Sirius was falling into the Veil.

Harry watched him fall, his entire body frozen for a split second as he watched his godfather fall through the veil. He heard Bellatrix's squeal of delight echo around him.

" I killed Si—"

He dashed forward, his entire body thrumming, his gut wrenching because Sirius just fell through the fucking veil.

He ran to the veil, but it still felt like he couldn't get there fast enough. People were shouting and through the corners of his eye he could see Kingsley lunge forward.

Harry's just a hairsbreadth away from the Veil and he holds his breath when Remus' fingertips brush against his shirt.

Except Remus is just a second too late and before he knows it, Harry's diving head first into the Veil.

It was dark, wherever he was.

The pitch black darkness was oddly calming. It was like he was floating through space, and he could feel a warmth envelope him, soothing away all the pains and worries.

It was nice. He wanted to curl up into the warmth, to give in and let it wash over him until all he could feel was—

Sirius.

He had to find Sirius

Panic bubbled up inside him and threatened to spill out. Harry looked around, clenching his wand in his hands in an effort to get them to stop shaking. But it was useless because its pitch black and Harry couldn't see a single fucking thing. The darkness seemed suffocating now and the warmth was getting stronger. It felt like a strong tug now, like a rope tied around his navel.

Harry took a deep breath. He took a step forward, then another, and another.

One step at a time, he chimed in his head. It was like trying to swim against a current. Each step grew heavier and heavier, soon Harry was panting with every step.

He fell onto his knees as the warmth blossomed into a fire that slowly crawled up his veins. It felt like he was being burned alive, only the heat was coming from inside of him. Harry gritted his teeth and waved his wand above his head.

"Gelida Flammae. " The flame-freezing charm seemed to have the opposite effect and Harry cried out in pain as the fire doubled in strength.

Through his eyelids, he saw a light flash somewhere. He drew in a sharp breath and stood up,knuckles white against his wand. He looked into the abyss that surrounded him, desperately searching the darkness until he found a small speck of light, glowing brightly against the darkness. A giddy feeling swelled up in his chest.

Sirius.

The fire inside of him burned brighter. Harry's mouth twisted into a grimace as he took a step forward, closer to the light. Then everything started to get denser, collapsing around him until he couldn't take a single step further.

It felt like he was being squeezed; like some invisible force had caught him in its grip and refused to let go.

The world seemed to spin upside down and soon Harry was falling and he couldn't move a muscle. Pressure pushed against him from all sides as he sped downwards. The heat blazed inside of him and Harry closed his eyes and screamed as fell down, down, down.

Harry.

His eyes fluttered. Had he heard something or—

Harry.

A sick feeling settled itself in his stomach. He was in the Veil of Death and now he was hearing voices. That couldn't possibly be good.

Except the light was growing stronger from under his eyelids. Harry's eyes snapped open. No, Harry thought in something akin to wonder, it was multiplying.

Harry.

All around him, tiny specks of light flickered into life, each one beaming brightly. Slowly yet surely, the darkness receded until only light remained. Harry shut his eyes, his mind whirling.

Harry..

Something cold brushed up against his cheek, a sweet reprieve from the heat. I love you, a sweet voice whispered next to his ear. Harry wondered if it was his mother. His breath hitched at the possibility.

Harry yelped as he was thrown forward into the light. The pressure had vanished as if it was never there, and for a moment everything seemed to stop.

There was a loud bang and colour exploded around him.

Harry landed on the ground with a thud.

He groaned, pushing himself up as he registered the distant, cheerful chirping of birds.

Wait—

Birds?

Harry's eyes snapped open. He was in a forest, judging by the amount of trees surrounding him. Harry winced when sunlight shone directly into his eyes.

Looking away, his gaze fell to a figure that lay a few feet away from him. Harry's eyes widened and before he knew it he was on his feet, stumbling over to the other man.

" Sirius, " He yelled, kneeling beside him. He grabbed Sirius' wrist. Harry let out a shaky breath at the strong, if slow, pulse that danced underneath his fingertips. Harry stood up, keeping one eye on Sirius and the other on the ground as he searched for their wands. He spotted them hidden among the grass and safely tucked them into his pocket.

" Harry? "

Harry's heart leapt into his throat and he sped to Sirius, who was clutching his chest and hacking his heart out.

" What happened? " Sirius asked between coughs.

" Where are we? "

Sirius was alive. Harry couldn't keep his eyes off him, afraid that he was imagining it, that he was still in the dark place. He swallowed thickly.

" We were in the Department of Mysteries. You-you fell into the Veil, so I followed you and now we're here. "

Sirius sat up and gripped his shoulders sternly. " The veil—The Veil? You followed me? Morgana's tits Harry, you bloody idiot—are...are we dead? "

Sirius' face was so comically frightened that Harry couldn't help the high, breathy laughter that escaped him.

" I don't think so? " Harry gazed down at his hands. " I don't feel dead? "

Sirius was getting paler by the minute and Harry wondered if he was going to vomit right there.

" My wand, " Sirius rasped, " where is it? " Harry fished it out of his pocket, handing it to Sirius who let out a breath of relief upon seeing it.

" Lumos. " The end of his wand immediately lit up. " I don't think we're dead. " He got up and started walking around.

Harry nodded as he followed closely behind Sirius. He still felt a bit dazed.

" We're going to apparate. Hold on tight. " Harry clutched Sirius' arm, wheezing when the grass below them was replaced for a familiar cobblestone path.

Sirius placed a comforting hand on his back as Harry knelt over, trying to keep the contents of his stomach. Slowly, Sirius led him through a door.

Harry glanced up as laughter filled his ears. They were standing in a pub of sorts. It was slightly dingy; the walls could use a good scrubbing, the chairs looked a bit well-worn—overall, it looked very much like Leaky Cauldron.

" Tom? " Sirius breathed, staring at the blond man over the counter in wonder.

Harry's brows furrowed in confusion. Tom was a bald old man,while the boy over the counter seemed to be in his early twenties and he had a head full of thick, blond hair.

" Yes, how can I help you? " The boy—Harry refused to believe that was Tom—said. He paused when neither of them answered. " One of you called me, right? You asked for Tom? "

Harry swallowed thickly. " You're Tom? "

The boy frowned. " Yes. " His looked them over, narrowing suspiciously. " Do you fellas' need help? " He sounded exactly like Tom. His voice was less throaty, and maybe a bit higher but other than that it was exactly the same.

Were they-

They couldn't be.

Maybe they were dead. Harry wasn't quite sure which he preferred at the moment.

A/N: Honestly I wasn't planning on publishing this. It was supposed to be a private, short chapter but it evolved into a whole story for me. With the current situation, I am super busy so this is definitely going to be a short fic. Hope it's good :)