Author's Note: This will make no sense if you haven't read Part I: My Best Friend and my Best Love.

The celebrations that followed Voldemort's demise lasted several months. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, who had been considered a hero since he was one year old, became a legend. He was invited everywhere. He was awarded honorific titles, and some of those were created specifically for him. He was the most acclaimed wizard of his generation – a phrase coined by the famous Chocolate Frog cards.

On the eve of his eighteenth birthday, Mrs Weasley threw a small party for him at the Burrow, where he lived for the time being. Compared to other events he had attended in the past few months, and would have to attend on the next day, this was indeed a simple gathering – and yet Harry couldn't have been happier. His friends were here, his family.

The ones who had survived the Battle of Hogwarts, anyway. There was an empty seat beside George, and Tonks was clutching little blue-haired Teddy, Harry's godson, with a fierceness that would rival even that of Mrs Weasley. They had lost many good people that night, and many more in the years that had preceded the final onslaught of Voldemort's army.

Selfishly, perhaps, Harry had hoped that some of these people would choose to go on as ghosts. How could Fred Weasley pass up on the opportunity to become a poltergeist, to haunt Hogwarts as Peeves did, to amuse students from the afterlife? Why wouldn't Remus want to keep watch over his family?

But Fred wasn't there. Remus had moved on. Dumbledore had a portrait at Hogwarts, but it wasn't the same thing, was it? Dobby was gone. Hedwig, Moody…

All gone. But there was one person… Harry shook his head. Now wasn't the time. Everyone was having a good time; even Mrs Weasley seemed to be a good mood. She was laughing at something Antonin Dolohov had just said. Harry didn't think of the vampire as a Death Eater any longer. No one did. He and Walden Macnair were practically family now, just like Evey.

Ginny squeezed his hand. "Are you feeling alright, Harry?"

He smiled at her reassuringly. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have her. Without Ginny, without Ron and Hermione, Harry would be nothing. People thought that he had single-handedly defeated Voldemort, no matter how many times he insisted that it had been a team effort, but Harry knew better. Without them, without the Order and its numerous allies, he would have died more times than was strictly necessary.

"I'm fine," he said softly. "I'm just…thinking about everyone who's not here."

Ginny nodded sadly, glancing at the empty seat at George's side. "Harry… What is it that you want to talk to us about?" He had requested a meeting, after dinner. There was something he needed to clear. Something he needed to do, and he was quite certain that, once again, he couldn't do it alone. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone, not yet, mainly because he was afraid that he was getting his hopes up, and that everyone would think him mad – again.

"It's…" He trailed off. "I'm sorry. I won't say it's not important, but it can wait until we're done eating. I'm fairly certain that your mum made treacle tart, and I don't want to ruin my appetite."

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I do. And I will. But let's enjoy ourselves for another hour or so, what do you think? Merlin knows, we deserve it."

"It's been pretty taxing, all the parading you around," Ginny admitted with a smirk.

Harry flushed. He still hated being the centre of the entire wizarding world's attention, but this time there was no avoiding it. Thankfully, Mrs Weasley soon entered the room, bearing Harry's favourite dessert, and it wasn't until late that evening that they finally gathered in the living room.

Evey glanced around the room. Sometimes she wondered how so many people could fit in the Burrow. Maybe Walden was right; it was possible that Mr Weasley used an Enlarging Spell when they had people over.

Most of the remaining members of the Order were here, except for Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was now Minister of Magic and really hadn't been able to come down the Burrow that day. He was probably busy overseeing Harry's birthday celebration – a very official ball was to be organised at the Ministry, with delegations from other countries. It was going to be the event of the year.

Antonin and Walden were sitting with her, as usual. She was happy that they'd all been invited today, but now she was truly dying to know what it was that Harry wanted to announce to them – he'd requested a meeting, and it sounded like something really important, considering how serious he looked. Evey was literally sitting on the edge of her seat, wondering what the big news was. Were Harry and Ginny going to get married?

Well, probably not. Ginny would be seventeen in August, but she still had a year to do at Hogwarts. For that matter, Harry, Ron and Hermione also intended to return to school in September to do their seventh year and pass their NEWTs.

What, then? Something to do with the few Death Eaters who had escaped, perhaps? No, that was unlikely. The handful who was still at large was being hunted down, and the others had all been brought to justice and were serving jail time in Azkaban – under the surveillance of wizards and witches, since the Dementors had been…fired? Returned to the hellish dimension in which they belonged? Well, Evey had no idea what the Ministry had done with the creatures, but they were gone.

She thrummed her fingers against her tea cup, feeling curious and anxious and impatient, but the torture was over soon: Harry stood up from his seat, and everyone stopped talking at once.

He cleared his throat, blushing slightly as every eye turned to him. "I would like to thank you all for coming today," he said quietly. "Mrs Weasley, thank you for dinner, and thank you for having us here." Mrs Weasley waved dismissively, but her eyes were bright. Harry took a deep breath. "As you know, I wanted to take this opportunity to talk to you about something. Before I do, however, there's someone else who would like to say a few words." He turned to Walden and bowed slightly.

Evey blinked. She knew about this; they'd been discussing it before coming over. In her excitement about Harry's news, though, she'd pretty much forgotten about it. She flushed, feeling guilty. This was more important to Walden than anything Harry might have to say.

Her husband glanced at her, and she nodded encouragingly. This was not going to be easy for him. Walden hated to be the centre of attention. And yet, when he began to speak, his voice carried, and it was steady. "Thank you, Harry." He had actually asked Harry's permission to speak today. That was how much of a big deal Harry had become. Thankfully, he was still the humble kid that Evey and everyone knew. He was handling his renewed fame with more maturity than Evey could ever hope to have, even if she lived as long as Malkoran. If she'd saved the wizarding world, she would have expected a golden statue to be made in her honour and her birthday to become a public holiday. At the very least.

"I have long wanted to say this. To come clean," Walden said. "There never seemed to be a good time, but I don't think there will ever be a good time." Now that Tony and he had formally received their status of vampires, now that the world had been made aware that they were both, in fact, not quite dead, and that Tony had been awarded an official pardon, it did seem like the best time to do this, no matter how much Tony insisted that it needn't be done at all. "Antonin did not kill both of Molly's brothers," Walden went on. In his usual manner, he did not beat about the bush. "He killed Gideon. But I…I killed Fabian."

As expected, a long silence followed that revelation – although it was not a revelation to everyone. Mrs Weasley had known all along. After all, she'd been there when it happened.

When no one spoke, Walden continued. "I mentioned it to Kingsley when we went to the Ministry earlier this month, but he thought this should be acknowledged in a more…private setting. There was no need to officially charge me with murder and pardon me, he said. It would have been an administrative nightmare." Poor Kingsley. They may have won the war, but he still had a lot on his plate following the Battle of Hogwarts. "But I figured… I thought everyone ought to know." And poor Walden. He'd been carrying that weight for nearly two decades. No matter the reaction this brought, the burden was off his shoulders now.

George shook his head. "So you let your brother suffer the consequences of your actions? All those years he spent in Azkaban… Well, to be fair, he would have gotten a life sentence regardless, but still…"

"It wasn't his idea," Tony said before Walden could respond. "At the trial, my name came first. And I…" He paused briefly. "When we were arrested, it was all over the news, see. And my mum, she knew we'd gotten ourselves in trouble, but she didn't know the extent of it. Soon afterwards, she had a stroke. A bad one. The Ministry officials who deigned speak to us said she would never fully recover, and they gloated about it, saying it was our fault if she was… They actually seemed pleased about it. Like she somehow deserved it, when in reality she'd never done anything wrong. So at the trial, when it was my turn to speak, I just…told everyone I was responsible for both murders. That Walden had been under the Imperius Curse for months, that he couldn't be prosecuted. I needed him to go free, you know? Couldn't let Ma stay on her own."

After another long spell of awkward silence, George sighed. "Alright, I see where you're coming from, I guess. But I still don't understand why you killed my uncles in the first place. Well, they were the enemy, sure, but… You knew them, right? And you were friend with mum and dad, before the war, before you joined Voldemort."

"It was punishment," Walden explained. "You're too young to remember them, but back then, there was a family of great influence, the Zhangs. They were Chinese in origin, and they claimed to have imperial blood… Anyway, they were a prominent Pure-blood family but, much like your parents, they starkly opposed Voldemort. Unfortunately, he very much wanted them on his side. The old Zhang patriarch was a close advisor of the then-Minister, and his daughter and son-in-law both held high offices at the Ministry. They had to be recruited or removed, but in those days Voldemort was still trying to avoid taking such radical measures. He bribed them. Cajoled them. Made empty promises. When nothing worked, he moved on to threats. They thought that he was bluffing, that he'd never dare come after a family as powerful as theirs. They were very wrong. Travers gruesomely murdered their son. That got their attention, but even after they swore fealty to him, Voldemort thought it best to kidnap their daughter for good measure, in case they ever changed their minds." Evey felt an unexpected pang of pity for Morgana. She'd really had a shitty life. It was a shame that it had to end as it did. "She was placed in our care – well, that is, she was sequestrated in the same room as us, except she was behind bars and we weren't."

"She was twelve when she was captured," Tony took up the tale. "She cried herself to sleep the first night, but in the morning…" He chuckled sadly. "She demanded to be released. Said her father would come get her and kick our butts and we'd be sorry. She was fearless. And we knew that interacting with her in any way was a terrible idea, but we just couldn't help it. She was very mature for her age, and wickedly sharp… Before we knew it, she'd burrowed a tunnel into our hearts." He stopped talking then. She'd done that to him more than once, and it had ended badly both times.

"We helped her escape," Walden murmured. "Luckily, it turned out great for her – she made it out unscathed, and Dumbledore kept her and her family safe until the war ended. Unfortunately, we weren't so lucky. Of course, there was no way this could have gone well for us. The girl couldn't have escaped on her own, so when they realised she was gone, we were suspected right away. Voldemort used Legilimency on us. Tony managed to keep him out of his head, but I…" He shrugged. "We always knew we'd get punished."

"We never expected that sort of punishment, though," Tony muttered. "I was ready for torture. The Cruciatus Curse. I'd suffered it before. Figured it was worth it, as long as Mo…as the girl was out of Voldemort's reach and safe. But right until the moment we walked into that house, we had no idea… Then I saw Molly, and Fabian and Gideon…"

"Rodolphus promised that no harm would come to Molly if we killed the twins," Walden said. "We had no way of knowing if he'd keep his word but…"

"…there was no alternative," Tony finished for him. "If we hadn't done it…"

"Mum wouldn't be here," Ginny said softly. "I wouldn't be here."

"Well, if the vampire hadn't sided with Voldemort in the first place, we might have had cousins," George pointed out. Had this conversation happened before the Battle of Hogwarts, Evey would have given him a piece of her mind, but he had lost his own brother during the battle. Everyone was very careful around George these days.

Except his sister. Evey had always liked Ginny; she was quite fierce, much like her mum, but in a more…brutal way. "I think he knows that he screwed up, George. No need to constantly rub it in his face. He's made amends, for Merlin's sake. Give him a break."

"Easy for you to say," George retorted. "You never knew our uncles."

"You were a toddler when they died!" Ginny exclaimed. "Look, I'm sorry that I never got a chance to meet them, but we – no, you have to move past this. It's water under the bridge."

George opened his mouth again, but his mother cut him off. "Walden, thank you. I know that this couldn't have been easy for you."

"Thank you for not reporting me, back then," he said in a low voice.

"It would have served no purpose," she said firmly. "And I visited Antonin's mother at St Mungo. She did need you, Walden. Losing you both at once, it would have broken her heart."

Of course she'd visited Tony's mum at the hospital, the mother of the man who had just murdered her brother; that was just the sort of person Mrs Weasley was. Evey could never hope to be like her. She would hate Greyback until the day she died, even if he was dead, even if she died centuries from now, and perhaps even after that. That was just the sort of person she was.

She caught a sudden movement in the corner of her eye; Tony had left the room. She stood up to go after him, but Walden held her back. "Give him a minute." Evey hesitated. She was terrible at comforting people, but she hated the thought of Tony crying alone in the kitchen. Finally, she sat back on the couch. Loath as she was to admit it, Walden was usually right.

Ginny pushed Harry forward. "Now would be a good time to change the subject, I think. What is it you wanted to tell us?"

Interesting; even Ginny didn't know what it was. Evey didn't quite forget about Tony, but her curiosity was piqued again.

Harry took a deep breath, then stood up straight, facing them all. "I need your opinion, and your help, with something very important." As he paused, you could have heard a mosquito buzz in the room. "I think that everyone here has heard the story of what happened to me in the Forbidden Forest that night." There was no need for more detail; they all knew what he meant. They nodded collectively. "When I used the Resurrection Stone," Harry went on slowly, almost hesitantly, "my parents returned briefly, and so did Remus." He looked at Tonks, who smiled encouragingly. "At the time, I was glad for the company, and I didn't think more of it – I had more pressing matters to attend to." Several people chuckled. "Now, however, I wonder if there's a reason why Sirius didn't return with them."

Quite interesting indeed. When Harry didn't continue, Hermione spoke up. "Harry… We don't know what happened to Sirius. We don't know what's beyond the veil. Maybe he couldn't return, even with the Stone."

"My point exactly," Harry said. His eyes were bright with intensity. "We don't know what happened to him, but the fact that he didn't come back, even with an artefact as powerful as the Resurrection Stone, means that he could still be alive." There was silence again as everyone stared at him. "He's not dead! That's the only explanation, don't you see?"

"Harry, dear…" Mrs Weasley said gently. "I'm sorry, but I don't think that's the case."

"Sirius is gone, Harry," Tonks said. "They're both gone," she added in a murmur.

"There could be a dozen explanations for the fact that he didn't show up in the forest," Hermione said.

"But we don't know what's on the other side of the archway," Harry countered stubbornly. "Maybe Sirius is stuck in some…other world. Like…you know, like Middle-earth. Maybe it leads to a different place, and Sirius hasn't been able to return because…because the archway's a portal, and it's faulty."

Most everyone looked uncomfortable, because it was obvious that Harry stubbornly refused to believe that Sirius was dead, and they didn't know how to make him see.

Evey, on the other hand… "He does make a good point," she said tentatively.

Now every eye was on her. Merlin, she really ought to think before she talked. Even Walden was frowning, and she caught sight of Tony peeking from the kitchen. There was a bit of dried blood on his right cheek. "I mean, we really don't know what's beyond the veil. But we do know that there are other worlds out there."

"Evey, if the Ministry keeps the archway hidden in the Department of Mysteries, it must mean that they've already experimented on it. They must have sent people through…" Mr Weasley trailed off, glancing at Harry. "I should think that, if they'd been successful, it would have been used rather than discarded."

"Wouldn't they have destroyed it, if it was truly dangerous?" Tony asked as he took his place at Evey's side.

"Well, perhaps it cannot be destroyed," Mr Weasley said.

"Can't we just ask Kingsley about it? He's the Minister. Surely he has access to all the knowledge of the Department of Mysteries now."

Tonks chuckled humourlessly. "I wouldn't be so sure."

"But Evey's right, we could ask him," Harry said. "Tomorrow at the ball."

Ginny sighed. "Harry… Even if Sirius is somehow…stuck on the other side of that thing, what can we do about it?"

"She has a point, mate," Ron said. "Anyone who goes through would likely be stuck as well, wouldn't they?"

"There has to be a way!" Harry insisted. He started pacing, hands behind his back. "I know he's alive. I just know it. We can't just leave him there. I can't abandon him. If I had gone through the archway, Sirius would have jumped right after me without hesitation."

"And instead of losing one person, we would have lost two," Tonks said, perhaps a bit harshly. "Harry, Sirius was a good man, but he didn't always think things through. He's gone. You have to let this go."

"She's right, dear," Mrs Weasley concurred. "Sirius wouldn't want you to go after him and risk your life on the off chance that he might still be alive, something of which we have no tangible proof."

"I mean, it's been two years, Harry," Ron added. "What are the odds that he would have survived so long, provided that he didn't die right away?" Harry directed him an accusatory glare, and Ron lifted his hands in a defensive gesture.

"It's pretty far-fetched, you have to admit," Ginny said. Harry stopped pacing to frown at her, a hurt look in his eyes. "I'm sorry, but I won't allow you to do something even more foolish and dangerous than what you've already done. Harry, this would be a suicide mission."

Harry sat down heavily beside her, head in his hands. "You're right. I was just…" He exhaled slowly, his breath hitching. "I really thought I would at least get to see him one last time, to say goodbye," he murmured. "When he didn't appear with Remus and my parents, I assumed… I was hoping…"

Ginny put her arm around him. "It's alright. It's human to find hope in the smallest things. But in this case, it is misplaced."

"I'm sorry, Harry," Tonks said quietly. "There's nothing to be done."