Sorry it's late guys, Christmas was pretty hectic! I hope everyone had a lovely time!
I'm off to Australia for a month in a few weeks so I'm going to try my hardest to finish the story by the 22nd of January.
Fingers crossed!
Hope you enjoy, drop me a review and let me know what you think.
P.s If anybody else saw the finale of Merlin on Christmas Eve... oh my goodness. I cried for a good hour afterwards.

Chapter twenty five

Fall out

'What the hell is this!' Harry growled, shoving Snape hard in the chest. 'WHAT IS THIS?'

Snape grabbed Harry around the wrists and prised his fingers away from his robes.

'Calm yourself, Potter,' Snape said, casting a worried glance towards Sirius.

Harry stepped away from Snape and shoved his hands through his hair instead.

He'd spent the last year coming to terms with Sirius' death and dealing with the heavy guilt that burdened him daily about the cause of his demise. He'd never forgiven himself for what happened that night. Time had passed and the thoughts had become easier to deal with, the guilt had lessoned his hold on his chest, but he still lay awake at night thinking of what he could have done to prevent his death. And now the cause of all these feelings was standing right in front of him. The veil had not been kind to Sirius' body. He almost appeared transparent – he had the same look as Nearly Headless Nick though he was certainly not a ghost. His eyes seemed to have sunk into his sockets, his hair lay flat and limp around his ears. He looked completely haunted, like he'd suffered an eternity of terrible nightmares. Harry didn't want to think what life was like behind the veil; even for someone who had been as good-hearted as Sirius he was sure that the afterlife still held horrors for everyone. Harry looked towards Snape who appeared to be doing everything he could to avoid eye contact with everyone in the room. This must be hell for Snape. His life long enemy returning from the dead; Harry stifled the very inappropriate urge to smile.

'I don't understand,' Remus said. His voice was hoarse and threatening to crack any moment. He took a step towards Sirius and then stopped, thinking better of it.

'He's alive?'

'Not as such…' Snape said quietly, watching Harry carefully for another outburst. 'He has memories…he has thoughts and ideas of who he used to be. But this is just his body. It is being powered by another means.'

'And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?' Harry snapped.

'It means that my body is here against its wishes. And that soon, it will have to be returned.'

Harry wheeled around on the spot. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth; a solid lump formed in the back of his throat. Sirius was sat up in the bed staring directly at him. He looked wary as though worried of what Harry was about to do next.

'I didn't want you to see me like this,' Sirius said quietly, hanging his head.

With the confirmation that Sirius could actually communicate with them and he wasn't just a figment of his imagination, Harry felt an overwhelming urge to fling the door open and run for his life. People didn't just come back from the dead. It was impossible!

'Harry?' he heard Sirius say. He moved to get up but Harry stumbled away from him.

Acting as though it were causing him great pain to do so, Snape conjured two chairs for both Harry and Remus and pushed them into the seats. All of a sudden, Harry felt his breaths begin to come in short, sharp gasps. The feeling of total panic had crept up on him out of nowhere. He glanced at Remus; he didn't seem to be in much better shape. His eyes kept sliding in and out of focus as though his mind was battling to decide whether he was dreaming or not.

Snape sighed loudly and, sensing he was about to start hyperventilating, thrust Harry's head between his knees.

'Is he an inferius? Harry asked from between his knees, desperately hoping that wasn't the case. 'Is that how he's back? He's been bewitched?'

'No,' Remus said quietly, placing a hand on Harry's back. His calm demeanour had finally returned; he'd seemed to have recovered from the shock a lot quicker than Harry had. 'He's talking, he's rational… If he were an inferius he wouldn't be aware that he was alive. He wouldn't be capable of rational thinking. And he'd probably be trying to kill you, Harry.'

'I am in the room you know,' Sirius said. His attempt at humour fell flat and he rubbed his head awkwardly. 'I know it's a bit of a shock.'

Harry pulled his head up and looked at Sirius with an incredulous look on his face. Sirius had already realised his words sounded idiotic before Harry started shouting at him.

'A bit of a shock?' Harry echoed. 'A bit of a shock! MY DEAD GODFATHER IS STOOD ABOUT THREE METRES AWAY FROM ME!'

Harry jabbed a finger at Sirius. 'Look at you! You're not even human!' A dark scowl spread across his face. 'What the hell are you?' he growled, getting to his feet once more. 'Is there something you haven't told me about magic - about the possibility of daemons or monsters or something? Because that person I'm looking at is not my godfather! I don't know what the hell you are but you're not Sirius! You can't be!'

Finally giving in to his instinct, Harry turned on his heel and sprinted from the room. He could hear Sirius calling after him. He even heard Snape start swearing at Sirius and telling him to keep his voice down. He ignored all of it. His legs were working independently to his body and before he knew it, he'd reached the gargoyle protecting McGonagall's office. He stopped and leant against it, breathing heavily. Somehow, when Hermione had told him this morning that Dumbledore's painting was in the office, Harry knew he was going to end up here. And somehow, Dumbledore seemed to know too as the gargoyle sprung to life and stepped aside to let Harry up. He didn't wait for the stairs to ascend, choosing to leap up them instead and rip the door open as soon as he reached the top. He almost fell through the door onto his face but the sight of Dumbledore looking down at him from behind the desk righted him solidly.

'Severus informed me you were coming,' he said.

'WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?' Harry yelled, slamming the door behind him. 'I had the right to know!'

When Dumbledore didn't answer, Harry found himself becoming increasingly frustrated with the old man.

'I had the right to know about Sirius. I HAD THE RIGHT! And I had the right to know that you were here. Nobody told me! Don't you think I have questions about that night in the forest? Don't you think I need some closure on how you died? And all this time you've been hiding away up here in your cosy little office scheming behind my back!'

'I was not scheming, Harry,' Dumbledore said softy. 'I can assure you of that.'

'Then what exactly are you playing at?' Harry snapped. 'Because one minute, everything is normal and the next I'm having a conversation with my dead Godfather. My dead Godfather who seems to have been living with Snape. WITH SNAPE! Do you know how deluded that sounds?'

Dumbledore gave a heavy sigh and hung his head. 'I am sorry that you found out this way,' he said. 'I did not mean for you to be so upset.'

'You did not mean for me to know at all, did you?' Harry cut in.

Dumbledore paused for a few moments. 'It was not in your best interests,' he said eventually.
Harry had an overpowering urge to leap up onto the desk and skewer the painting with something sharp.

You are dead,' Harry said darkly. 'You do not have control over my life anymore!'

Dumbledore was looking at him over the top of his spectacles. It was the same look that made Harry feel as though he were being x-rayed.

'You have grown considerably since I last saw you, Harry,' he said.

'Yeah, well, I've gone through a lot,' Harry replied evenly.

'You are very nearly a man.'

'Then surely I have the right to make my own choices in life!' Harry said. He paused for a few moments, taking the time to allow his heart to stop thrumming so harshly in his chest. He blew out a breath in an attempt to calm his anger. 'You weren't going to tell me he was back… so what exactly were you planning to do with Sirius? I want to know everything. How he got here – why he's here. Sirius said his body is here against his wishes, what does that even mean?'

Dumbledore was quiet for some time.

'You owe me,' Harry said. 'You owe me this!'

'What has Severus told you?' Dumbledore asked.

'Nothing. Nobody has told me anything.'

'Minerva will return any minute. Come back here tomorrow at the same time – I promise you, Harry, I shall tell you everything you wish to know then.'

Harry eyed him suspiciously. He wanted to argue, wanted to demand to be told everything right now. Knowing Dumbledore, however, he decided that tomorrow would have to be good enough. He'd know the truth then. Harry gave a quick nod and turned from the room. As he reached for the door handle it opened towards him and Snape appeared looking as though he'd just caught someone stealing from his potions supplies. Harry took an automatic step backwards.

'Leave Black alone this evening,' Snape told him sharply. 'Return to Lupin. You can see him tomorrow.'

Harry clenched his jaw, fed up of people telling him what he could and could not do and stormed from the room, slamming the door loudly behind him.

'Your behaviour was a little dramatic, don't you think, Severus?' Dumbledore said from his frame, once sure that Harry had made his way down the stairs.

Snape ignored him.

'You have deliberately disobeyed me!' Dumbledore said his voice raising. 'And for what? To get one over on me perhaps?'

Snape wheeled round to face the painting. 'Deliberately disobeyed you?' he echoed. 'I am not a child Albus! Whether you believe I am right or not, Potter had the right to know about his godfather.'

'That is not the real reason you told them and you know it,' Dumbledore said harshly. 'You were afraid; afraid about the possibilities and afraid of your upcoming demise!'

'Don't I have the right to be!' Snape bellowed. 'Have I not earned the right to be afraid of my death, Albus? I have been beyond the veil, I have seen what it offers me. I was ready for that, I was ready to die and leave this life behind and then you bring me into this complete mess! And now, I will never be able to just accept allowing myself to die. I have Lily's vow to act by and the boy, that blasted child, is the only reason I am still here! How can I do what you ask of me? You manipulate people Albus, you always have, and I am no longer prepared to be treated so. You're no longer alive. You will have no more power over me.'

'Have you told them about the possession? Have you told them the real reason behind Sirius' return?' Dumbledore thundered.

Snape paused, his breathing heavy and burdened. Shouting at Dumbledore had helped to clear some of his pain.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. 'Then you are as bad as you claim me to be…or perhaps you have grown attached to the child.

'I am keeping my vow,' Snape snarled. 'Nothing more.'