comprehension dawned in Bode's eyes. He slapped himself up the forehead.
"Oh yeah! Everybody, this is Sirius Black." Bode gestured towards Sirius, and all the bewildered people who had been looking at Sirius in open-mouthed shock (four in total) closed their mouths for the moment and offered Sirius awkward smiles, "Sirius, this is Edmund Bolger-----" Bode nodded to a short, chubby, tousled-haired brunette forty-something year old man, "He's a distant relative of mine, and a Squib. This is Laurana Baddock ----" Bode jerked his head towards a scrawny, frizzy-haired, bespectacled young brunette woman in her late 20s, "She's a half-blood, her father was a Muggleborn and her mother was a pureblood witch. And this ----- " Bode turned around so sharply and suddenly that the man he turned to (a tall, lean, titian-haired, baby-faced and handsome thirty-something young man sitting near a small, terrified-looking six-year old girl who appeared to be his daughter) bolted to his feet in trepidation and alarm, "this is Elijah Fawcett, Laurana's Muggle cousin on her father's side, and his little ten-year old daughter --- also a Muggle --- Primula." At last, Bode's gaze fell upon the old man who had coughed earlier, and with a slight smile, he made his final introduction, "And last but not least this is my father, Balin Bode."
Sirius gave everybody a tentative wave hello. Balin Bode's eyes fell on Sirius, and he gave him a curt nod. Balin's eyes then swiftly flew back to his son's.
Bode strode over to his father, and as he sat down he was saying, "Sirius, as I told you before, was a member of the Order ---- albeit, an escaped convict as well --- but nevertheless a good and useful man, who played quite the important role in -----"
"Yes, yes," Sr. Bode interjected, and waved his hand delicately around, "And as glad as I am to be finally introduced to this fine young friend of yours, I'm afraid giving his name doesn't do anything to explain why he's here."
Bode rolled his eyes. "Its obvious, isn't it? He's DEAD," Bode said impatiently.
"No, no." Sr. Bode heaved a huge sigh. "Wrong use of phrasing. What I really meant was how he showed up here. I mean, we all came from Platform 777, and went aboard the train from there, but very suddenly he literally fell from the sky through the skyline up there," Sr. Bode jerked his thumb up to indicate what he was talking about, and Sirius cocked his head up and saw a fairly large window with tattered curtains facing upwards up on the roof, "and down into the train compartment and onto a seat. Its just very...strange."
Its ALL strange, Sirius thought.
Bode furrowed his eyebrows. "You know, that's a good question, Sirius. How exactly *did* you die?" Bode scrutinized Sirius, frowning.
"Well....." Sirius screwed his face up in an effort to remember, "I was in the Department of Mysteries, dueling with Bellatrix --- yes, that cow of a cousin of mine ---- when she hit me with some kind of Stunning Spell, and then I fell through this ancient-looking doorway beyond this tattered veil."
A low murmur ran among the small group of people, and Sr. Bode took to looking Sirius up and down, peering at him shrewdly. He only averted his gaze to exchange a questioning glance with his son, and Bode nodded his head. He turned to face Sirius again, and he told Sirius matter-of-factly, "You died by falling right through the doorway to the afterlife."
Sirius looked at Bode with surprise. "I---I did?"
Bode chuckled again. "Yea, so you basically came here by accident."
Sirius's dark eyes lit up. "Does that mean I can go back?" Sirius asked eagerly.
Bode bowed his head, his face once again solemn. "I'm sorry, Sirius." Bode said in apologetic tones to a crestfallen Sirius, whose ruffled hair wilted with disappointment, "But once you enter the afterlife, there's no fully turning back around. You're dead, and you know no magic, no matter how powerful, potent, or strong it is, can change that."
"However----" Laurana Baddock spoke up, "If you really wish to, you can go back and reside in the place between life and death called The Void. There, you can live a half-life, and walk the paths your living self once tread on Earth as a ghost."
Sirius's face brightened. "Well then I think I shall," Sirius said decisively with no trace of uncertainty in his voice; his face determined and resolute.
This time it was Bode's turn again --- as well as everybody else's --- to look surprised. "Do you really want to?" Bode questioned, curious.
"Of course! I have unfinished business. Remus, for one, and my godson for another. I was appointed his guardian and --- " Sirius's voice suddenly broke, and for the first time since his death bitterness and sorrow crept into his voice, "...And I left him just when he needed me the most. I have to make up for that."
Miss Baddock smiled at Sirius gently. "Such business, as any business, probably can be finished in death, Sirius. You can look after Harry in heaven, and watch him there. Though you cannot intervene to save him when his life is in peril, and cannot pat him on the back when he is angry or sad, you can still give him strength of heart and support, and comfort him and cheer him up. If he misses you so very badly, and if the powers at work permit it, you can come to him in visions and visit him in dreams."
"Then why are there ghosts at all?"
Bode said gravely, "There are wizards and witches who believe the unfinished business they started in life can only be finished in some form of life. They do not trust in what can happen in such a mysterious place as the Great Beyond. They rather not find out death's deepest secrets. And then there are those wizards and witches who have no unfinished business on earth, and quite simply fear death. They all believe death is the ultimate end, be it the end of their chances to finish their businesses or the end of their overall existence. They believe there is nothing after life but an end, and that is all there is to it. They do not believe in another beginning." Bode's eyes locked onto Sirius's steadily, and he was aware that all had fallen very quiet; the train itself seemed to have stopped in its tracks, and the people around him were watching him intensely, even the Fawcetts. All eyes were on Sirius, roving about him keenly, as Bode opened his mouth to ask a question next ----
"Do you believe in another beginning?"
Sirius took a sharp intake of breath, and he exhaled deeply. There was a deafening silence.....
Slowly, but finally, Sirius said, "I believe."
Bode's face broke out into a wide smile, and he clapped Sirius on the back.
"Good choice, my friend."
Even as Bode said these words, it seemed to Sirius that the train was moving again, and everybody in the compartment had already erupted into thunderous claps of applause. Bolger and Fawcett were even whistling in support of Sirius's decision. Amidst all the noise, Primula threw a fist into the air and shouted, "YOU GO, BOY!"
Sirius was fairly glowing when Bode took Sirius aside and, smiling at Sirius, said in a low, serious voice, "So even though you don't know where you're heading --- hell, as much as I know, I don't know *for sure* what I've gotten myself into --- you're willing to find out, right?"
"I guess," Sirius said, shifting his feet on the floor uncomfortably, looking uneasy. "I mean, I'm already heading there, anyway."
Bode shot Sirius a fleeting glance, but he said nothing. As Bode was turning his back to Sirius, Sirius ventured, cautiously, "Er --- Bode?"
"Yea, Sirius?"
"Just HOW do you know so much?"
For the first time, Bode looked offguard and embarrassed. His face turned pink.
"Er ---- Pamphlet. Life and Death 101. Borrowed it from Departing Earth Information Center."
*****
Sirius spent the remainder of his time in the train chatting away and having fun. Sirius and Miss Baddock had a heart-to-heart conversation with one another, discussing the evils of prejudice and bigotry. Sirius and Sr. Bode had a heated debate about Cornelius Fudge's fashion sense; Sr. Bode defended Fudge, saying he looked quite the regal, sophisticated and suave man in his usual outfit but Sirius scoffed, saying "the smarmy berk" looked about as dignified and spiffy as a multi-colored clothed mobman in his pin-striped suit and bowler hat.
Primula, who, after all, was the only child on the train, could not take part in any of the adult conversations, nor did she have the faintest idea what they were talking about in the first place, or even want to join in the discussion (she was particularly scared off by the talk about Cornelius Fudge), got restless and bored to the point she began singing a little ditty the young girl made up herself, entitled "Are We There Yet?". Pitying Primula, Sirius beckoned the ten-year old to come over, and when she did, he kindly asked her if there was anything he could do for her. To Sirius's pleasant surprise, Primula --- who was both scared and fascinated with magic --- begged Sirius to tell her stories about his experiences in the wizarding world. Sirius relented (he could not resist to anyone who gave him a puppy-dog look) and told her much of the adventures of the Marauders; interesting, exciting tales. Every now and then Primula interrupted to ask questions, often bizarre and bewildering ones. **Primula had just been asking Sirius if hobbits were real, and Sirius had just been gently answering her no when the train started to slow down.**
"There's no hobbits?!" Primula exclaimed shrilly. "None at all?!"
"Nope, no hairy-footed, curly-haired, pointy-eared chubby midgets, not even in our world. Well...there's Kreacher, but he's a nasty little house-elf-----"
"Hey, Primula, come and look outside!" Mr. Fawcett called to his daughter.
Primula hurriedly scrambled off to her father, and as she came to his side, she peered out the window and let out a loud squeal. Curious, Sirius followed Primula to the window and saw what Primula was squealing at. They were entering the station at last, and there on the platform there were throngs upon throngs of people. Upon seeing the train, they all whipped their heads towards one another, talking excitedly and pointing.
"They're ----- they're all waiting for us," Sirius said, scratching the stubble on his chin in wonder.
.....and so the people were. The moment the train came to a complete halt, and the train compartment doors opened, and people were getting off, the whole station, which had already buzzed with excitement and murmured talk, burst into screams of joy and yelps of shock. People all around Sirius were immediately pulled out of the crowd and into a surprise embrace, or a kiss on the lips. There was a lot of elbowing, pushing, and shoving, and by the time Sirius had managed to squeeze himself out of the throngs of people, he had gotten knocked down by a zealous, overjoyed relative of someone flat on the ground, and just as he got up, a stockily-built woman had mistaken him for someone else and pulled him into a bear-hug which nearly squeezed the breath out of him. Then, after the woman realized her mistake, apologized, and released him, he had been staggering when he was literally spun about, as people here and there, on his right side and his left side, pushed past him. He had been growing irked and quite miffed with it all when he heard a shriek of joy, and he felt a pair of arms enveloping him into yet another hug by -----
"Lily?!" Sirius exclaimed, hardly daring to believe it.
Lily Evans Potter unwrapped herself from Sirius. She pushed back her thick, wavy coppery red hair, took a step back, and looked at Sirius, her malachite green eyes shining, and her face flushed and beaming. Evidently Lily had been just crying, as she was wiping her eyes with her hand. "Its good to see you again, Sirius," Lily said warmly.
Sirius staggered, and he stared at Lily. "L-Lily?" Suddenly Sirius's eyes fell on the smiling person beside Lily, and his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets. "And James?!"
James Potter stood next to his wife, the same as ever, except he looked unusually sentimental. His untidy black hair was even messier and his hazel eyes, usually dark and mysterious (often with hidden mischief), were now shining oddly and misty, and he seemed to be on the verge of tears. "Hey, Padfoot, s'up?" James greeted Sirius, he said, his voice cracking and falling with every word he said into a barely audible whisper.
Sirius, whose own eyes had already been welling up, felt the first tears fall down his cheeks, and he latched his hand onto James' arm, and pulled his best friend to him, hugging him tightly. Lily looked on this tearful reunion between two men, smiling softly at the two. Sirius's heart exploded with so many different emotions inside, and yet he could not find the words to express such joy at seeing his two friends again. Such happiness was beyond words to tell.
As the two men broke apart, Sirius managed to gaze upon the Potters through his tears and pull one of his trademark grins. "Well I never thought I'd see you two again."
"Its been a while," Lily agreed.
"Welcome to the Great Beyond." James said.
"Welcome to death, you mean," Sirius answered his old friend, smiling at him wryly.
"Its not a bad place, you know." James defended.
"No I don't know, and I'm not going to unless you show me around a bit more. A tour would be good."
"Well then, come along," James said briskly, his hand already intertwined with Lily's.
Lily smiled at Sirius. "Well?" Lily asked, offering her free hand to Sirius.
Sirius hesitated for a moment, looked into Lily's eyes, and yielded to her. "Let's go!" Sirius agreed, and he took Lily's hand.
Death really was the next greatest adventure, as Dumbledore had always said.
*****
A/N:
*The ill-intending wizards in life who choose not to be ghosts go into the Great Beyond, because they believe in death there will come an evil rebirth of sorts, but this does not happen --- instead, they are offered by the Higher Powers the chance to redeem themselves and to end their maliciousness, begin to pay up their debts in reparations for their evil deeds; start to lead a good afterlife, and set forth not a new life, but rather a new beginning. If they refuse this, or end up taking this chance and wasting it, they will go forth to the Prison in the Underworld and will be subject to punishment and torment (along with the ill-intending Muggles) until they find true regret and remorse in their hearts and repent. Then and only then they shall be released.*
**Hobbits, also known as Halflings, are a race of little people that the one and only John Ronald Reuel Tolkien created, who live in Tolkien's Middle-earth. Mr. Fawcett more than likely read The Hobbit to his daughter Primula as a bedtime tale, and it apparently became her favorite story. The origins of her own name, Primula, trace back to a hobbit character in Tolkien's writings.**
By: xxSilmarilBladexx
Dedication: Many thanks to all the countless authors who have inspired me (especially those fan fiction authors who have written truly remarkable stories about Sirius Black and the afterlife, and, of course, the HP authoress JKR herself). Many thanks to my friends as well.
Summary: After the end, what happens to those who die? Sirius Black is about to find out.
*****
As Sirius Black's knees unbuckled and he was falling through the tattered veil, he squeezed his eyes shut. Damn! Sirius swore to himself silently. I just had to let my guard down, didn't I? And I got hit by *her* of all people! He clenched his fists in anger and rage, as he envisioned the nasty hag of a woman who had just killed him. Bellatrix's lips curled into a horrible smile of triumph, and she threw her head back, laughing......
The vision faded, but the laughter he had imagined didn't, and it echoed in his throbbing head as his head hit something hard (the ground?). He still heard his cousin's peals of mirth even as he was dimly conscious of the sound of a loud thunk! This it, Sirius mused to himself, I'm dead...
As he steeled himself to face eternal darkness, however, he thought he could make out lights flickering, and he heard astonished gasps. The man's eyes fluttered open, and, brushing the long strands of ebony hair out of his face, he saw he had not hit the ground as he had guessed, in fact he had been thrown back into....a seat. A seat in what looked remarkably like a train compartment. What the hell?! Sirius wondered, as he bolted upright and his eyes went wide and round.
In this train compartment were a few people, all of whom Sirius didn't know, and they were all open-mouthed and gaping at him and suddenly a thought struck him......they knew who he was! Sirius didn't know nor cared for the moment why the hell he had been falling through the veil and suddenly ended up transporting into a train compartment and falling back into a seat, all he knew for that moment was that he was an escaped convict and he had suddenly made himself --- albeit, accidentally --- known to the public. They would know him immediately by sight, and they would tip the Ministry off. Sirius had to run. As he sprang to his feet, a familiar voice came from behind ----
"Sirius?!" Sirius's eyes widened even more. I know that voice.....but no, it couldn't be....he's dead Sirius was thinking as he whipped around, Bode is ----
Broderick Bode was standing right in front of him, with body, hands, wand, and all. He was staring at Sirius with stunned disbelief.
Sirius dropped his own wand, which he was strangely enough still holding. "Bode?!" Sirius exclaimed in shock, and poor Sirius could do nothing but stare at Bode, his own jaw going slack.....
Bode knitted his eyebrows together, looking confused. "I thought you were alive!"
"I thought YOU were dead!" Sirius countered, taken aback.
An odd look flickered in Bode's eyes, but it disappeared quickly as it had come. His face once more was stoic and completely unreadable. "Why yes, I am." Bode said rather pleasantly, flashing Sirius a small grin. "This is the Spirit Express. Souls that have fled their bodies --- for example, me --- go to Fallen Souls Central, a.k.a. Mors Station. *If you were really evil at heart you go to Platform 666; if you were really good deep down inside you go to Platform 777.* There, you wait for the train to come and take you to one of the two separate other train stations. And from there on...." Bode paused. "Well, we'll see."
Trying to take in all this information, Sirius sank back into his seat, and nodded, dazedly. "So I *am* dead."
Bode chuckled. "Sorry to break it to you, mate, but yeah, you are."
Sirius groaned. "That's okay.....I...erm.... guess I had it coming."
Bode looked at him searchingly, an amused look breaking out on his face. "You died laughing at someone's face, didn't you?"
Sirius nodded, sheepishly. "I know, I was a git," Sirius admitted, his cheeks flushing red in embarrassment.
Bode shook his head. "No, you weren't. You were being defiant of your enemies 'til the end. Its really not that bad of a way to die, actually. Especially if you compare it to the way I did." Bode's smile faded, grimacing. "It was bad enough I had already been knocked out of commission, and just as I was going to recover, I----" Bode stopped abruptly in mid-sentence. His kindly face broke out into a hideous scowl. At length, he continued, gritting his teeth, "I get strangled by a plant."
Sirius was laughing nervously when he heard Hem, hem. The first thought that flew into Sirius's mind when he heard that was UMBRIDGE! Did the dratted woman want to capture him so badly that she actually followed him into the afterlife? At the sound of the cough, Sirius jumped, and he whirled around, looking wildly. The stricken expression of anxiety on his handsome face quickly turned into one of relief. It was only a homely, petite old man with a walking stick. He had cleared his throat, having wanted Bode's attention. Bode turned to the man, and a look of comprehension dawned in Bode's eyes. He slapped himself up the forehead.
"Oh yeah! Everybody, this is Sirius Black." Bode gestured towards Sirius, and all the bewildered people who had been looking at Sirius in open-mouthed shock (four in total) closed their mouths for the moment and offered Sirius awkward smiles, "Sirius, this is Edmund Bolger-----" Bode nodded to a short, chubby, tousled-haired brunette forty-something year old man, "He's a distant relative of mine, and a Squib. This is Laurana Baddock ----" Bode jerked his head towards a scrawny, frizzy-haired, bespectacled young brunette woman in her late 20s, "She's a half-blood, her father was a Muggleborn and her mother was a pureblood witch. And this ----- " Bode turned around so sharply and suddenly that the man he turned to (a tall, lean, titian-haired, baby-faced and handsome thirty-something young man sitting near a small, terrified-looking six-year old girl who appeared to be his daughter) bolted to his feet in trepidation and alarm, "this is Elijah Fawcett, Laurana's Muggle cousin on her father's side, and his little ten-year old daughter --- also a Muggle --- Primula." At last, Bode's gaze fell upon the old man who had coughed earlier, and with a slight smile, he made his final introduction, "And last but not least this is my father, Balin Bode."
Sirius gave everybody a tentative wave hello. Balin Bode's eyes fell on Sirius, and he gave him a curt nod. Balin's eyes then swiftly flew back to his son's.
Bode strode over to his father, and as he sat down he was saying, "Sirius, as I told you before, was a member of the Order ---- albeit, an escaped convict as well --- but nevertheless a good and useful man, who played quite the important role in -----"
"Yes, yes," Sr. Bode interjected, and waved his hand delicately around, "And as glad as I am to be finally introduced to this fine young friend of yours, I'm afraid giving his name doesn't do anything to explain why he's here."
Bode rolled his eyes. "Its obvious, isn't it? He's DEAD," Bode said impatiently.
"No, no." Sr. Bode heaved a huge sigh. "Wrong use of phrasing. What I really meant was how he showed up here. I mean, we all came from Platform 777, and went aboard the train from there, but very suddenly he literally fell from the sky through the skyline up there," Sr. Bode jerked his thumb up to indicate what he was talking about, and Sirius cocked his head up and saw a fairly large window with tattered curtains facing upwards up on the roof, "and down into the train compartment and onto a seat. Its just very...strange."
Its ALL strange, Sirius thought.
Bode furrowed his eyebrows. "You know, that's a good question, Sirius. How exactly *did* you die?" Bode scrutinized Sirius, frowning.
"Well....." Sirius screwed his face up in an effort to remember, "I was in the Department of Mysteries, dueling with Bellatrix --- yes, that cow of a cousin of mine ---- when she hit me with some kind of Stunning Spell, and then I fell through this ancient-looking doorway beyond this tattered veil."
A low murmur ran among the small group of people, and Sr. Bode took to looking Sirius up and down, peering at him shrewdly. He only averted his gaze to exchange a questioning glance with his son, and Bode nodded his head. He turned to face Sirius again, and he told Sirius matter-of-factly, "You died by falling right through the doorway to the afterlife."
Sirius looked at Bode with surprise. "I---I did?"
Bode chuckled again. "Yea, so you basically came here by accident."
Sirius's dark eyes lit up. "Does that mean I can go back?" Sirius asked eagerly.
Bode bowed his head, his face once again solemn. "I'm sorry, Sirius." Bode said in apologetic tones to a crestfallen Sirius, whose ruffled hair wilted with disappointment, "But once you enter the afterlife, there's no fully turning back around. You're dead, and you know no magic, no matter how powerful, potent, or strong it is, can change that."
"However----" Laurana Baddock spoke up, "If you really wish to, you can go back and reside in the place between life and death called The Void. There, you can live a half-life, and walk the paths your living self once tread on Earth as a ghost."
Sirius's face brightened. "Well then I think I shall," Sirius said decisively with no trace of uncertainty in his voice; his face determined and resolute.
This time it was Bode's turn again --- as well as everybody else's --- to look surprised. "Do you really want to?" Bode questioned, curious.
"Of course! I have unfinished business. Remus, for one, and my godson for another. I was appointed his guardian and --- " Sirius's voice suddenly broke, and for the first time since his death bitterness and sorrow crept into his voice, "...And I left him just when he needed me the most. I have to make up for that."
Miss Baddock smiled at Sirius gently. "Such business, as any business, probably can be finished in death, Sirius. You can look after Harry in heaven, and watch him there. Though you cannot intervene to save him when his life is in peril, and cannot pat him on the back when he is angry or sad, you can still give him strength of heart and support, and comfort him and cheer him up. If he misses you so very badly, and if the powers at work permit it, you can come to him in visions and visit him in dreams."
"Then why are there ghosts at all?"
Bode said gravely, "There are wizards and witches who believe the unfinished business they started in life can only be finished in some form of life. They do not trust in what can happen in such a mysterious place as the Great Beyond. They rather not find out death's deepest secrets. And then there are those wizards and witches who have no unfinished business on earth, and quite simply fear death. They all believe death is the ultimate end, be it the end of their chances to finish their businesses or the end of their overall existence. They believe there is nothing after life but an end, and that is all there is to it. They do not believe in another beginning." Bode's eyes locked onto Sirius's steadily, and he was aware that all had fallen very quiet; the train itself seemed to have stopped in its tracks, and the people around him were watching him intensely, even the Fawcetts. All eyes were on Sirius, roving about him keenly, as Bode opened his mouth to ask a question next ----
"Do you believe in another beginning?"
Sirius took a sharp intake of breath, and he exhaled deeply. There was a deafening silence.....
Slowly, but finally, Sirius said, "I believe."
Bode's face broke out into a wide smile, and he clapped Sirius on the back.
"Good choice, my friend."
Even as Bode said these words, it seemed to Sirius that the train was moving again, and everybody in the compartment had already erupted into thunderous claps of applause. Bolger and Fawcett were even whistling in support of Sirius's decision. Amidst all the noise, Primula threw a fist into the air and shouted, "YOU GO, BOY!"
Sirius was fairly glowing when Bode took Sirius aside and, smiling at Sirius, said in a low, serious voice, "So even though you don't know where you're heading --- hell, as much as I know, I don't know *for sure* what I've gotten myself into --- you're willing to find out, right?"
"I guess," Sirius said, shifting his feet on the floor uncomfortably, looking uneasy. "I mean, I'm already heading there, anyway."
Bode shot Sirius a fleeting glance, but he said nothing. As Bode was turning his back to Sirius, Sirius ventured, cautiously, "Er --- Bode?"
"Yea, Sirius?"
"Just HOW do you know so much?"
For the first time, Bode looked offguard and embarrassed. His face turned pink.
"Er ---- Pamphlet. Life and Death 101. Borrowed it from Departing Earth Information Center."
*****
Sirius spent the remainder of his time in the train chatting away and having fun. Sirius and Miss Baddock had a heart-to-heart conversation with one another, discussing the evils of prejudice and bigotry. Sirius and Sr. Bode had a heated debate about Cornelius Fudge's fashion sense; Sr. Bode defended Fudge, saying he looked quite the regal, sophisticated and suave man in his usual outfit but Sirius scoffed, saying "the smarmy berk" looked about as dignified and spiffy as a multi-colored clothed mobman in his pin-striped suit and bowler hat.
Primula, who, after all, was the only child on the train, could not take part in any of the adult conversations, nor did she have the faintest idea what they were talking about in the first place, or even want to join in the discussion (she was particularly scared off by the talk about Cornelius Fudge), got restless and bored to the point she began singing a little ditty the young girl made up herself, entitled "Are We There Yet?". Pitying Primula, Sirius beckoned the ten-year old to come over, and when she did, he kindly asked her if there was anything he could do for her. To Sirius's pleasant surprise, Primula --- who was both scared and fascinated with magic --- begged Sirius to tell her stories about his experiences in the wizarding world. Sirius relented (he could not resist to anyone who gave him a puppy-dog look) and told her much of the adventures of the Marauders; interesting, exciting tales. Every now and then Primula interrupted to ask questions, often bizarre and bewildering ones. **Primula had just been asking Sirius if hobbits were real, and Sirius had just been gently answering her no when the train started to slow down.**
"There's no hobbits?!" Primula exclaimed shrilly. "None at all?!"
"Nope, no hairy-footed, curly-haired, pointy-eared chubby midgets, not even in our world. Well...there's Kreacher, but he's a nasty little house-elf-----"
"Hey, Primula, come and look outside!" Mr. Fawcett called to his daughter.
Primula hurriedly scrambled off to her father, and as she came to his side, she peered out the window and let out a loud squeal. Curious, Sirius followed Primula to the window and saw what Primula was squealing at. They were entering the station at last, and there on the platform there were throngs upon throngs of people. Upon seeing the train, they all whipped their heads towards one another, talking excitedly and pointing.
"They're ----- they're all waiting for us," Sirius said, scratching the stubble on his chin in wonder.
.....and so the people were. The moment the train came to a complete halt, and the train compartment doors opened, and people were getting off, the whole station, which had already buzzed with excitement and murmured talk, burst into screams of joy and yelps of shock. People all around Sirius were immediately pulled out of the crowd and into a surprise embrace, or a kiss on the lips. There was a lot of elbowing, pushing, and shoving, and by the time Sirius had managed to squeeze himself out of the throngs of people, he had gotten knocked down by a zealous, overjoyed relative of someone flat on the ground, and just as he got up, a stockily-built woman had mistaken him for someone else and pulled him into a bear-hug which nearly squeezed the breath out of him. Then, after the woman realized her mistake, apologized, and released him, he had been staggering when he was literally spun about, as people here and there, on his right side and his left side, pushed past him. He had been growing irked and quite miffed with it all when he heard a shriek of joy, and he felt a pair of arms enveloping him into yet another hug by -----
"Lily?!" Sirius exclaimed, hardly daring to believe it.
Lily Evans Potter unwrapped herself from Sirius. She pushed back her thick, wavy coppery red hair, took a step back, and looked at Sirius, her malachite green eyes shining, and her face flushed and beaming. Evidently Lily had been just crying, as she was wiping her eyes with her hand. "Its good to see you again, Sirius," Lily said warmly.
Sirius staggered, and he stared at Lily. "L-Lily?" Suddenly Sirius's eyes fell on the smiling person beside Lily, and his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets. "And James?!"
James Potter stood next to his wife, the same as ever, except he looked unusually sentimental. His untidy black hair was even messier and his hazel eyes, usually dark and mysterious (often with hidden mischief), were now shining oddly and misty, and he seemed to be on the verge of tears. "Hey, Padfoot, s'up?" James greeted Sirius, he said, his voice cracking and falling with every word he said into a barely audible whisper.
Sirius, whose own eyes had already been welling up, felt the first tears fall down his cheeks, and he latched his hand onto James' arm, and pulled his best friend to him, hugging him tightly. Lily looked on this tearful reunion between two men, smiling softly at the two. Sirius's heart exploded with so many different emotions inside, and yet he could not find the words to express such joy at seeing his two friends again. Such happiness was beyond words to tell.
As the two men broke apart, Sirius managed to gaze upon the Potters through his tears and pull one of his trademark grins. "Well I never thought I'd see you two again."
"Its been a while," Lily agreed.
"Welcome to the Great Beyond." James said.
"Welcome to death, you mean," Sirius answered his old friend, smiling at him wryly.
"Its not a bad place, you know." James defended.
"No I don't know, and I'm not going to unless you show me around a bit more. A tour would be good."
"Well then, come along," James said briskly, his hand already intertwined with Lily's.
Lily smiled at Sirius. "Well?" Lily asked, offering her free hand to Sirius.
Sirius hesitated for a moment, looked into Lily's eyes, and yielded to her. "Let's go!" Sirius agreed, and he took Lily's hand.
Death really was the next greatest adventure, as Dumbledore had always said.
*****
A/N:
*The ill-intending wizards in life who choose not to be ghosts go into the Great Beyond, because they believe in death there will come an evil rebirth of sorts, but this does not happen --- instead, they are offered by the Higher Powers the chance to redeem themselves and to end their maliciousness, begin to pay up their debts in reparations for their evil deeds; start to lead a good afterlife, and set forth not a new life, but rather a new beginning. If they refuse this, or end up taking this chance and wasting it, they will go forth to the Prison in the Underworld and will be subject to punishment and torment (along with the ill-intending Muggles) until they find true regret and remorse in their hearts and repent. Then and only then they shall be released.*
**Hobbits, also known as Halflings, are a race of little people that the one and only John Ronald Reuel Tolkien created, who live in Tolkien's Middle-earth. Mr. Fawcett more than likely read The Hobbit to his daughter Primula as a bedtime tale, and it apparently became her favorite story. The origins of her own name, Primula, trace back to a hobbit character in Tolkien's writings.**