Only one pair was still battling, apparently unaware of the arrival of Dumbledore, Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: he was laughing at her.

'Come on, you can do better than that!' he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.

The second jet of red light hit him squarely on the chest.

The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.

It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch."

Lupin blinked and looked around as he came back to himself, the memory kept playing through his mind taking up his concentration. He was still standing in the veil room; Dumbledore had stationed him there one of the people guarding the captured death eaters. None of them, death eaters or guards knew exactly what was going to happen next. Would the minister believe Dumbledore at last? would he take these death eaters into custody or would fudge's incredible talent for denial come into play yet again and cause him and the other order members standing guard over the death eaters to be the ones in trouble. They were too far underground to hear anything from upstairs, the whole of the main foyer could explode and they wouldn't hear it which meant that the silence was no evidence of a lack of trouble.

Lupin was getting impatient. Being stuck playing guardsman for a bunch of death eaters, standing here so close to the thing that may or may not have killed Sirius, unable to do anything even show how he was feeling was torturous. He wanted no he needed Dumbledore to turn up with fudge and take the death eaters off his hands.

He was used to hiding his emotions where Sirius was concerned and he had spent most of his life learning to control and suppress the wolf part of his nature in order to live among other wizards but this was the hardest he had ever had to work in order to contain himself. He wanted to yell and rage he wanted to find Bellatrix Lestrange and rip her to shreds.

If he was to have any hope of keeping himself together he knew that he needed to find the unspeakable who was in charge of the veil and get information. He needed to know how it worked, to know if there was any chance. He knew that everybody else believed that Sirius had been killed but he just couldn't bear to believe it. He had to find out exactly how this veil worked.

Lupin was still trapped in his personal prison of fear worry pain and impatience when the door opened. Death eaters and order members alike looked to see who would come in. The order members were all relived to see Dumbledore walk through the door, he was followed in by fudge. Fudge and Dumbledore came down the steps. A group of Dementors entered the room behind them and the temperature dropped by several degrees. A Phoenix patronus was flying delicately around fudge and Dumbledore protecting them from the effects of the Dementors. Lupin heard the other order members Conjure patronuses to act as personal guardians but Lupin himself just couldn't manage it. Right now He couldn't bring a single happy thought into his mind. Dumbledore looked at him and Lupin had the feeling as many had before under that gaze that Dumbledore's eyes were looking right into him and seeing what he was thinking.

Clearly realising at least part of Lupin's problem Dumbledore came to stand next to him and the Phoenix widened its circle to include the third man. Lupin felt a little better and managed a brief

"Thank you"

Dumbledore nodded in acknowledgement then turned as fudge had to face the death eaters. Lupin hasn't realised that fudge had begun speaking.

"Well now. It has been brought extremely roughly to my attention tonight that he who must not be named is

at large again after all. And from what I can see you lot certainly seem to be involved in tonight's disruption at the very least."

Fudge was interrupted by Lucius Malfoy.

"I have had nothing to do with whatever has happened her tonight minister. I arrived in The department of mysteries for a private meeting with a member of your staff when I was accosted by these people and tied up"

Moody opened his mouth to reply but Dumbledore raised a hand and moody closed his mouth again.

"There is a simple test we can apply minister."

Fudge turned to Dumbledore

"What would this test entail, and why don't I know of it already"

"Since the last time Voldemort was at large I have gained information about those in the inner circle of his ranks, the people known to us as The death eaters. It seems that Voldemort has branded his death eaters with the dark mark on their left forearm. I believe it is intended as a way for Voldemort to call them as well as a way for them to prove their identity to each other" He turned to Malfoy "now Lucius if you can prove to us that you posses no such mark I am sure that you would be free to go with our apologies"

"Really minister I hardly think this is necessary. I am a well respected benefactor of this ministry I do not see why I should have to prove myself to him" he pointed towards Dumbledore

"Come now Lucius. If your presence here is a misunderstanding, then surely there is no harm in proving it." Replied the minister briskly

Lucius Malfoy stood refusing to show his arm. After a minute moody spoke

"Come on now I think we should take a look at that arm now don't you Malfoy" and stepping forward he grabbed Malfoy's arm. He shoved the sleeve up roughly and stretched out the arm to show his forearm to the room. there on his arm was the dark mark black as night. "

"Seems pretty conclusive proof to me" growled moody

"And to me" replied fudge. He turned to the other prisoners "do Any more of you wish to claim innocence? It appears that It will be simple enough to check"

Nobody spoke

"Very well then you will all be taken straight to Azkaban." He motioned to the Dementors who came forward and led the prisoners out of the room. Fudge followed behind them after wishing Dumbledore goodnight. Dumbledore turned to The order members "well done all of you. You've done brilliantly tonight. Now you all need to go home and get some rest. Everyone Except Lupin moved towards the door and noticing that he hadn't moved Dumbledore Stayed still as well. The order members exited and the room was left empty except for Lupin and Dumbledore.

Dumbledore turned to Lupin

"I know why you are staying here Remus. I heard that Sirius fell into the veil. I have to admit that I know as little about it as you do however I have already sent a message to roger Toftle, he is the unspeakable in charge of the veil, I have asked him to come here immediately. I presume you intend to remain here until you have spoken to him."

"Yes sir, but how did you know"

"As I have said many times over many years. There is very little that happens at Hogwarts that I do not know about. And one thing I do know is how important Sirius is to you Remus"

"Remus suddenly felt very much like the young boy who had attended Hogwarts so long ago

"Yes sir."

Dumbledore smiled at him.

"Will you be alright waiting here alone. I must return to Hogwarts for a while. harry is waiting and I'm sure he is as upset as you are although you do better and concealing it. "

Lupin smiled slightly. "I have had a lot more practice. And I will be fine here."

"Very well then. I will speak to you again, once you have spoken to Toftle."

Dumbledore turned and left the room. Lupin sat down on the edge of the platform on which the veiled arch stood. He sighed and put his head in his hands. right now Lupin wanted to yell and to scream and to cry. He was tired, furious and most of all terrified. Half of him believe as the others did that the fact Sirius vanished must mean he was dead but the other half rebelled against that thought, and the additional pain her knew Sirius being dead would bring. There was no way for him to know for sure Sirius's fate, He knew he would just have to wait to find out what the veil was before he would know. As he sat there he fought to keep his emotions inside and to keep his mask in place a little longer. He could go to pieces once he had spoken to Toftle until then he had to remain in control of himself.

A few hours later Lupin was still sat on the platform when a door opened at the top of the stairs. Lupin looked up and noticed that it was A different door to the one that Dumbledore and the minister had used. A short tubby man with a friendly face and an air of authority was walking down the stairs towards Lupin.

"Good evening you must be Mr Lupin." He said "Dumbledore's owl said that you needed to speak to me urgently" he paused as he noticed the large amounts of damage to the room for the first time.

"Good grief what on earth has happened. It looks like there's been a full scale battle in here"

" there has been" replied Lupin ". A fight between order of Phoenix personnel, death eaters, and a number of very brave Hogwarts students to be precise."

Toftle sat down heavily on the wooden bench facing where Lupin sat on the platform.

"Good heavens. How did death eaters get into the ministry, and into the department of mysteries of all places? and why on earth would they want to?"

"They were here trying to obtain a prophesy on the orders of he who must not be named."

Toftle paled visibly.

"It's true? He really is back? I've heard the rumours everybody has and I didn't want to doubt Dumbledore he's an old friend but still I must admit that I didn't quite dare believe he was really back"

"Well believe it. He showed himself to a bunch of Aurors and the minister himself a matter of hours ago."

"Good gracious."

Toftle looked around again

"Considering what has happened in here tonight and the fact that you needed to see me so urgently that it warranted getting me out of bed would I be right to presume that somebody has fallen through the veil during the fight."

"Yes that is exactly what has happened. I need to know what that veil is, what it does, and how it works"

"Well that is a very complicated bunch of questions."

"I'm sure that I can keep up. Let's start with what is it"

"Even that is complicated. It is an ancient object. To some it is an executioner to others a salvation."

"What do you mean. How can it be both?"

"Well I suppose the best way to explain that is to explain how it is used."

"I am listening"

"Well as you know if a person is suspected of a serious crime they are tried in front of the Wizengamot and it is decided whether they are innocent or guilty and if guilty what punishment they deserve. Sometimes people are tried for crimes that if found guilty they would suffer life in Azkaban or the Dementors kiss, and in some of those cases there is sufficient evidence to convict but there is still doubt over whether the person commuted the crime. Or sometimes it is clear that they were the perpetrator but there is the possibility that they were coerced or forced using the Imperius curse, threats, or blackmail. In those cases, the suspect would be placed through the veil. The veil is then judge jury and possibly executioner"

"How" interrupted Lupin. "How does it judge"

"Once a person is placed into The veil it can see into every part of the person's life and mind. It can see every single thing person has done every decision they have made, and most importantly the reasons and motivations for every Oneida of those actions and decisions and the opinions, thoughts, and emotions connected to every action, decision, and motivation. It can see past false memories and altered memories it cannot be tricked or deceived in any way. The veil can tell both whether the person committed a crime worthy of death

"But we don't use execution as a punishment"

"We do with the veil. It is the only way it can judge guilty or innocent, death or life. It's judgement of a crime worthy of death is equal to the level of crime that we would punish with a Dementors kiss or life in Azkaban which is why it is only used for suspects who may have committed a crime of that magnitude"

"Right I understand that. You were saying"

"Yes I was saying. The can tell not only whether a person has committed a crime worthy of death but also whether they committed that crime willingly or if it was committed under coercion or control. If the person has willingly committed that serious a crime the veil kills them and they never return. However, if either they committed the crime unwillingly or didn't commit it at all the veil sends them back unharmed. In fact, it removes and remaining imperious control or mind and memory modification. That may have been performed. Which would allow somebody who had been cursed to then explain what had happened to the Wizengamot"

"So basically if a person is guilty of serious crime they die if they aren't guilty they get spat back"

"In a nutshell that is pretty much right however how long an innocent person takes to come back would vary the more complicated their life the more time it would take for the veil to read it all and judge"

"But what about people who have done things during the war that in peace time would be a crime but now is just fighting our side or defending themselves"

"A person who has killed or used an unforgivable curse in self-defence would be judged innocent, as would a person who had killed or used unforgivable curses as a fighter on our side against supporters of he who must not be named. As I explained the veil can see motive and reasoning as well as action. And motive and reasoning is one of the most important factors when deciding upon guilt."

Lupin sat heavily again but he was visibly more relaxed and brighter as if a weight had been lifted. Inside the fear and panic had receded to be replaced by relief. For all the man's faults Lupin knew that Sirius was innocent of any crime, and that meant he would return.

"You seem cheered by this information. Am I to assume then that it was a fellow order of the Phoenix member that fell though the veil"

"Yes it is"

" May I ask who"

"Will the fact that he went in and came back be able to be told to the minister of magic"

"I don't see why not but I don't see why it would be necessary "

"Then I will tell you. It was Sirius black"

Toftle gasped. And stumbled backwards away from Lupin

"But but he is a mass murderer are you telling me that the order of the Phoenix has been concealing him this whole time"

"He is no murderer. He is a valued member of the order of the Phoenix and my dear friend. He was wrongly convicted without a trial and the veil will prove that"

"Well we will see" said Toftle visibly shaken "I hope you are not mistaken"

"May I be permitted to as a question" said a voice from the shadows Lupin and Toftle looked round to see Albus Dumbledore emerge from the shadows near a door"

"Dumbledore sir" said Lupin "how long have you been here"

"I concluded my business at Hogwarts more quickly than I had anticipated and arrived just as Mr Toftle began explaining how this fascinating veil works. I didn't wish to interrupt but I must ask one question"

"Ask away sir" replied Toftle

"What would happen if a person who was already dead fell into the veil"

"That would depend on how recently they died"

"Say they died just a second or two before falling in"

"Well in that case the veil would still be able to read the person and would make a judgement the same as it would with a living person. If the person is guilty then they would not return the veil would keep the body, however if the man was innocent the body would return though the veil."

"Thank you"

"Do you think that Mr black was dead when he fell through. "

Dumbledore quickly shot Lupin a look which clearly said don't disagree with me and turned back to Toftle

"We are not sure. He was certainly hit by a spell by a dean eater which caused him to fall through but we don't know whether it was a stunning spell or a killing spell."

"That is unfortunate. Well I must admit that I find it very hard to believe that he might me innocent whatever you both say. I have a feeling that you have been fooled but the veil will tell"

"Indeed it will. Tell me what is the longest it has taken for the veil to return a person."

"I believe the record was 12 days. But as I said I don't think that Mr black will be returning"

"Well I know that you are wrong" burst out Lupin "he will return and I fully intend to remain in this room until he does."

"I hardly think that that would be appropriate" replied Toftle

"Come now roger" said Dumbledore calmly "I am sure that it can be accommodated for Mr Lupin to remain here."

But where will he sleep how will he eat"

"I don't care about any of that I'm not leaving here! Sirius is innocent and I won't set one foot out of this room until he comes back and walks out with me!" Exploded Lupin. The idea of leaving had been the last straw he was impetus and now very angry at the man in front of him. all of his calm controlled facade had vanished and he actually looked a bit like a wolf for a moment.

Toftle saw the nature of the wolf emerging on Lupin's face and recognised it. He gasped and stumbled back several feet Dumbledore turned and placed a hand gently on Lupin's shoulder

"Hush now Remus you are losing control" he warned "take a moment to calm down Sirius wouldn't wish you to lose yourself for his sake. I will handle this you won't have to go anywhere for now"

Lupin took a few deep breaths and nodded.

"Thank you Albus"

Dumbledore nodded at Lupin and turned back to Toftle who was now standing several feet away chalk white staring at Lupin in fright.

"He's a. He's a. A.

"A werewolf Toftle yes he is but a perfectly tame one most of the time. I'm afraid that he is rather upset today owing to the misadventure of Mr black"

"I am astounded by the company you keep Dumbledore, werewolves and murderers."

"I do not keep company with murderers I am fully convinced of Mr blacks innocence. And as for werewolves being one is an affliction that can't be helped. one still has a choice of whether to embrace that nature and become an animal or to rise above it. My friend here has chosen the latter. As I said fear and panic has brought his wolf a little closer to the surface tonight. As could be said of the beast within us all were we in his position. But we diverge. We were speaking of the practicalities of Mr Lupin remaining here to await the return of Mr black."

"As I said it simply isn't practical there are no accommodations in here."

"I'm sure that can be remedied." Dumbledore climbed up the stone stairs and stopped half way up. Waving his wand, he began to mutter spells. A 5meter width of 4 rows of wooden benches disappeared as did the stone floor beneath them creating a large flat bottomed hollow in the floor a meter deep at the front and several meters deep at the back. Into which against the far side Dumbledore conjured a large comfortable king size bed its headboard leaning against the deep back of the hollow, an oak beside table and on the table an ornately decorated lamp. A rug took up the floor space on the near side of the bed. Next to the bedside table against the back of the hollow appeared an elegant wardrobe a short set of stairs led from the place Dumbledore stood by the at the side of the hollow next to the shallow front down onto the base of the hollow and as soon as they formed they became covered in a deep red shag pile carpet. On the rug next to the bed appeared a pair of slippers and on the pillow a pair of pyjamas.

Dumbledore turned to the other side of the Isle and with another wave and more murmured spells another hollow grew this one with a tiled floor. An enamel bathtub with golden clawed feet and golden taps appeared at the far side then a toilet and wash basin. Between the wash basin and the bath, a towel rack appeared filled with a selection of fluffy towels, then a rack appeared above the bath and filled itself with a wash puff and several soaps and then more soap appeared on the wash basin as well. Steps led down again from the front of the Isle side into the floor of the room. A door appeared at the top of the stairs followed by a wall at the front back and both sides rising until they matched the height of the door of the room at which point a roof appeared. Dumbledore turned and pointed at the plinth on which the veil stood. A large ornate rug appeared and a large squashy armchair came into appearance with a small table underneath the near side arm. The other side of the chair appeared a sideboard with a wizard wireless a glass and a large jug of pumpkin juice. And opposite the arm chair appeared, lastly with a final flick of Dumbledore's wand there appeared a large well stocked bookshelf. And several cupboards

Dumbledore came back to where Lupin and Toftle were standing.

"There that should just about do it I think." He turned to Lupin "will these accommodations be sufficient for you to wait for Sirius in?"

"Sufficient? I haven't lived anywhere this nice since I taught at Hogwarts."

"I am gratified that you are pleased" he turned to Toftle "have your concerns been solved"

"Well yes I suppose so. But if he is to stay I must insist he be locked in. This is the department of mysteries I can't have him wandering through the other rooms"

"That will be fine" said Lupin without hesitation"

"And what about food" said Toftle now flustered and clearly scrambling for a way to refuse to let the man stay. Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment then said clearly

"Dobby" with a pop Dobby appeared and bowed low to Dumbledore.

"Good evening sir" he squeaked "how can I help"

"Mr lupin here needs to reside in this room for some time. We aren't sure how long and he will need feeding. I would like you please to bring him a selection of the food served at each meal at Hogwarts and if he remains here once the school year has ended please feed him as you all do the few teachers that remain at the castle over the summer."

"Certainly sir is there anything else"

"Yes I think it best if you respond to Lupin's call as you would mine bring him anything he requests by way of sustenance and home comforts and facilitate the passing of messages between him and me."

"Of course sir."

"Thank You Dobby"

Dobby vanished and Dumbledore turned to face Toftle who was once again looking dumbstruck

"That house elf was wearing clothes" he stammered

Dumbledore sighed

"Yes he was, dobby is a free elf in my employ at Hogwarts"

"You own a free elf"

"No I do not own him. He is a free elf and wishes to remain so. I employ him"

"You are a very strange man"

"I take that as a compliment"

"I bet you do. Well it seems that nothing I say is going to change your minds so your friend can stay. But I still say I really don't think that Mr black will be returning."

Lupin looked like he was about to start ranting again in reply to that comment so toftle added quickly

"But I will say no more for now and will bid you both a good night."

Toftle turned walked up the stairs and left the room.

Lupin turned to Dumbledore

"Why did you ask about dead bodies I saw Sirius get hit it was definitely a stunner he stumbled backwards and toppled through the veil"

"I know that. And I have no doubt that Sirius will return safe and sound however you were the only person who saw him get hit so that opens up possibilities

"I don't understand"

"The ministry is in shambles right now and Voldemort has most certainly infiltrated it at some level, getting the word out that Sirius is innocent will be difficult and getting it believed even more so. But the death eaters think he is dead. The other order members think he is dead. If we perpetuate the idea that he is dead but proved innocent at the same time. Some people will pick up in the innocent but nobody will then bat an eyelid at somebody who looks like him walking around. A few mild appearance altering spells of the level that wouldn't be picked up by spell detection and he can come out of hiding with a new name and join the order as an active member."

"And after the war is won and when people fully trust the ministry again they can release a full statement stating his innocence and he can go back to a normal life"

Lupin thought for a moment and then said

"That's genius"

"I'm glad you approve"

"It's a good plan but there do seem to be a few holes. For example, even if we can get the live Sirius out of here unnoticed how do we get round the lack of a body."

". Let's sit and have some tea and discuss the specifics. Dumbledore waved his wand and a tray of tea and crumpets appeared. Along with a second chair. He sat down and indicated for Lupin to do the same. Lupin sat and Dumbledore offered him the plate of crumpets Lupin took one and Dumbledore withdrew the plate. He put the plate back on the tray before Taking one himself, sitting back in his chair he explained the plan in detail.

An hour later Dumbledore stood. "I think that is everything. I will make the necessary preparations. Send a patronus to me the moment Sirius comes out."

"I will. Thank you again for all of this." Lupin waved his hand around to indicate all of the home comforts that Dumbledore had conjured for him.

"You are most welcome. It's the least I could do. Of course I wouldn't dream of forcing you to leave here without Sirius. I However must get back to the school, and more importantly right now to my bed. I hope that you don't have to wait too long."

"I hope so too. Goodnight Albus"

"Good night Remus"

Dumbledore left and Remus made his way to the small bedroom. After Changing into the pyjamas he climbed into bed and despite the dark thoughts running through his head the exhaustion of the day won out a Lupin was quickly asleep.

The next morning Lupin woke early dreams about Sirius had dogged his sleep. Sirius had been falling out of windows of rooftops broomsticks and even cliffs and despite his presence Lupin had not even once managed to get to him on time to pull him back. Rolling to face the bedside table he looked at the clock, seeing the time he groaned and tried to get back to sleep but after a few minutes accepted that it was a futile effort. He climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom. He showered and dressed selecting a rather elegant violet robe from the wardrobe Dumbledore had provided. He then went to the plinth where he found a pot of hot tea on the side board along with a jug of milk and a pot of sugar, Remus poured himself a cup and went to sit in the chair leaning back and sipping gently he tried to calm his frazzled mind which had begun to race again since he had got up. He had just managed to reach some form of calmness when Dobby appeared bearing a large tray.

"I have brought you breakfast" he squeaked placing the tray on the table next to the armchair he stepped back bowed deeply and promptly disappeared again. Remus set down the empty tea cup put the tray in his lap and began to eat, Dobby had clearly brought a sampling of everything that was on offer at the Hogwarts breakfast table, there was a bowel of bran flakes a plate of scrambled egg and bacon, buttered toast with pots of marmalade and jam and even some kippers which Remus found to his pleasure had had all the tiny bones vanished. After he had eaten his fill of breakfast he placed the tray back on the table and leant back trying to decide what to do with his day. After a moment he remembered the bookcase Dumbledore had provided, rising from his chair he walked to the bookcase and studied the selection of books on offer, there was a wide selection of books several of which appeared to be from Dumbledore's own private collection, Remus chuckled upon spotting a book titled "werewolves, are they really so bad?" By Miranda moonstone. Clearly Dumbledore's idea of humour picking it up he continues to browse for a couple of others, after few minutes of indecision Remus selected four more books and returned to the chair, he settled himself tucking the extra books beside him and opened the book on werewolves. he discovered that it was a fascinating read and he spent the whole of the morning reading Pausing only when dobby reappeared with lunch which was a delicious beef casserole. After lunch remus decided he had sat long enough ad needed to stretch his legs. he spent almost an hour wandering round the room up and down the various staircases, then he returned to his chair and to his book. When dobby turned up with dinner remus had nodded off in the chair and startled when dobby woke him up

"I'm terribly sorry to disturb you sir but I have your dinner"

"don't worry dobby its no trouble thank you for the food" he took the tray and settled to eat a rather lovely meal of chicken pie and new potatoes. Whist eating Remus thought to himself that he hadn't had food this good since Mrs weasly had been staying at Grimuald place regularly.

After dinner remus had a brief explore of the various cupboards Dumbledore had provided and discovered several nice things. Two cupboards in particular caught his interest, one contained several liquors and spirits including several bottles of butter beer and a decanter of fire whiskey. And the other was full of single player versions of games including a single player chess set where the black pieces played themselves. Remus took the chess set and a bottle of butter beer back to his chair and played chess until Late into the evening, he managed to beat the black pieces 5 games to 4. Finally Remus felt too tired to play any more. He rose wheat back to the bathroom where he indulged in a long soak in the bath and then went to bed. Feeling greatly calmed by such a pleasant day he slept much better and awoke the next morning feeling refreshed rather than frazzled. Life in the archway room continued much in the same pattern for just over three weeks. Remus was actually finding the aloneness restful rather than unpleasant. After the first night he had not had any more bad dreams and his confidence in Sirius was such that he fully trusted that he would come back, to remus's mind, there was no question I that, it was simply a matter of waiting. After all sirius had had a complicated life and it was therefore bound to take a while for the veil to go through it.

Dumbledore had made the room extremely pleasant and comfortable and so remus had decided to view his time there as a sort of holiday and do his best to relax.

The sole interruption to remus' solitude came just as he was finishing breakfast on day 23. Remus heard a key in the lock of one of the doors and it opened to admit the portly mr Toftle. He marched down the stairs doing his best to exude an air of authority, sat himself in the second chair next to Remus, and spoke at him extremely dogmatically. Apparently it had now been a full week longer than the record length of time for somebody returning from the veil and Toftle had come to state once again that He was certain Sirius was gone for good and he sincerely felt that Remus should abandon the vigil and leave. It didn't take much however to convince the man to abandon the effort. Remus politely told him that he was staying put and when Toftle tried to argue it took only A low growl from Remus to send the man scurrying back up the stairs and out of the door. As Remus returned to his seat after watching the man depart he thought to himself that Clearly Toftle was frightened of werewolves, a fact which lupin found extremely humorous.

On day 29 Remus had just finished a lunch of grilled sardines and potato when the curtain hanging over the veil began to twitch, Remus looked up not quite sure if something was happening or if perhaps it was just a breeze running through the room. He then noticed that he could t feel a breeze and he curtain was continuing to twitch. Remus kept watching it the lunch forgotten in his lap when suddenly the Twitching increased and the curtain began to gust about wildly, lupin leapt to his feet sending the fish fly across the room and rushed towards the arch. He reached the arch and skidded to a halt, a few moments later the curtain billowed right up in the air revealing a viciously swirling silver mist Sirius tumbled out of the archway and landed heavily face down on the floor. The curtain dropped silently back into place at the same moment that Lupin dropped to sirius' side. Lupin laid a hand gently on sirius' shoulder and called his name gently. Sirius stirred and groaned, Remus helped him turn over and lifted him into a siting position.

"Sirius are you alright" he asked urgently

Sirius shook his head as if trying to clear it and peered around the room for several seconds before replying

"I think so," he paused still looking around "where am I"

"Still in the department of mysteries, in the veil room"

Sirius squinted around again

"it doesn't look much like the veil room"

" I've been here quite a while. Dumbledore provided me with a few home comforts. do you remember the battle and falling into the veil?"

Sirius paused to think for a moment before replying

"Yeah, yeah I think so. Belatrix shot a spell at me"

"Yes a stunner it hit you in the chest and you fell into the veil"

"No it wasn't a stunner it was a killer but it just missed me, it, only grazed my shirt but I tripped backwards over my own bloody feet while i was dodging it"

He looked around again, this time do using on the sumptuous furnishings covering the plinth

"a few home comforts is a bit of understatement! you said you have been here a while how long was I in that blasted thing"

"Just over four weeks"

"Is that all? it seemed like longer"

"wait, do you know how the veil works?"

"yeah a few of the other people in Azkaban knew about it. One of them told me before he lost his mind, kept begging the Dementors to subject him to it, he claimed it would prove his innocence but I think he just wanted to die and end the suffering. But How do you know about it?"

"Dumbledore fetched the unspeakable in charge of it just after the battle"

Remus paused

"What is it like being in the veil"

"it isn't fun in there I can tell you that"

"Toftle, the unspeakable told us the basics, but he hasn't been through it. Please tell me, What exactly happened in there"

"I kept reliving old memories, good ones and bad ones. but all the memories were out of order and jumbled up with each other, some of them kept repeating over and over. it was so confusing and I lost track of time it felt like I was in there forever. I'm just glad it's over"

Lupin hugged Sirius tightly then looked at him

"so am I Sirius so am I"

They both say silently for a few moments then lupin leant back and looked Sirius in the eye.

"I have to warn you about something, everyone except me and dumbledore thinks you are dead, including Harry"

"Why"

"Well most of them assumed the veil kills anyone who falls through, and Dumbledore put the idea in Toftle's head that you might have been hit with a killing spell before falling in. apparently the veil would still be capable of judging you if you were recently dead."

"but if you were so sure that it was a stunner Belatrix used why did Dumbledore do that"

"well obviously this now proves your innocence. And technically you should no longer be considered a criminal or a fugitive but Dumbledore thinks it would be hard with the state the ministry is in to get people to believe a statement that you have been proved innocent. He wants to put out the story that you are dead but proved innocent As he put it some people will listen to the innocent but everybody will listen to the dead, then after the war when the ministry is straight again we can announce again that you are innocent."

"But why does it matter, why announce anything now, why not leave things the way hey are then release a statement about me going through the veil after the war?"

"Dumbledore sees this as an opportunity, a lot of people including a lot of death eaters saw you fall into the veil. Making the general population believe you are dead will be easy and then the hunt for you stops. This way if you just make a few non charmed appearance changes you will be able to be useful for the order like you've been wanting to be for months."

" I can see the logic but I don't like the idea of letting harry think that I'm dead, I'm the only adult family he has he must be devastated."

"he is." Lupin admitted "But he will cope, the connection between his mind and Voldemort's it too much of a danger. Harry cannot be told sensitive information."

"I understand I guess." He paused "now there must be more to this plan of Dumbledores I can already see a few holes in what you have told me so far. And I want to know how Dumbledore convinced an unspeakable to let you live in the heart of the department of mysteries for almost a month."

"Let's both sit down somewhere more comfortable, we can have some tea and I will tell you everything "

lupin climed to his feet and then leant down and helped Sirius to his feet. Sirius wobbled unsteadily so Lupin led him gently over to the chair and sat him down, with a wave of his wand a second chair appeared just like the first night. Lupin fetched the tray of tea that was sitting waiting on the side board and brought it over to the small table that was now sitting between the two armchairs. Lupin sat in the second chair and poured Sirius a cup of tea after handing it to the man remus conjured a second cup and filled it with tea for himself, he picked it up and sat back in his chair. they drank their tea and lupin explained all that had happened since Sirius fell into the veil while Sirius listened in silence. After that he described in detail what Dumbledore was planning. When he had finished Sirius put down his mug and leant forward before replying

"Well, it's a good plan I have to admit that, and it's certainly the sort of plan that only Dumbledore could concoct,."

Lupin interrupted

"You mean utterly bonkers, not a chance in hell of working, yet somehow it comes off without a hitch?"

"That's exactly what I mean" Sirius agreed grinning. " But" he continued " I don't like the idea of going to a different part of the country and I certainly don't like the idea of not being able to see you till after the war either"

"I know I don't like it any more hat you do" Lupin agreed " but you cant stay around here,"

"I don't see why not if everyone thinks I'm dead it should be safe"

Lupin signed " because a man looking somewhat like the supposedly dead Sirius black wandering round London, where his family home is known to be, would be suspicious, however a man looking somewhat like the supposedly dead Sirius black wandering round a far away part of the country would be at most and interesting curiosity. , and there are plenty of order cells doing very important work all over England, here's no need for you to stay here, you can Be just as much help working with one of the other cells as you would be with the head cell in London."

"You're reason enough for me to stay"

"I won't be in London much longer I have my own assignments. . And anyway I'm afraid Dumbledore as usual is sensible to ban us from seeing each other for now,"

"Why" Sirius demanded almost petulantly

" the same reason as the location, it would make for too much of a risk that people could recognise you as you. a man who looks like the supposedly dead Sirius black hanging around with blacks old school friend would be very suspicious, this is the only way to both keep you safe and enable you to help."

Sirius didn't look convinced so Remus added " It will be alright, I promise. We Will beat Voldemort and then We will be together again once the war is over."

Sirius looked extremely thoughtful for a moment as if something remus had said had struck a nerve. Remus was just about to say something more when Sirius spoke

"Alright" he sighed ". I know your right even though I still don't like it" he paused then carried on speaking . "And your much more than just an old school friend Remus you know that"

"Yes I do" he conceded smiling and reaching out to stroke Sirius's cheek . "But nobody else does"

"Well I think it is time that they did" Sirius replied determinedly catching Remus hand and holding it pressed against his face for a moment before allowing Remus to draw it back to his side.

Remus did a double take and leant forward towards sirius

"What do you mean? Are you considering going public?!"

"Not considering, decided"

"You've always been so adamant about keeping our relationship secret"

"I know I have, but I have relived a lot of memories in that blasted veil and I have come to realise that I was a fool for ever hiding us"

"Wow" said Remus somewhat stunned " I have to admit I often wondered if perhaps you were ashamed for people to know you were dating a werewolf"

"I'm so sorry you event felt that way. I'm not ashamed to be with you and I never have been, and I was wrong to have acted as if I were. To be honest I don't know why I wanted to keep it a secret. I should have shouted it from the Hogwarts castle roof the day I fell in love with you and I'm terribly sorry that I didn't."

"I forgive you" Remus grinned "But I must admit I would have liked to see you shouting from the castle roof."

"I bet you would"

" but knowing you you would've fallen off and landed yourself in the hospital wing" remus chuckled.

"most likely" Sirius replied smiling. Then his face straightened out and he looked Remus straight in the eyes

"I promise you Remus, the very day this wretched war is over I will come back to you and I will make everybody very much aware of quite how much you mean to me"

"You don't have to do that"

"I want to." Sirius insisted " You mean more than the world to me and I want everyone to know it."

"Alright then, I shall await that day eagerly, Although perhaps you should stay off the roof I don't want you falling and getting hurt."

Sirius chuckled then yanked lupin off his chair and onto his lap where he wrapped the man into a tender hug. then he leant his head forwards and kissed him soundly. When they broke apart Remus smiled serenely at Sirius and Sirius smiled back, they stayed squashed together in the one chair for some time silently enjoying each other's company. After almost an hour lupin sent Sirius off to get a shower and dispatched a Patronus to professor Dumbledore. it was time to put the plan into action.