Do I really need to say this again? J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. If you recognise anything that seems remotely familiar from any movie, TV show, book or whatever else, it's probably because it is from them. If you want my 'full' warning, you can check out either 'Dormant Power' or 'Beginning of the End'.

So, I've written a prequel, on with the sequel! Remember, I only wrote this because several reviewers requested me to (gosh, am I nice or what, lol!). Again, only some names are mine (as is the storyline I guess), everything else is not!

Ok, so two chapters in quick time, well, as far as the last couple years go anyway…both my beta and myself are still in shock actually, lol!

Also a theory on the veil…written last year while I doing my 7 day cruise around Alaska. Very nice place actually…relaxing too. If you're thinking of going there, do it since you won't regret it. Remember, I haven't read the final book (not going to for a good while yet) so don't bother telling me if I'm right or wrong.

Chapter 38 – The Calm Before The Storm

Harry had gratefully accepted Draco's offer to teach the Defence classes while he brushed up on the political side of things with the help of Tobius. He had also managed to rope Tonks into helping them and was pleased to see that both Tobius and her were getting along wonderfully well despite the young werewolf's growling about traitors when Harry first told him she was going to help.

Since he wasn't teaching anymore, Harry had moved his belongings back to Marauders Mansion allowing Draco to settle into the teachers' quarters. Bianca also moved in, though she was rather unimpressed about having to share a house since she quite liked being with just Harry. She did brighten up after Harry told her about Ron and Ginny both working for the Ministry (while Hermione spent the majority of the year at Hogwarts) so they would have the house to themselves most of the day.

Also, with some very gentle nudging on their behalf, they had managed to get Ron interested in Lavender Brown, Ginny with Neville and a reluctant Hermione to reacquaint herself to Viktor Krum (she remembered how Ron blew up at her in their fourth year at the Yule Ball). Provided things went the way they were supposed to, Harry figured the others would eventually move out which would just leave Dobby…and he knew there was no way the little elf was going anywhere so he wasn't even going to try.

He blinked open his eyes, yawning as he stretched and as silently as he could so as not to wake Bianca who was sleeping on the other bed, made his way downstairs for breakfast. Thanking Dobby as he plonked a hot plate of bacon, eggs sausages and toast in front of him, he went over his plans for the day. His final election speech had been three days ago so he figured the results wouldn't be announced until early next week which meant there wasn't much he could do on that except wait. But what he did need to do was to take a trip to Diagon Alley and get a replacement wand since he hadn't yet begun crafting his own. After finishing breakfast and telling Dobby where he was going so the elf could inform Bianca, he went back upstairs to get changed.

He left with a 'crack' about half an hour later, strolling around the Alley and offering a "thanks" to anyone who wished him luck which wasn't a lot since the school year had started back up, something Harry was grateful for. As he pushed open the door to the wandmakers building, he felt a smile form as he remembered his last visit here some sixteen years ago. He was brought from his musings when Olivander spotted him and said, "Mr Potter? Well, I must say that this is a surprise. Has something happened to your wand?"

"Depends on what you mean," Harry replied causing Olivander raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate. "The wands you sold Voldemort and me fused together."

"Did they? How very curious indeed. Why have you waited so long to acquire a replacement?"

"My parents' wands did the same thing and I've been using it since it was an even better match."

"My word, that is highly unusual. Even better match you say?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "Instead of gold sparks, it produced a full blown rainbow instead."

"Did you come here to ask me why they fused together then? Because I am sorry to say that I would not have an answer to that."

"No, that's all right, I'm here for another reason anyway. I was wondering if you'd be able to help me in removing the core from Albus' wand and find a temporary replacement wand?"

Olivander slightly narrowed his eyes. Deconstructing a wand wasn't something he liked to do as it was notoriously difficult and had to have a very good reason to do it in the first place. "Why?"

"I'm crafting my own wand and it says that I need a Pegasus tail hair for the core," Harry replied, choosing not to tell him that in reality his new wand would have four cores. Actually, Harry was surprised that his wand details had not changed from his merging with Trent and Voldemort. He had even gone as far as to complete the questionnaire again before coming back to his own time but it gave exactly the same results.

"I see. May I ask why you undertook the process?"

"My current wand means a lot to me. It's one of the few items I have that were from Mum and Dad but it doesn't work anymore; watch." Harry then withdrew his wand and said "Lumos."

Nothing happened and Olivander nodded his head. "I see. May I have a look at it?"

Harry handed him his wand and watched as Olivander inspected it very carefully, from every possible angle. He spoke as he handed it back to Harry.

"It would appear that you have overcharged it. I am afraid that it will never work again." Harry sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. The Life Extinction curse did mention that might occur. Olivander continued, "Back to your question though, I do not think it wise to remove the core from Albus' wand when I believe I have a spare tail hair in stock, one moment please."

He left a shocked Harry behind before coming back a few minutes later with a long box. He opened the lid and Harry saw a magnificent silver hair. "Brilliant. How much do you…"

"Nothing, Mr Potter."

"I have to give you something. I can't just take it!" he exclaimed.

"The art of wand crafting is a very meticulous skill, Mr Potter. I am honoured that you asked for my assistance in the first place, and I would be even more honoured if you showed me the finished product."

The look on his face suggested that it would be unwise for Harry to press the matter further, so he took the box, thanked Olivander and waited while the old wizard then went through a bunch of wands, seeing if Harry felt even a small connection to any of them. Finally, and very reminiscent of last time, he felt a sensation with a ten inch holly wand with a heartstring from a Norwegian Ridgeback (Harry wondered if it was Norbert but decided against asking as Olivander wouldn't have known what Hagrid had named him).

After paying for the new wand, Harry went on his way. Either word had spread of his presence as he received a lot more good luck wishes than he did when he arrived, or the lunchtime rush could have also been a valid reason for the larger crowds. Regardless, he didn't stay too much longer before apparating back home.

The first thing he noticed was that Bianca must have still been asleep since Dobby told him he hadn't needed to inform her where Harry had been. This was soon confirmed as Harry nudged open the bedroom door and heard the faint noise of breathing. He shook his head slightly, amazed that someone could sleep for that long. 'Her vampire side I suppose,' he thought before leaning over and giving her a light kiss on the forehead causing a slight smile to grace her face before slipping back downstairs for some lunch.

Just as he was finishing up, there were two loud 'cracks' from the living room before Fred and George strolled into the kitchen.

"Hi Harry," they said in unison and plonked down at the table. Dobby noticed their arrival and popped away to get more food.

"Hi guys," Harry replied. "What brings you here?"

"Not much actually," George replied as Fred had tucked into the sandwiches Dobby had just put on the table.

"Yeah," Fred said between bites. "We just wondered why you were in Diagon Alley this morning when the elections are over so there's no point in making another appearance."

Harry nodded and told them about what happened to his old wand (not mentioning about how he was going to craft his own) and that while he could get by without one, he felt more secure knowing he had a working wand with him. The topic on conversation then switched to Bianca's upcoming birthday (November 3) and whether or not Harry was going to pop the question.

He pointed out that they'd been with Angelina and Katie longer than he had with Bianca, but it was Trent's conscious that reminded him about how the bond could only be fully completed in marriage.

"That's true but there's a very simple question you can ask yourself whether or not you're ready," Fred told him and Harry raised his eyebrows waiting for him to continue. Unfortunately, he never did as a loud yawn was heard which could only mean that Bianca had gotten up.

"Beautiful timing," George remarked with a broad grin on his face while Harry groaned and slumped in his chair.

"We'll continue this later, Harry," Fred said as Bianca pushed the kitchen door open and the twins left with another pair of 'cracks' as Harry just put his head in his hands.

"Er, what did I miss?" she asked.

"Fred and George making sense actually," he replied and chuckled at the disbelieving look on her face.

The weekend rolled around which meant that Remus was able to spend time at home instead of the castle. He had been terrified before telling Bernadine about what had happened to him in the future but as Harry had pointed out; if you don't tell her, she'll be a hell of a lot more annoyed since you're hiding something so it's better to be honest and just tell her.

His fears were unjustified as Bernadine took it remarkably well, telling him that since he didn't have any control over his actions, that she couldn't be angry with him. Remus felt the huge weight that had been on his shoulders just vanish and things had settled back to the way he remembered.

They were lying in bed discussing about what had happened to Sirius, something Bernadine found fascinating as she worked in the Department of Mysteries. "What I don't understand though," Remus said, "is that Harry stopped him from falling through the veil completely. I know it works like an execution chamber, but shouldn't he have been spared?" He looked over at his wife and noted the sadness in her eyes, along with a hint of resignation in them. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing Remus, it's just…what do you think I do as an Unspeakable?"

"Nothing that you can tell me about," he wryly answered, a comment which made Bernadine give him a small smile.

"Remind me again why I married you?" she casually asked.

"Because I put you under the Imperius," he shot back with a grin.

She laughed lightly before resting her head on his chest. She then sighed before turning around and looking into Remus' eyes. "I know how the veil works." That got Remus' attention. His mouth opened but no words came out as Bernadine went on. "I couldn't tell you earlier because everything was still purely theory, but Sirius' return has confirmed it now."

'His return? But he didn't make it,' Remus thought, but Bernadine soon answered it.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but I think you deserve to know. No one had ever tried to save someone from it before, but the reason Sirius died is because of what the veil represents; hate."

"Hate? But how does…"

"He was forced to experience the very worst things imaginable…"

"Like a Dement…" Remus cut in, but he was shushed when Bernadine placed a finger over his lips. "Please Remus, let me finish."

Remus nodded and she sighed again. "The veil is far worse than anything a Dementor can make you feel. While a Dementor only forces you to relive the most painful experiences in your life, the veil makes you relive everyone's pain.

"As you said earlier, the veil is an execution device. When it was created, it was done so for the most horrible wizards and witches. The veil contains the memories, painful memories, of those who created it and the times they lived in. The unlucky ones who were sentenced to enter it were made to feel everyone's pain; be it through Crucio, being raped, the brutal murder of loved ones, or even transforming into a werewolf."

Remus greeted this comment with silence until a question came to him. "I don't see how that would kill someone."

"Perhaps I should explain it better then. By 'feel' everyone's pain, I really mean 'experience' everyone's pain. They would be forced to go through each and every one of those situations, back to back, with no respite from it. So, you see, even though Sirius didn't actually fall completely through the veil, he would have still experienced more than enough. I daresay, that with his time in Azkaban very much fresh in his mind…"

Bernadine trailed her voice off and Remus could only nod dumbly at everything she had said. He could only imagine the terrors that Sirius faced when around Dementors, but to have to experience something as horrific as what the veil did? Remus shuddered as he remembered his own past, transforming beneath the light of the full moon. He then tried to imagine being forced to go through it again and again.

He closed his eyes, as tears threatened to overcome him. He felt the warm arms of Bernadine embrace him and he clung tightly to her.

"I'm sorry Remus, but Sirius died the moment he entered the veil."