I didn't deserve to die. No. It was my rotten, scurrilous cousin who always getting into things she shouldn't. Both of my cousins actually, Bellatrix and Narcissa, were evil and horrible people, who should never have lived. They both deserved the worst.

But yet, I was pushed, by a mere stunning spell, into the veil that was inconveniently placed in the Department of Mysteries. And, Bella's weak spell was enough to push me through the veil. Why did I have to be here, a living mind in a dead man's place? I fought hard to stay near the veil, where it was cold and dark, not letting myself be pulled towards the warmth and light of the rest of the place. Was it possible for me to escape this place of death? Did I have to remain here for the rest of my existence waiting, wondering if there was a way to relieve myself of this horror? I was a mind among the mindless, a bright light within the darkness. I didn't belong here, I could not possibly be dead. My godson needs me, my best mate needs me.

I collapsed on the cold stone floor in sorrow. My life could never be ended, since I was not dead but in the world of the dead, and I needed to stay alive. But for whom? For what? Was anything worth crying over? Should I take my wand and use the Killing Curse on myself while I am already dead? No, I would not ever give up. No one I know would back down for something they truly wanted. And all I wanted was to be able to save someone I loved, my godson.

In the darkness, I groped for the veil. Upon feeling that it was gone, I reached for my wand and said, "Lumos." My light was a dim flicker due to my fading will to live, but when I spotted a shadow in the wall that resembled a curtain, it was as if someone turned on a light switch. My hope was marginally restored, and the room lit up like the sun. "I found it," I thought. My freedom was just beyond the drapery. But could I slip past it? It was supposed to be one way access; you may enter at your own will, but never return. I did not enter at my own will, but, I was never killed. I should not be here!

The white light at the tip of my wand faded to black and I felt as if my world was crumbling again. And over again, it never stopped. As soon as there was hope, a dreadful memory came crashing upon my heart again and I lost all will to do anything. I remembered Harry, and how he looked when he realized I was not the one who betrayed him, and suddenly there was hope again. Not willing to let this go, I shouted, "Lumos Maximus!" and the room became as bright as day.

I could clearly see the veil, fluttering quietly with only the breeze from my words and movements. I edged closer to the veil and placed my hand out upon it.

When I touched it, it was as if a thousand dementors were sucking at my soul, taking away all the happiness inside me. I was reminded of my years in Azkaban and the saddest thoughts imaginable. I retracted my hand as quickly as I had put it there, and decided to try something foolish and impulsive.

James and Remus had always made fun of me for acting on impulse, but, what else was there to act upon? Reason? Well I had reason, so I focused on the thought of performing Levicorpus on Severus, smiled, and said, "Expecto Patronum." My brilliant white patronus raced three laps around my Hell, until I guided it to the veil, and watched it as it soared straight through the veil without hesitation.

So, my patronus could enter and exit the veil without apparent difficulty. The veil didn't look menacing in any way. I wanted to have some light while I charged at the veil, so I conjured some wood and started a fire. "Incendio," I muttered and I shivered at the sudden influx of warmth. I focused on getting past the veil. I was sure it could not be any more difficult than waltzing through the brick wall at platform 9 ¾, so a charged at the wall. Like before however, as soon as my foot touched the veil, I fell to the floor, overwhelmed by the feeling of a thousand dementors. Nothing in the world could ever be right again . . .

"Sirius!" A voice snapped. "Get up off that filthy floor and look at me!" I opened my eyes to stare at the feet of what could only be my cousin, and my worst enemy. Lestrange. Bellatrix. The most evil, whiney, creature ever to have set foot on this earth.

"What," I retorted, "Did you ever do, to deserve the obedience of your Gryffindor cousin. You are a disgusting pureblood who has the mind of a muggle." I leapt to my feet and stalked away from her. I checked for my wand, glad to see that it was still in my robe's pocket. I heard footsteps behind me, and irritated, I turned back to my cousin. "And may I ask, what, did I ever do, to deserve you to follow me around like a dog? Who killed you to get you here?"

She smirked. "Ah dearest cousin, patience now, you are the dog in the picture aren't you? And I was murdered by, oh forget it, I shan't ever tell you. Do you wish to see if my murderer inflicted nearly as much pain as I did to you?" I stared into her eyes.

"Crucio!" I was genuinely surprised when I used this curse because I was opposed to using any one of the three Unforgivables. The spell had little to no effect as a stabbed my wand in her direction. She rolled her eyes at me, angering me further, and my curse was renewed. I hated myself for it, so I quickly released her and disarmed her, summoned her wand and began walking away again.

"YOU WON'T! Get away with this Black. NEVER!" She sprinted towards me, but I was prepared with a string of spells.

"Impedimenta, immobulus, petrificus totalus, mobilicorpus," I spoke without a break. Her facial expression was that of shock, so I couldn't help but smile.

The feeling that exploded within me was unlike any other. With the realization of happiness, it only made me more determined to escape through the veil. I was obviously not magically powerful enough to merely stroll through the veil, so I released Lestrange, "Finite incantem," and she lunged towards me. I spoke one word however, and she was dangling by her ankles, much like Severus did. "Levicorpus," and with that, Bella began to fling curses at me, rendered useless without her wand, but, nonetheless, I silenced her, "Silencio."

"Bellatrix," I said, intent on getting what I wanted from her. "I will release you, give you your wand, and we will duel until one of us wins. The loser will transfer as much energy as she can to the winner, enabling him to leave through the veil. Do you agree?" I released her from the silencing charm and waited for her response.

"Would I ever agree to duel my worst enemy? Hell no, I would not even warn him I was going to attack. Always the gentleman, aren't you Sirius. Always." She held her hand out and I levitated her wand until it rested in her palm. She grabbed it and yelled, "Stupefy!" the same curse that had sent me through the veil three years earlier. A stream of blood red light shot out of her wand. I cursed as I fell backwards, whispering, "Rennervate," as I fell.

I was quickly up on my feet and threw more hexes at her. "Incarcerous!"

Before I could cast a shield, she shrieked, "Sectumsempra!" and laughed maniacally. Her curse cut through my skin, leaving gash marks everywhere. I screamed in pain and hurt that she would use a curse with no known counter curse. Was it revenge for my offensive position and the fact that I was quicker than her? Perhaps. But I needed to continue my quest to escape from within the veil, so I mumbled the only healing curse I knew, "Episkey." It did not do much, but my weak spell allowed me to get up and search for her.

Lestrange had obviously left me here, deciding that she wouldn't get out of the veil, at least, not with me bleeding to death. It was quite a stupid move on my part, thinking I could duel with a Death Eater. Who was I kidding? I began to wonder, how I could bleed if I was dead. It further cemented my belief that there was a small ray of hope shining in some dim corner in this land of limbo.

Where was I? I was nowhere near the cold dark room I was in before, but yet, there was something familiar about the place. I muttered the spell, "point me," which was of no use, only showing me which direction was north. Helpless, as if there was no hope. My injuries were still hurting, and I was lost. I was in no condition to face the dementor-like curtain again, but yet, I wanted to prove to Bellatrix that I could succeed. I headed right, or left, I did not care. All I wanted was to find the veil and appear on the other side of it.

What would my best friend James have told me to do? He would have convinced me that I could succeed, since we were both Aurors, and the best pranksters in all of England. Better than Fred and George? Unlikely. I smiled at this happy thought that two more genius minds were creating chaos and enjoying themselves.

I picked a random direction and began to walk. I soon came across a wall, which in my opinion was a good sign, because a wall meant there was something to break the monotony of nothing. I shouted, "Reducto!" at the wall waiting for it to crumble, but when nothing happened, I looked around me. I then shouted, "Expulso!" but again, nothing happened. Just before I was about to try the spell again, a man tapped me on the shoulder.

"Sir?" he said. The man pointed to a door in the wall, and I, feeling ridiculously idiotic, marched for the door. Before I could open the door, the man behind me said, "Colloportus."

With a sigh of exasperation, I retaliated with the spell Alohomora to unlock the door he has just locked for some reason. After he locked it again, I realize it is a lost cause to attempt the spell again. I turned to him and questioned, "What do you want?"

The man with brown hair responded, "Happiness. Give me happiness and I will give you access."

I closed my eyes and thought of a suitable response. "Happiness," I answered, "is waking up in the morning. Happiness is freedom, flying on a broomstick. Happiness is seeing daylight after Azkaban. Happiness is hugging your godson for the first time in thirteen years. Happiness is opening your Hogwarts acceptance letter on your eleventh birthday. It is not something I can merely give you, and true happiness cannot be achieved with any potion, charm or spell. Avis." A flock of birds shot out of my wand. "Happiness is watching those birds fly away to freedom, knowing that someone else is happy. May I pass through?"

The man smiled, "Good, may I wish you luck in whatever you pursue. Oh and for your information, a girl with wild black hair just passed through this door about ten minutes earlier. She explained to me that happiness was torturing your enemy. I don't see how that is a happy thought, but it made her smile." He unlocked the door and opened it for me. "My pleasure," he said as I walked through, "You are very welcome."

I ran as fast as I could when I spotted my enemy sitting on the ground. "Hey Lestrange," I panted, "tired?"

She stood up and stared at me in frustration. "No Black, I am trying to remember the counter curse to Sectumsempra. And not because I care about you. But I want to get to that veil too, and it seems as if I need to pass a series of tests before I get there. Do you know the counter curse Black?"

"Why would you care about knowing it, if it is not for my benefit? Someone hex you?"

Bellatrix looked annoyed. "NO! Read the sign above the door!"

I did what she said to do, and sure enough, above the door, was a poem.

No alohomora,

Or any simple spell will do

Speak the counter of priori incantem

And thus grant the desire of you

So I had to say the counter of whatever spell I used last. That sounded simple. Unless of course, you were unsure of the counter to the spell you used. The last spell I used was Avis, which merely conjures birds, so I had to . . . bring them back? Or I could simply cast a spell and its counter, thereby casting the counter to the last spell I casted. I laughed at the simplicity of this and Lestrange looked up at me.

"What are you laughing at Black? There is nothing funny about this." She shrieked.

I whispered, "colloportus," and then shouted, "alohomora," and strode through the door which had opened for me. Upon leaving, the door slammed shut with a crash. She did not need her enemy's help.

I shivered as I recognized where I was. I was back in the cold, dark room again. "Incendio," I said, and warmed up instantly. I saw the veil again, and felt fleeting elation which passed as soon as I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. "Lestrange." I said, irritated by her presence, "You have nothing worth going back to, let me go."

She smiled the devil's smile. "Oh Black, it's not that I want to go, it's that I don't want you to go through." She began twirling her wand in her hand. "Beg all you want Black, there is no way you will prance out of the veil unscathed."

I retorted, "Naturally, when I attempt to exit, it is as if I am receiving the dementors kiss. Yet, my patronus can pass through easily." I summoned a happy thought and commanded Lestrange, "Watch."

"Expecto Patronum!" I shouted and with glee, my patronus glided through the veil. I turned to my cousin and was surprised at the look of shock on her face, but then wondered if it was an illusion, because it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. A sneer, similar to the Malfoy sneer grew on her face.

She turned to me and yelled, "CRUCIO! CRUCIO! You will not go through that veil! Stupefy! CRUCIO!"

I shut my eyes tight as I collapsed in physical pain. Due to the stunning spell, I was thrown violently backwards. I was positive she would torture me into oblivion much like with the Longbottoms, that witch, when I felt a drastic change in my emotions.

I experienced a brief moment of extreme sadness, brought on by the veil I presumed. But I did not expect an end in the pain. Lestrange hadn't stopped cursing had she?

I listened, and I still heard her, but her screams were muffled, by what sounded like a piece of fabric. "CRUCIO! Sirius Black, you TRAITOR! You disobeyed our family lineage MUDBLOOD! CRUCIO!" I heard her attempt to cross through the veil, and her moan as she collapsed from the weight of her darkest memories. I opened my eyes hesitantly, and saw the veil in front of me. Weird. I thought the veil was behind me. Unless.

Unless I had succeeded in exiting limbo and was free from within the veil. Unless, the reason I was unaffected by her curses was because they couldn't penetrate the veil. I turned around and saw the battle scene where Bellatrix and I fought years ago.

I fell to my knees and cried. I cried out of joy and I cried for the memories that still lingered in this room. I cried for my cousin and the joy she never felt. I wished that all people could feel as happy as I felt at that moment. I had escaped death. Something no one ever did before. I had lived.

So, I wrote this originally for an english project and decided to post it, lemme know what you think, and if a sequel/prequel is worth writing.