SOMEWHERE ON THE OTHER SIDE.

Summary: Crazy Alphard Black. Crazy. Crazy. Was he truly crazy, or just a product of terrible circumstances? After all, growing up homosexual in the 1940s was the equivalent of hell on earth. Growing up homosexual in the Black family… well that was even worse.

A/N: So it's been a while, but this idea took hold of me before the holidays and refused to let me go. This is going to be a bit different than your standard Harry Potter fanfiction, where there is little mention of the magical world (save for a few chapters here and there). Instead, it follows a minor character through a life he never thought he would live. Please bear with me.

Rating: PG-13

Trigger Warning: Character Death (sometimes violently), Torture, Child Abuse, and others may add in. Specific chapters will have trigger warnings before them.

Prologue

"Alphard Black. 1937-1977. Beloved by many."

He could still remember the epitaph on his headstone at his grave behind Black Manor. What a crock of shit. Well, maybe only part of it was a crock of shit. Alphard Black did die in the spring of 1977. He was born in the winter of 1937. And to be completely honest, he was rather popular among many in the Wizarding World. So if every singular part of his epitaph contained truths, why was it a "crock of shit?" In fact, while Alphard Black died in name, the man behind the name didn't die. In fact, he lived quite a few years beyond 1977.

2002 to be exact.

Alexander Barnes rested quietly in a small magical infirmary outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The 71-year old man was dying. It was a rather young age for a wizard, many others outliving him by decades. While a small part of him wanted to live longer and see more of the world, he lived a rather full life (all things considered). As he rested, his eyes moved slowly around the room. He knew that he didn't have much time remaining. While Augustine's was one of the top rated magical infirmaries (or hospitals as they called them in the States), even the magical world had no cure for his problem.

The muggles had a word for it: cancer. Such as simple word for such a horrible disease. Now that Al knew more about it, he realized that what his family called the "rot," was the same thing killing him now. Cancer. His body fought a losing battle against it. There was only so much that they could do to ease the pain. It started in his brain and soon traveled through the rest of his body. The doctors told him that they could prolong his life for a few years with different treatments. Al wanted none of it. He had enough of their "treatments" as a young adult to last him a lifetime. Besides, there wasn't much left to fight for. Andrea would eventually have to forgive him. She was the only reason that he held onto his decrepit body for so long.

Turning to look at the chair beside his bed, he could see his best friend asleep with her head against the wall, using her sweater as a makeshift pillow. She was still as beautiful as ever. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a sloppy pony tail. There were wrinkles around her eyes from laughing and smiling too much in her youth. She aged well. Andy was his saving grace in life. There were so many instances where the woman saved his life that he would never be able to properly repay her. While Al wanted to reach out and push a stray strand of hair behind her ear, he no longer had the energy.

"It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

It wasn't uncommon for Al to hear Matty's voice. He was one of the many voices that lived inside of his head. He had been there the longest, and still held a light and jovial tone of the seventeen year old boy it once belonged to. Very slowly, Al turned to look towards the direction of the voice. Once again, he wasn't all surprised to see his first love standing next to his bed. His bright brown eyes seemed to sparkle in the light, his short brown hair gelled back. "Matty?" he whispered, lacking the energy to reach out and try to touch him.

"Hey, Alphie," the boy smiled, taking a step closer and resting his hand on Al's. Over the past few days, many people came to visit Al in the hospital. Some of them were real, some of them visions in his head. They weren't kidding when they called him "Crazy Alphard Black" at home. He heard voices that no one else could hear. However, it was only over the past few days that the visions started re-appearing.

Al was shocked to feel warmth coming from Matty's hand on top of his own. He looked down before looking back up at him. "Matty…" he repeated quietly.

The boy laughed and nodded. "Yes, it's really me, Al." Warmth radiated through Al's cold body, quelling the fear and pain wreaking havoc on his body. "I've missed you."

The tears began to well up in his eyes and Matty easily reached out and wiped them away. Alphard always knew that he was crazy, but this was taking it to a completely new level. He had always heard voices, ever since his father sent him in to Mungo's to be "treated" for his problem. There were moments when he would see familiar figures from the corner of his eye. The past few days, he found himself having conversations with the voices in his head and watching them materialize in front of him. Now, he could honestly feel his first boyfriend's gentle touch.

"I've missed you too," Al choked out.

"No need to cry, Alphard," Matty cooed quietly. "Why are you crying?"

Alphard wasn't quite sure how to answer that question. Why was he crying? Perhaps it was all his emotions finally reaching a tipping point. Perhaps it was the sight of Matty in front of him again. Sure, Liam and Aiden had come in the past few days, but this was the first time he saw his Matty since the day he was killed. He looked so good. "It's you."

Matty laughed again, the sound like music to Alphard's ears. The boy reached out and carded his hand through Alphard's thinning hair. "I know, sweetheart. It's a bit of a shock, I'd imagine."

Al couldn't get over how he fell back into Matty's touch. He nuzzled his head into his love's hand, causing Matty to smile. "Are you here to… you know… take me?"

Once again, Matty's melodic laugh filled the room. Al quickly turned to look at Andy, who remained fast asleep as the boy spoke. "That's up to you, my love. I'm here until you're ready to go. It could be today, it could be years from today. I'm here to make it easier for you." He reached out to brush more tears away from Al's cheeks.

"Come here…" Al whispered. The man used all the strength that he had left to move over a bit in the bed, making room for Matty to crawl in next to him. Despite all the years that passed, the young boy still fit in his arms like they were seventeen and hiding in their "Secret Room." Matty snuggled close and Al was content to hold him. He could almost smell the fresh scent of Matty's cologne mingling with his shampoo. It was a calming scent.

"Alphie?" Matty asked after a few long minutes of peaceful silence.

"Yeah, Matty?" Al exhaled.

"I love you."

Al's heart melted at the words as he placed one final kiss on top of Matty's head. "I love you too, sweetheart. I love you too." Things lapsed into silence again after that. Al's eyelids soon became heavy (like they did so often any more) and he took one last glance at his best friend before allowing his eyes to close.

The man easily drifted off into one last peaceful sleep.

"Alexander Barnes. 1932-2002. Friend to all."

A/n: So that's just the introduction. Lemme know if you guys are interested in having me continue. There were a lot of things left unexplained that I would love to write out! I don't know if I want this to go in chronological order, or have it be little snippets of his life (with explanation of where they place in his timeline). Feedback is greatly appreciated.

Should people be interested, the next chapter will be explaining "Matty" a bit more.

Thanks for reading!