Chapter 10: Revelations

Harry woke up with the morning light streaking on his face through the window. The sun almost seemed to shine brighter that morning. Much like how Harry was feeling right now.

The events that had unfolded the previous day was unreal to him. Never in a million years had he thought that Sirius could be alive even after he had fallen to the same fate as Sirius.

He went back to the moment when he was fifteen and had seen his godfather fall through the veil. He had thought it was a humourless prank for a few moments, that Sirius was going to come out of the other side at any moment even though Remus kept telling him that he was gone. He had waited for what felt like an eternity before the reality had sunk into him that his godfather was gone. He remembered breaking free of Lupin's hold and going after Bellatrix like a mad man. He remembers the grief he had felt. The urge for vengeance burning though his skin. The rage he had felt to hurt his godfather's murderer. A maniacal rage.

And for what? Only to fall into Voldemort's trap.

But there was an unsettling thought forming in Harry's head. Sirius didn't die after falling through the veil, much like himself. He had just got stranded in a different world.

But then who had he talked to using the resurrection stone? Who was that ghost who gave him the encouragement and courage to embrace his own death for the good of his people? Was it even a ghost? Or again like Dumbledore said, did that all happen inside his head?

A million questions were burning through his mind, but he had neither the energy nor the will to ask those questions yesterday. No real conversation had happened after the tearful reunion. After the emotional breakdown Sirius was quick to put him to bed saying that he still needed his rest and that they will talk in the morning. Harry had tried to argue but then conceded that it was a fair point. He was still recovering from a bullet shot. But he had garnered one thing from Sirius. They were in Grimmauld Place, or whatever form of ancestral home this world's Sirius had. This also meant that he had apparated a long way without his wand. He had apparated from Godric's Hollow to London just by instinct.

Harry got up from the bed and changed out of his pajamas. Sirius certainly had an extensive wardrobe. Harry again wondered what exactly Sirius had done in this world till then.

He walked out of the room he had got assigned by Sirius which was on the upper floor. He walked down the stairs and into the living room only for the fresh smell of pancakes to hit him like a homecoming call. It was coming from the kitchen.

Harry went into the kitchen to find Sirius flipping the pancakes over the stove while humming the tune of some old song to himself. Harry didn't recognize the song ,but knowing Sirius it could have been some early muggle rock songs he used to love so much.

Sirius must have seen him enter because a moment later he said, "Finally up,are you Harry? I have never seen you get up so late. Is that usual now?"

"More usual than I would like" Harry replied.

"Well never too late to get into the good habits Harry. I don't want to see you get up early anymore. You've got a tradition to uphold now." Sirius said all this in a neutral expression not giving away anything.

Harry had seen this side of Sirius before. During the brief summer and Christmas he had spent with him when he was in his fifth year. Even though Sirius seemed to have aged drastically, his mischievous side hadn't gone away.

"I assume you still brush your teeth in the morning Harry. There is a tooth brush and towel in the bathroom. Brush your teeth, have a shower and come quick or the pancakes will get cold."

Sirius was trying to make him feel at home like he was making up for lost time. Maybe he was trying too hard.

"I'll go, but you better not eat everything yourself. Leave something for me." Harry wasn't going to back down.

He walked out of the kitchen when he heard his godfather's call again, "Don't take the white one. Those are my favourite. You can take the black."

Harry couldn't help but grin. The jokes were lame and his replies were even worse but it didn't matter.

This is what family is supposed to look like. People who love each other and take care of each other.

This is the kind of life Harry had wanted for a long time, but the world just wouldn't let him have it. Feeling happy also brought him dread on what could happen in the future. Any time he had had felt happiness in his life it was immediately followed by something bad.

Harry brushed his teeth had his shower and came back into the living room where Sirius was serving the breakfast. All jokes aside Harry had a million questions in his mind. Sirius must have anticipated that.

"Whatever you want to ask Harry, and I'm sure you got a lot on your mind can wait till the breakfast is over. I have some questions of my own as well."

Harry nodded OK and sat down with Sirius for the meal.

Sirius didn't want any morbid talking while they eat. He had too much of that already in his childhood, in his own world. But he didn't stop joking with Harry. He went on like it was his god given right.

Finally the meal was over and Harry felt it was time for some answers.

"How are you still alive, Sirius?" The question slipped out of his mouth before he could control. He hadn't meant to phrase it like that.

"I could ask the same thing about you, Harry."

It was a fair point. How were they not dead.

"Tell me your story Sirius" Harry asked him.

"Well you know how I fell into the veil" Harry nodded. "That nasty cousin of mine" Sirius continued.

"After I fell through, it felt like I was falling. Only I think I wasn't. I could still see you Harry, screaming. I tried to hold on. But after some time your image started to fade away."

Sirius took a moment to compose himself.

"There was nothing left then. I knew about the veil of death, I knew I was dead. When I couldn't see you anymore I just let go. I felt like it was time, that I was going to see my friends again."

Harry knew that feeling. He had felt something similar when he fell. The only difference was about the part where Sirius had tried to hold on. For him.

"Obviously I didn't die. Do you know where I ended up?"

Harry nodded no.

"I fell flat on my face into a graveyard Harry. In Godric's Hollow."

"Did you end up there too?" Sirius asked Harry.

"No, I landed in the London Underground" Harry replied.

"How long have you been here Harry?"

"A week at most maybe."

Sirius paused for a while.

"In which year did you fell through the veil Harry?" Sirius asked.

"1998."

Harry's reply caused Sirius to frown.

"It's 2011 here Harry, you know that right." Harry nodded yes.

"It's a bit different from my account. You jumped 13 years into the future."

"In which year did you end up here Sirius?" Harry asked.

It was a genuine question.

"1981. November 5th to be more precise."

"That far back." Harry was astonished. While he had jumped 13 years forward Sirius had done a similar jump almost 15 years backwards.

"I didn't know what to do then. I thought I really was dead. The graveyard only made that idea stronger. But then I realized that it was Godric's Hollow."

"I saw their graves Harry. I had hoped to see them again but no, they were just a pile of dust here. I couldn't hold it."

His godfather's eyes had started watering.

"I saw them too" Harry said.

Sirius looked at him.

"In both the worlds."

This was news to Sirius. Guilt was welling up inside him, that he had never even brought Harry to visit his parent's grave.

"I'm sorry Harry. I never brought you there to visit them."

"It's OK Sirius."

They sat in silence for a moment before Sirius broke it.

"I found their house. There was no damage. I checked around the place and I could see a lot that I knew of but somehow seemed different."

"What did you do then?" Harry asked.

"Something very stupid" Sirius replied. "I didn't have my wand on me. I had lost it, maybe when I fell I don't know."

"I tried to apparate to London. The next thing I remember is someone sprinkling cold water over me. Apparently I had fainted and someone from the church had brought me inside. They offered me food and shelter. I couldn't refuse. I was really tired and wanted some respite. So I took on their offer."

"They asked about me. So I made up a name and story for myself. I couldn't really tell them about magic. I told them that I had memory problems and asked them what year it was. They were the ones who told me it was 1981."

"They were kind Harry. They knew I was lying but let me stay there anyway. But after a while guilt started to creep inside me. I wanted to find you and Remus."

Sirius paused for a moment and looked around the room and then at Harry.

"Do you know what happened to Harry of this world?" Sirius asked.

Harry gulped. Then he answered in a grave tone.

"I saw the grave at Godric's Hollow. I saw my name on that gravestone."

Sirius looked down his old age showing.

"That was just before I got shot" Harry continued.

Sirius snapped his head and looked at him.

"Who shot you?"

"I don't know. Some guy with a metal arm. I didn't see his face. He had a mask on."

Sirius seemed to be contemplating something.

"Why are you surprised Sirius? You treated me. You already knew I was shot."

Sirius answered, "I'm not surprised Harry. It's just we never found out who killed Harry and now you're telling me some metal dude shot you. I should have asked that question earlier. Slipped my mind. Old age does that."

That answer wasn't nearly satisfactory to Harry.

"How exactly are you old Sirius? I know you've been here for about 20 years now, but that doesn't make you old. Not for wizards anyway."

"You have been here for only a week Harry. Maybe you will experience it down the road, maybe you will not. But this world is different. It's not for us wizards. The fact that you were able to do magic here that too without a wand seems astonishing to me Harry."

"Then again, you were always prone to do the impossible Harry. But for me it was a long hard road. The grey hair is a result of that."

"What happened to you?" Harry asked him. He was dreading the answer but he still wanted to know.

"I couldn't do magic anymore Harry. For a long time I felt like a waste. I couldn't even turn into Padfoot."

"But you didn't lose it. That potion you gave me was certainly magical" Harry inquired.

"You are right Harry. I was able to do magic again, but it took years and even then I could only do the small stuff. That potion is not actually my creation. It was concocted by someone else. I just copied them."

"Who?"

"That's not important right now Harry. Let's just say that they helped me rebuild my life."

Who was this mystery person that helped Sirius?

But that was not the relevant question here.

"Did you find Remus?"

"No" Sirius replied sadness etched on his face.

"I never found him. I never found a record of a Remus Lupin living in this world. Maybe he had a different name, maybe he was never born here. I don't know."

Sirius continued, "But there was a Sirius Black here, best friend to the Potters, godfather to Harry Potter."

"What happened to him?" Harry asked.

"Went missing, around the same time I came into this world. At least that's what I think. I don't know if it had anything to do with my arrival, but I didn't actively go looking for him either. I was kept busy."

Harry was unsettled. For some time he had a doubt that he had somehow influenced what happened to Harry in this world. Sirius seemed to have similar doubts.

Will he blame me?

But it never came. Sirius looked in deep thought before Harry asked.

"How were you kept busy, Sirius?"

"I was in prison Harry. For a decade."

Harry couldn't believe it. After spending 12 years in Azkaban Sirius had suffered the same fate here. Why? Why his godfather?

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because apparently I killed James and Lily."

Harry was stunned. The parallels between the worlds were undeniable.

"How did you get out?"

"Silly question Harry. I didn't get out. I broke out."

Harry smiled a little. This was all horrible to hear, but the thought that Sirius had broke out of another prison.

He should do a show on prison break.

"The evidence was all against me. What court was going to believe me? Who would believe that I was a from a different universe?"

Sirius continued, "I could have gotten out easily if I had some use of my magic. Anyway, it took a lot of planning and friends within to make it happen."

"Cop buddies?" Harry asked.

"No actually, Jail break buddies."

"What happened then?"

"I got out of the country with their help. We were still at large criminals so we had to get out. I went with some guys who were headed east. I had thought to get as far away from Britain as possible."

"Where did you go?" Harry asked.

"All over the world. They taught me some stuff. Stuff I'm not proud of, but it helped me survive. Keep myself alive and out of authorities eyes."

Sirius looked at Harry and smiled, "Do you think I'm a bad person?"

"No" Harry replied. "I would have done something similar in that situation."

"That's what I kept telling myself Harry, that my situation was bad, that I had to do this. But after a while it got too much. The shame and the guilt."

"So I put an end to that life. A life of thievery. I had some cash stashed up so I started travelling further away from Europe."

"Where did you go?" Harry asked.

"To India."

"India?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I went to India. I wanted to find spiritual peace and where else to find it. I went to the Himalayas, joined with the pilgrims to find peace."

"And did you?" Harry asked.

"No" Sirius replied. "No matter where I went there was always this nagging thought in my mind that I needed to come back. But I didn't. I kept going on these journeys, until I reached Kathmandu."

"Where?" Harry asked.

"Kathmandu in Nepal. I was there for a while."

"And what happened there?"

"I got invited by a person to a place where he said I could be healed. I didn't know what he meant at the time."

"What is this place?" Harry asked.

"Kamar-Taj."

"And did you go there?" Harry asked.

"It was intriguing enough. So I went with him and Harry the stay there, it did heal me. Not physically. But it opened my mind. My life got clearer. By the end of my stay I could do magic again."

Sirius paused again smiling at the memory.

"I couldn't transform into Padfoot anymore, but I was able to spells again Harry. Not the powerful spells but enough to avoid detection and get by with my life."

"They knew about magic?" Harry asked.

"Oh, they knew. They had their own fancy word for wizards. Sorcerers. I'm sure they could do magic themselves but I never saw it."

"After some time I met the boss of the place. A woman. Everyone called her the Ancient One. I never asked for her real name. She told me to go back to my home. That I was needed by my family."

"I don't know why I listened to her, but listen I did. And that was a good decision. I went back to Britain and found that I had been declared innocent on some new evidence. My criminal records were expunged. I knew that someone high up had helped do that, and I don't know why they did that. But I'm grateful for that. I was treated as the sole fortune holder of the Black family and I played along with it you see. I got control of the estates and the family home. And I got Harry and Natalie away from the Dursleys."

"His sister."

"You researched yourself didn't you?" Sirius asked Harry.

"It seemed the best choice, to avoid problems. Apparently it only created problems."

"Trouble always comes around Harry, no matter how much you try to avoid it. Harry should have had a good life, but see what happened. He was like you. Always wanted to see justice get done. He joined the police force when he was very young, and his work there attracted the MI6. He joined them. Went on several dangerous missions. He liked living the dangerous life."

Sirius paused again, the conversation taking a heavy toll on him.

"Natalie blamed me you see. Said I was influencing his decisions and I had set him down that path. There were a lot of fights and finally she left. Probably a good thing or she could have been targeted too. I still have a security detail around her. She doesn't know that though."

Sirius looked very grim, like his animagus form. Harry had an inkling of what Sirius was feeling. He had lost someone whom he had considered his son. It was a wonder he was keeping it together.

"What happened to Harry?" Harry asked. It seemed weird to refer to himself in third person.

"There was this new program. Swapping agents between agencies. Something about inter agency relationships. And that's how he met his end. With SHIELD."

Harry asked, "What is this Shield?"