Lucius came to from the sensation of cold water being poured right on his face. He opened his eyes with difficulty and, blinking, stared at Brainless.

"You came to!" the man greeted him, shaking water from his hands.

The dog appeared beside him and licked him on the nose. Lucius winced and sat up. He was glad to see that his hands were now free.

"What happened?"

"The Flying Things. They turn anything living into ash."

"Dementors."

Brainless frowned. The dog insinuated his head under Lucius's arm, and he absentmindedly started to scratch it behind the ears. For some reason this made Lucius feel calmer.

"Yes, they're similar," agreed Brainless. "You chased them off and then passed out."

"I? Chased them off?"

"Yes, a truly happy memory is the only weapon against them. Unlike the Dementors, the Flying Things don't feed on happy memories, they're afraid of them. I don't remember anything well enough, so our only hope was you. And you did it. I tried to remember... I almost did, too. But I couldn't recognize my feelings, couldn't understand what this 'happiness' is."

"And where's the other one?" Lucius glanced from side to side.

"What other one?"

"The one... without a heart."

"I'm the one who has no heart," said Black quietly. "That's why I couldn't remember my feelings."

It was only then that Lucius noticed that Brainless looked different somehow. Yes, he wore the same stupid hat, but under his gray cloak glistened a steel breastplate. It seemed that two of Black's three separate pieces were now united.

"And what about your brains?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about those. Everything is in place." He smiled and knocked on his own forehead with his knuckles.

"Well, I'm not so sure about that," muttered Lucius, and took a look around them.

There seemed to be more light. The sky didn't look so gray any more, there was less ash on the grass, and a few of the trees had sprouted small green leaves. Black seemed to be getting better.

Lucius, on the other hand, felt dirty and tired. He brought his hand up to his head and felt for the diadem. Maybe he should go back? But what if Black becomes scattered again? He still had some strength left, and there was no immediate danger, so it was better to stay and try to finish the job.

"Where did you get the water?"

"There's a stream here. It's not too clean, though."

"Let's go, you can show me."

It wasn't a stream, but an honest-to-goodness wide, deep river—the other side was barely visible. Fortunately, the current didn't seem too swift. The yellow brick road ran right into it. There were some remnants of a wooden bridge on the shore. It looked like it had been swept away when the river overflowed, and no one had bothered to fix it.

The water in the river was gray and murky, with no bottom in sight.

"We need to cross to the other side."

"Maybe we should build a raft?" suggested Black.

A surprisingly sensible thought, for a madman.

"You have the ax. The forest is right there. Get to it."

"Aren't you going to help me?"

"In case you haven't noticed, we only have one ax, and you're the one who knows how to use it."

"Princess."

Black spat on the ground, threw a sideways glance at him, and headed for the trees, swinging the ax idly. The dog took off after him, barking. Excellent. Now he could get some peace, and get his thoughts in order.

Lucius walked back and forth along the bank. The river looked dead; it's surface seemed to be covered in some filmy residue. He could only tell it was moving from the dry branches floating in it, which drifted past slowly. It was a depressing sight.

Lucius picked up a smooth, flat stone and tossed it parallel to the water. The stone bounced off the glossy surface once, twice, three times before it sank. Rings expanded everywhere it touched, bringing the dull river to life. Lucius smiled. He hadn't done this since he was a child, but here, in this unreal world, he could allow himself to fool around. After all, no one could see him.

Actually, other than the strange landscape, the only thing that distinguished this world from the real one was a total absence of physiological needs. It felt as if he'd spent more than a day here, but he wasn't hungry or thirsty at all. Yet at the same time, he still sweated, and was starting to feel uncomfortable in his stale shirt. Maybe I should wash? He glanced over the river—it didn't inspire much trust, but it wasn't particularly frightening, either.

He looked around for a place to leave his robes, and noticed a rustling in the bushes nearby, as if someone was hiding there. Probably sensing that he'd been spotted, another Black stepped into view. He looked especially pathetic. His had an utterly haunted look in his eyes, his arms and legs were trembling, his chapped lips looked as if he'd been biting them, his tangled hair was standing on end. All he had on was a thin shirt and torn trousers.

And here's number three. I'm glad I didn't have to search for him.

"Black!" Lucius called out and took a step towards him, but the other shook his head wildly and retreated back into the forest.

Is he... afraid?

"Black, do you recognize me?"

His features became distorted in a grimace of rage.

"Yes! You're a filthy Death Eater! Don't come hear me!"

Black would never behave like this—he would rather attack a Death Eater with his bare fists. But this one rubbed his hands nervously and took another step back. He looked like he wanted to run, but something was holding him in place. I should calm him down, talk to him.

"I want to help you. Siri... Sirius," he didn't know himself why he called Black by his given name, "come here. Don't be afraid." His voice was slightly unsteady.

"No..." He shook his head again emphatically. "You'll kill me. Or my friends, or someone else, and I'll get blamed for it. It'll be my fault!"

"Sirius, what are you talking about? Look, there is no one else here!"

"I let them down... I let them down so bad." He clutched at his own head, squatted, and started making howling noises, just like a dog.

No... this is completely unbearable! Lucius approached him slowly. He kept expecting him to jump up and run away, but Black sat where he was. Spot had mentioned a lion who lacked courage, but Black had never been a coward. He was a Gryffindor, after all! You might even say that he was the quintessence of Gryffindor recklessness and bravery—and here he squatted, howling and afraid to come close. No, this was not cowardice, it was fear of loss, fear of letting someone down again. It didn't seem to matter at all that there was no one left to let down.

Lucius came closer, sat on the ground next to him, and forcefully pulled his hands away from his face.

"Sirius, stop howling! Where is your courage?"

"I don't... I don't have it. I'm a coward."

Lucius almost started howling himself from the brutality and wrongness of what was happening. How?! How can Black be like this? He took a deep breath and squeezed his hands.

"You're not a coward. Look at me, what are you afraid of?"

His eyes were swollen and red, but there were no tears in them. That's something, at least. The sight of Black crying might have had a bad effect on Lucius's own psychological health. He decided to try a proven method.

"We're going to the Emerald City, there is wizard there, he will help you get your courage."

"Courage? For me? But how? And it's so far away! I don't want to risk it..." his words and thoughts seemed to be getting tangled. He squeezed his eyes shut, shook his head, and then suddenly looked up with an innocent, helpless expression. "No, I'm afraid that you'll trick me again."

It was like talking to a small child. Lucius felt his throat tighten unpleasantly.

"I'm not going to trick you. What's the sense of sitting here under a bush and being afraid? What will it change?"

"No one else will suffer because of me..."

"No one will suffer anyway. Come with us, Sirius."

He rose and held out his hand. Black stared into his eyes unblinkingly for some time, then he nodded, took his hand and got up.

"Fine. I'll risk it... risk believing you."

"Good boy!"

He patted him on the shoulder and led him to the river, where the other Black was already waiting for them. There were three of them again: the dog, Black, and... Lucius glanced sideways at the Black who was shuffling and constantly stumbling by his side. And Sirius. He would be Sirius, since he'd already called him that several times.

"Malfoy, who else have you found?" Black threw down the log he was holding and walked towards them.

"You."

Sirius trembled slightly and began to wail:

"I better stay here, I don't need to go anywhere..."

Lucius gripped his bicep firmly, lest he run off.

"Don't worry. Everything will be okay," he whispered.

Black came up to them and examined his double with hostility.

"What do you mean, me? I can't be this pathetic."

"Why not? If all your self-confidence was taken away, this is exactly what you would look like, Black."

The other threw Sirius a look full of contempt.

"Yours, on the other hand, must be impossible to take away, Malfoy," grumbled Black, then turned around and walked off toward the river.

This was frighteningly far from the truth, but luckily Black did not know that. That's why he looked at him and treated him the same as before. Even a little better, like he did on the Astronomy Tower on that memorable evening. As if he could not care less, as if there had been no war, and nothing had changed. This was inspiring. He could forget that his own courage and self-confidence were killed a long time ago, first by Azkaban, then by the Dark Lord's torture. He was just pretending that he was all right, even thought it was completely untrue: he never did succeed at "pulling himself back together."

That might be why he was treating Black's loss of faith in himself with a certain sympathy and compassion. In the past, the sight of a broken Black would have only brought out a desire to kick him while he was down, to demean him even more. But now something was broken in Lucius himself.

"Everything will be okay," he said, and let go of Sirius's arm. "Come on, you can help us build a raft."

"A raft? You mean to cross the river?"

"The Emerald City should be somewhere on the other side, so yes, that's exactly what we mean to do."

"That's a bad idea, a very bad idea," he mumbled. "That side... it's not good, and the river is dangerous."

His fingers brushed Lucius's wrist, as if he'd wanted to take his hand, but changed his mind. Such an innocent, childish gesture.

"Maybe you know if there's a bridge, or a crossing, around here?"

Sirius shook his head mutely.

"Then we simply have no choice."