"Well, that was…fast," Harry remarked after Evey opened the door. "You drop by for five minutes, tell us you may have found a way to bring Sirius back, with barely an explanation, then you ask for blood, say it could take a while, order me not to get my hopes up… And then ten minutes later…"

Evey grinned at him. "I know, right? Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are. Come on in!"

Harry hesitated. Over two years had passed since Sirius had disappeared – since he'd presumably died. It seemed too good to be true, though he wasn't certain what to expect. Evey's story had been vague and she'd claimed not to have time for their questions.

Was this a dream?

Ginny clasped his shoulder, and her warm touch was enough to convince him that he was indeed awake. "Come on, Harry. It's okay, I'm here."

Whatever happens, I'm here, was what she meant.

Evey moved aside to let them pass and guided them to a room at the back of the manor house. There were quite a lot of people there, Harry noticed. He didn't know most of them, save Walden Macnair and Antonin Dolohov, but he recognised a few from Evey and Walden's wedding. Ginny tapped his arm insistently to draw his attention. She was pointing at the man on the couch.

Sirius.

"Merlin, he's really here," Harry murmured.

"What's wrong with him?" Ginny demanded right away.

"Soul…issue," Evey said. "But we have a cure for it. I just thought you'd want to be here when we give it to him. So you'd be the first person he sees, you know. He might be…confused."

Harry noticed that the people in the room had stopped talking and were now observing the three of them. He shifted uneasily. This was not the reunion he'd expected.

Although, to be fair, he had given up hope on being reunited with Sirius altogether.

"Everyone who doesn't know Sirius, clear out!" Evey shouted. "We need some privacy, please. Well, except you, Estelle," she added when the tall woman in the back tried to follow the rest of the group.

A minute later, there were still seven people left in the room: Estelle, Evey, Walden, Antonin, Ginny, Harry…and Sirius. Evey invited Harry to sit on the couch beside his godfather, which he did.

It was Sirius, of that there was no doubt. His skin was sallow, his eyes were haunted, and he'd lost the few pounds he had gained since he'd escaped from Azkaban, but it was him. Harry gingerly put a hand on Sirius's shoulder, but his godfather didn't react.

"Are you ready, Harry?" Evey asked quietly.

He nodded, then realised she was handing him a small teacup. "I'm not thirsty."

She smiled. "It's for him. It's the remedy. I thought you'd want to do the honours…"

"Oh! Yes, of course. Sorry." He took the cup with both hands, terrified that he might spill its precious content. The liquid was a swirl of violet and pink, and it smelled like peaches.

"There's an incantation," the woman named Estelle said briskly, and with a heavy French accent that reminded him of Fleur. She gave Harry a tiny piece of parchment. The writing was elegant; there were only two words, in Latin. "You need only say it once, after he's taken a sip."

Harry glanced at Ginny for support and she smiled encouragingly. He took a deep breath as he returned his attention to Sirius. He brought the cup to his godfather's lips, praying that Sirius wouldn't choke on the very thing that was meant to save him.

He didn't. Sirius swallowed the liquid, but made no other movement. He gazed ahead, unseeing.

Harry cleared his throat. "Memento vivere."

Nothing happened. Evey had told him not to get his hopes up…but of course he had. It was impossible not to. The fact that Sirius was here at all, no matter his condition, was a miracle.

"Estelle, what the fuck?" Evey said.

"Hey, give it a minute," the woman protested. "It doesn't say that the result is instantan-"

Sirius arched his back, gasping loudly. His mouth opened and released a dark, vortex-like cloud, which dissipated almost as soon as it got out. Sirius slumped on the couch, blinking slowly. His eyes were now alert, alive. He was staring right at Harry's face. "James?" His voice was low, rough.

Harry's heart, which had stopped beating, then had started again, frantically, now sank in his chest. Sirius didn't recognise him. "No, I'm-"

"Harry. Of course you're Harry." His voice still broke in places, but it was gaining in strength. He looked around the room. "And Ginny. Evey. Dolohov and Macnair." He frowned at Estelle. "I don't know you."

"Nor I you," she retorted. "Doesn't matter. I'm out of here." She snapped her fingers in front of Evey's face. "The feather?"

"Gods, can't it wait five bloody seconds?"

"I did my part!" the woman hissed. "He's alive and well. You have no good reason to-"

Evey rolled her eyes. "Oh, do shut up. Fine, come with me. Actually, guys, maybe we should let Harry and Sirius catch up. Let's give them a moment."

Ginny patted Harry's arm, but she left with them. Harry was alone with Sirius.

"What…" Sirius began to say. "I mean, where… That is, um…"

"You were gone for a long time," Harry said quietly. "We thought you were dead. I'm sorry, Sirius. I should have come after you sooner." Sirius made no reply. "Do you remember anything?"

Sirius was silent as he considered this. "Bella…we duelled. She hit me, Stunned me. Then…I woke up on this couch." He was scowling darkly. "It couldn't have been that long. Feels like yesterday."

In truth, Harry had no idea what had happened in between the time Sirius had fallen through the veiled archway and this very moment. Evey had remained vague on the matter. It was unimportant; she would fill in the blanks later. In the meantime, there was a lot that Sirius didn't know about. All the people they had lost: Dumbledore, Moody, Hedwig, Dobby, Fred.

Remus.

Sirius didn't know that his brother had died a hero, either. He didn't know that Snape was loyal to Dumbledore until the bitter end.

He didn't know that Harry, with his friends and many allies, had defeated Voldemort at last. (And Bellatrix.)

That his best friend had a son with Tonks, and that Harry was a godfather now, too.

Ah, where to begin? "Ginny and I are dating," he blurted out.

Sirius chuckled lightly. "A redhead, eh? You definitely take after your father. What about Ron and Hermione? Are they together yet?"

Harry gaped in shock. Sirius was laughing now. Merlin, it was good to hear him laugh, to see him, to have him back. He was alive. It seemed incongruous, impossible. Part of Harry still wondered if this was a cruel dream; another part had known all along that Sirius would return.

He would never be able to properly thank Evey and her friends for this, would he?

Tony followed Evey and Estelle to the garden. His instincts told him not to trust the French woman. He wouldn't leave Evey alone with her. They walked to the dragon statue, a wedding present from Charlie Weasley.

Evey took out her wand and pointed it at the dragon's impressive maw. One of the fangs fell and landed in the grass below. Evey retrieved it, opened it and extracted a small, black-and-white feather. "There." She handed it over to Estelle.

"It better be in pristine condition," Estelle muttered as she examined the feather.

Tony was confused. Why were they making such a fuss over a magpie feather?

"Oh, hey, handsome," Estelle said with a bright smile. It took Tony a moment to realise she was addressing him. "Didn't see you there. Are you going to introduce us, or what?" she demanded of Evey.

"Do not talk to him. You got what you wanted, so-"

"Come on, I just want to say hi." She moved closer to Tony. Her breasts seemed about to burst out of her too-small blouse, and her legs were infinite. She had pretty brown eyes.

But there was something wrong about her, no doubt about that.

"He's off-limits, okay?" Evey snarled.

Estelle laughed. "Off-limits? Why, is he your lover, too?"

Well, this was awkward.

Estelle eyed him up and down appreciatively. "Not as muscular as Malkoran or Walden, but he is handsome. He has that boyish charm I can't quite resist…"

"Get the fuck out, Estelle," Evey said menacingly. "Or I'll have my Wolves throw you out."

Estelle waved her free hand dismissively. "Alright, fine. Calm down. I won't steal him away from you," she said with a malicious smile. "I'm off, then. Au revoir et à jamais." She Disapparated at last.

"That fucking bitch," Evey muttered under her breath. "Good riddance."

"Um, who was she, exactly?"

"Why?" Evey said harshly. "Were you interested?"

Tony blinked. "What? No, of course not." It hadn't even crossed his mind. He'd noticed that she was gorgeous, certainly – it was impossible to ignore, she made sure of that – but he couldn't care less. Especially not with Evey standing right there.

Why had Evey reacted so strongly, though? Well, most likely because she couldn't stand the French woman. But what if she was…jealous?

Merlin, he really had to leave. He was back all of ten minutes and already his mind was playing tricks on him.

"Hey, are you okay?" Evey wasn't angry now; her voice was full of concern. "Tony, you don't look so good. Come on, talk to me." She grabbed his arm and they both sat on a nearby bench. "Tell me what happened."

"We, um, encountered some demons."

Evey gave him a flat look. "Wow, who would have thought that there would be demons in the Demon Realm?"

She was so adorable when she was being sarcastic. "Look, everything went fine. Some things in there…they really wrecked my brain. But I'll be fine. I just…I need to leave."

"Take a vacation, you mean?"

"No, I mean…I should take a few weeks to be by myself." He shook his head. "Or a few months." Years. Decades, preferably. "Staying here…I don't think it's a good idea."

Evey frowned. "Why?" She moved in front of him and patted his hair. It hadn't seen a comb in too long. "Tony, you know you can talk to me, right?"

She kept saying that, but did she really mean it? Even if she did, she'd likely change her mind if he…

No! Don't tell her. You'll ruin everything. Your relationship with her, your relationship with Walden – you'll lose everything.

I have to. I owe it to her – she has to know the truth. Walden has to know. I can't just live here without them knowing what's really going on in my sick, sick mind. It's unfair to them. If I were in Walden's shoes, I'd want to know. I'd want to know that my brother is in love with my wife.

So I could send him away.

The lies must stop. You can't live like this forever. It'll kill you – figuratively, perhaps, but still, in the end, it'll be the death the you. It's not healthy.

Hesitantly, he took Evey's hands and pulled her gently until she was sitting beside him again. He turned to face her and looked into her eyes, which were brimming with concern. "I love you," he said softly. He'd hoped to feel a massive weight being lifted off his shoulders, but no such luck. If anything, he felt even worse than usual. This was a mistake. He had to take the words back, somehow-

"I love you, too, silly. Come on. Tell me," she insisted. "Whatever it is, I won't judge, okay? I promise. Whatever it is, we'll figure it out together."

Oh, bother. He couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. The sound seemed to worry Evey even more. He tightened his grip on her hands and made himself stop laughing. Hades knew, there was nothing funny about this. He was just nervous. Terrified, really. "No, V. I mean…I'm in love with you."

She looked utterly stunned, which was more or less what he'd expected. Neither Walden nor she had a clue, did they? "I'm sorry," he went on before she could recover from the shock. "I shouldn't have hidden it from you for so long. It's unfair to both of you. I didn't want to make things weird, see." He snorted derisively. "But I can't go another day like this. It's…wrong. When I mentioned leaving back in May, that was why, V. And that's why I'm telling you now. I have to go away." She seemed about to speak, but he kept talking. He was too afraid of what she might say. "I debated telling you for a very long time. I didn't lack for opportunities, but I always chickened out. And that's why Jeanne kind of hated you, by the way," he added in what he hoped was a lighter tone. "She knew. She thought you were…hurting me on purpose or something. Ted and Alice know, too. For the record, Ted always believed that I should tell you." He was rambling. Cut it short, for pity's sake. "Anyway. I'll…well, I can tell Walden myself, if you want. Or you do it. Or nobody tells him. He doesn't have to know, I guess, although I think he should. You know how he feels about you keeping secrets from him."

Evey was still staring at him, her eyes wide. She was biting her lip. Her hands felt limp in his. Now that he wanted her to speak, she remained stubbornly silent.

"V? What do you think? Should we tell Walden, or…?"

"I do love you, you know," she finally said, looking away. She let go of his hands. "When we first met…" She sighed. "Obviously, dating was the last thing on my mind. But you and I…we got along so well, and so fast. You made me feel comfortable, you made me laugh. You were the only person I could stand being around at the time. And you were so damn cute."

Tony blinked at that. Whenever she mentioned the first time she'd seen Walden, she said it like was a lightning strike, because he was so stunning. He'd never known that she thought him cute. Well, in all fairness, cute wasn't his favourite way to be described. Women never dated their cute friends – they were just that, friends.

"I had a massive crush on Walden, of course. That's hardly a secret. But you remember early-days Walden, with his charming personality and sunny disposition," she went on with a fond smile. "I never imagined that we'd end up together, or even become friends, so those first few weeks, it was really just you and me against the world." She glanced at him tentatively. "Looking back, I realise that you're the reason I'm not clinically insane. Because if not for you, I don't know how I…" She trailed off, shrugging. "We got very close, didn't we? So quickly. Like we'd known each other forever. And after a few weeks, after the crushing grief and accompanying guilt finally began to lift off, I wondered if we could get closer…" She paused again, turning her head away from him entirely this time. "I wanted to. I did. I didn't care about what the others would say. I just thought it would make sense. I was afraid that you'd make fun of me, though, or, you know, turn me down. You were always calling me 'kid' back then. I had no idea that you…well, maybe you didn't, not this early in our friendship. After a while you started flirting with me, hesitantly at first, like you were worried Mrs Weasley would smack you, and I was hopeful, but then… Every time I considered coming on to you, I reminded myself that you're immortal."

Tony was staring unblinkingly at the back of Evey's head; it was his turn to be stunned. Was she saying that… She'd actually considered…

Focus, you twit. She's not done talking. You're jumping to conclusions, surely.

"…silly, you know?" Evey was saying. "Me, a teenaged mortal witch, and you, a powerful, immortal vampire… It sounded ridiculous in my head, like some cheesy rom-com movie with a fantasy twist. More importantly, it sounded like the best way to get hurt in the future and, at the time, I wanted to avoid getting hurt in any way at any point in my life. Because" – she chuckled then – "because I had a hundred different scenarios in mind, see, but it always came back to this: someday you'd deem me too old-looking to hang out with gorgeous you and you'd dump me like an old rag to find a younger babe. Like, you know, about 50% of men do when they have their midlife crisis."

Well, that was ridiculous. If he was lucky enough to be with her, he'd never let her go.

Really, though? Back then, he didn't know that she was immortal. As a matter of fact, was he already madly in love with her in those early days? He couldn't remember. The emotional part of him believed that he'd always loved her, from the moment he'd laid eyes on her, but the more logical part reminded him that, with his history, it likely used to be inappropriate sexual attraction more than anything else. It had taken him a long time to realise how he truly felt about Evey. Too long, perhaps. Long enough that Walden had stepped in before Tony even understood his own feelings.

"So yeah," Evey continued. Her back was still turned. "I wanted to get closer, but I held back. I kept a little distance on purpose and never crossed the line between friendly banter and...what I eventually did with Walden." She cleared her throat. "Because as time went by, I became weirder, and Walden became nicer and more approachable. And you were still immortal, but I had no idea that I…might also be more than merely mortal." After everything, she was still reluctant to admit it, no matter the overwhelming odds.

Evey was silent for a minute, but Tony wasn't sure if he was supposed to say something. He wasn't even sure what she was trying to say; had she seriously considered having a relationship with him? The same sort that she shared with Walden, the romantic sort? If Walden had remained stubbornly rude and asocial, would she have ended up ignoring her own advice and marrying Tony?

He would never know. He didn't think it mattered. This conversation…it wasn't at all what he'd expected. In his mind, Evey was going to be either revolted or angry or disappointed, more likely all three at once. He had not foreseen the fact that she'd had, at any point, returned his feelings. It made him feel incredibly uncomfortable, because he had no idea what to say to that.

"I do love Walden," Evey said eventually. She swivelled toward him slowly and looked up at him. "I didn't…settle for him or anything. It was all…circumstantial." She took a deep breath. "I just love you both so much. And I don't want to lose you, Tony," she added in a barely-audible whisper. "It would kill me. That's why…" She closed her eyes briefly, and when she reopened them, they shone with determination. "That's why we can't tell Walden. He wouldn't understand. We'll just have to…live with it. I guess…you could leave, if you felt it was necessary, but gods, I would hate it. So please, please reconsider." This time, she was the one who grabbed his hands, squeezing tightly. "Please stay. You're…you're part of me, just as much as Walden is. If you left, I'd be living with only two-thirds of myself. It would be unbearable. Could you really stay away? Could you stand it?"

He'd been wrong before. This wasn't a mere mistake; he felt like he'd committed a vicious felony. Their friendship could never last, not after this. This was not the sort of secret that stayed buried for long; Walden would find out eventually, one way or another, and then any relationship they had would be annihilated – not just Walden and he, but Evey and Walden. It would be the last straw, one lie too many. It would break them apart, and that would break everything apart, because whether Tony liked or not, their marriage was the glue that held them all together.

Oh, he'd fucked up royally, alright.

He patted Evey's hands, smiling, then let go and stood up, his back to her. He heard her blow her nose, sniffling noisily. He had to make things right.

"Tony, look… I meant what I said before. We can work this out. It's going to be…complicated, but it's not impossible. We made it work for years, didn't we?"

"I made it work for years," he corrected her. "I suffered for months. You, on the other hand, were happily oblivious to my plight." He hoped he didn't sound too bitter; it wasn't her fault, after all. It had always been his cross to bear, by choice. "It's exhausting, V. It wore me down. Being away from you these past days only made it worse."

"So I'm right," she said with an edge of triumph in her voice. She did like to be right. "You should stay."

"If I stay, it will eventually destroy our lives." He took his wand out of its sheath. "Better that I should bear this burden alone," he murmured. "You didn't ask for this, and neither did Walden."

He turned around, pointing the wand at her forehead. She gaped at him – there was no fear in her eyes, but plain surprise, with perhaps a hint of confusion. "What are you-"

"Obliviate," he murmured. Evey sagged and stared blankly ahead. It had been decades since he'd used the spell, but he had not forgotten – pun intended.

Pun? He'd just hexed his best friend, the love of his life, and he was making puns? He must have gone mad.

Tony leaned forward and whispered in Evey's ear. "We discussed my imminent departure, and you're happy for me, happy that I've found my calling at last. I'll be going to Japan to learn more about wandmaking, and one day I hope to market wand wood prostheses like the one I crafted for Walden. I won't return here, not for many, many years, but maybe we'll write to each other once in a while. That ought to do it." He cleared his throat and lowered his wand. "V?"

She blinked once, slowly, and turned to face him, a slight frown marring her delicate features. "Japan, huh? You don't even speak Japanese!"

He smiled, feeling immeasurably sad but also relieved. "If even Alice can learn Japanese, so can I. I'm not that dumb, you know."

"It'll be weird here without you," she said in a tight voice.

"Bah, I'm sure you'll make do. Between work and random suicide quests, you won't have any time to miss me."

She grinned. "Maybe I'll invite Ted to stay. It's impossible to get bored when he's around."

Oh, good. She was already replacing him. "I'm not sure he'll accept… Believe it or not, but he seems to have a crush on the Ripper."

Evey's eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Are you kidding me?"

"And I think she might actually like him back," he added conspiratorially.

"This is wild!" she exclaimed, laughing.

She was back to normal. Everything was back to normal. This might actually turn out-

There was a flash of light, which blinded them both. When his eyes adjusted, Tony saw an animal, close to them. It looked sick, perhaps injured. A mallard, but it was a pure white. Not unlike-

The mallard turned into an alpaca. Evey, who had regained her sight as well, turned to scowl at Tony. "Is that the Questing Beast? I thought it'd be gone for years."

As if to confirm Evey's guess, the alpaca turned into an aardvark. After that, the changes came faster: it was briefly a swan, a hedgehog, a dingo. Then it changed so rapidly that it was impossible to make out its form, until it slowed again, and the Beast turned into an old, leathery woman, then a much younger one. She was dark-skinned and beautiful – and naked, Tony noticed with a blush. He averted his gaze just as Evey moved forward. She covered the woman's body with a magical sheet. "Hey, can you hear me? Ma'am? Are you hurt?"

Tony crouched at her side. There was no blood, but her breathing was laboured, her eyes wild and unfocused. "Miss Questing Beast? Seer?" What was the name Persephone had used, the one that opened the portal to Pandemonium? "Sambethe?"

Abruptly the woman gripped his arm; she was stronger than she looked, and her long fingernails dug into his skin. She turned her head toward him, apparently with great difficulty. "The end…" she panted, "…of the worlds…" She closed her eyes. Her grip on him loosened. "…is nigh."

The last word was barely out of her mouth that her body began to dissolve. It was as if every single molecule was slowly detaching itself from the rest, then becoming a tiny, tiny firefly. Tony and Evey stared, astonished, until there was nothing left.

Then Evey looked at him, her face uncharacteristically impassive, especially given the situation. "Did she say 'worlds'?"