Disclaimer: See Part 1.

AN: Thanks to for reviewing. It doesn't matter if I get a whole lot of reviews for this one. I was trying for something completely different from my other 'dark' stories. Each part will abruptly change gears.

Heavy slash in the next part. Just a little bitty bit in this one.

Part 2

Picking Up the Pieces

Sirius opened his eyes and wondered if he was dreaming. Harry was smiling at him with a sad look on his face, his green eyes happy and tragic all at the same time.

"Sirius?"

Yes, he was definitely dreaming. It sounded like Harry, and he knew that he wouldn't ever hear Harry's voice ever again. It was a dream and nothing else and he'd wake up and find that he was back at the bus stop and not wherever he was now with its flowers and gentle breeze, making the tops of the trees sway slightly.

He blinked again when he looked to his right to see Remus sleeping peacefully.

"Harry?" he croaked out.

Harry nodded before touching Sirius' cheek lightly with warm fingertips.

"I have someone who'd like to see you," Harry said before standing up and walking just out of his line-of-sight. When he came back, Sirius knew that he was dreaming. Before him stood James as he last saw him. Twinkling blue eyes were dancing with joy underneath a shaggy mop of black hair like his son's.

"Paddy!"

Sirius was engulfed in a hug that certainly felt real.

"Wha - ?"

A slim redhead came up beside them. "James, we need to explain things to Sirius. Remus won't wake up for a while, so we have plenty of time for a reunion afterwards."

It sounded like Lily and looked like her as well, but Sirius was trying his hardest to not believe what lay before him.

"Sirius?"

Harry again.

The young man he'd seen grow from a skinny boy to a well-formed man sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"I know it's a little hard to believe at the moment, but once Remus wakes up we'll all be together again like we were supposed to be."

Sirius looked at him in confusion. "Supposed to be together?"

James nodded. "When we were killed, it wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. We weren't supposed to be killed. *I* was the one who was to kill Voldemort and then we would have been together. Instead, Voldemort decided to take the prophesy of his being killed into his own hands to stop his own destruction."

Lily continued. "When he killed first James and then I, all the power behind that prophesy transferred to Harry."

"Prophesy?" Sirius was confused. He hadn't heard of a prophesy, unless Dumbledore had never heard of it, or had never bothered to tell the rest of them of it.

James nodded. "Set down by Merlin three thousand years ago. It was lost around the time of the founding of Hogwarts, and that's why none of us ever knew of it. Since we've been here, Lily and I have been trying to research into why it was lost, but we've kept on hitting roadblocks. It's almost as if someone is trying to stop us from finding out."

All four of them were silent, leaving the gentle sighs of Remus in his sleep and the soft breeze flowing through the trees to be the only accompaniment to their reveries. From what James and Lily had been subtly telling him – by not saying a word – was that they had definitely come to terms with their deaths. Sirius had a feeling that James, in particular, had found himself caught in the same cycle of guilt Sirius found himself drowning in, but for quite different – and maybe the same – circumstances. He leaned into Harry a little more and the younger man wrapped his other arm around him in a gentle hug.

He had missed this, the quiet communication that had always been between the two. There were two halves of a whole, separated only by an accident of fate and time. Deep within himself, he hoped and wished that Harry had been able to make some kind of life for himself during those years that they had been separated the second time and had been able to move on from all the mistakes Sirius and the rest of them had made.

That led him to another thought – 

"How...?" Sirius tried to form his question.

"How did you die?" Harry asked, understanding just what his godfather had been trying to say.

He nodded, dreading the answer. He didn't remember anything that had led to his dying (which he was quietly freaking inside about), but he hoped it had been quick and painless – the way he had always wanted to go, especially after the twelve-year slow-death he'd been subjected to in Azkaban.

"Same way I did, Siri," Harry answered. "Except it was a car. Pretty much instantaneous and hurt-less."

"And Remy?" There was a touch of hope in the slightly-roughened velvet voice of Sirius Black. Remus had been through enough hurt in his life, and his death should have been so much better.

Harry winced. "He touched silver."

"What!" Sirius pulled away just a bit.

"It was an accident, Paddy," James said. "After we died, Petunia decided to be spiteful and put a band of silver on the angel on top of her and Lily's parents' grave. Remus touched it." He turned to Lily, who was beginning to rant.

"It's just like her to have done that and make it blend in with the rest of the thing."

"So it's just the five of us?" Sirius asked.

Harry shook his head. "No. From what we've gathered, there're two more."

"Ron?"

"No," Harry said sadly. "He and Hermione aren't joining us this time." He gave a soft sigh. "Besides, they need to be with their children. We didn't want to separate another family if it wasn't absolutely necessary."

Sirius nodded. He could understand that, especially judging by Harry's going along with the decision of his best friends continuing with the lives they were already leading. He would even go along with it, even though he had been very mad with the two of them for a long time after Harry had disappeared. Especially with Ron, who had shown up that second day after the World Cup and had been panicking over not being able to reach Harry.

Sirius had been so tempted to throttle the man when Ron had explained what had happened a month ago. He had been furious that his godson's own best friend would treat him this way and not even attempt to heal the breach until his wife said something about it.

Strangely, it had also made him think, when he wasn't frantically searching for Harry, that his godson should have had better friends. Friends who would have taken the time to listen when he really needed it and not when it was convenient for them. He knew that he was a big factor in what had happened and he hadn't been able to forgive himself.

Now, looking at Harry with his shining green eyes and tousled black hair, smiling happily at him, Sirius knew that he had his godson's forgiveness.

All four of them were quiet for a bit, watching the easy breathing of Remus. Sirius studied him and noticed that his friend no longer wore the lines on his face from his condition and his hair was the rich golden color it had been when they were in school.

Looking down at himself, he noticed that his hands were smooth again - the hands of a seducer as Lily had told him their seventh year. In Azkaban they had been rough from where he had scraped over the walls searching for an escape, and afterwards, when he was on the run they had become calloused from being a dog much of the time. He was still wondering over these changes and thinking about what else might have changed when Remus started waking up.

Half an hour later, they had explained as much of the situation as they could to Remus, and were sitting there talking about Hogwarts when a beautiful Ladien walked into their field. Sirius was awestruck by her, not as much as her beauty as the expression she wore. Her eyes were like Dumbledore's when he was especially pleased with himself. Watching her, he knew that she was not human, but she was one of the legendary goddesses sent to guide the dead to their next life, a fact that was both scary and awe-inspiring at the same time.

"I have brought you all here to give you the life you were all meant to live," she said. The Ladien's voice was like pleasant bells ringing on a bright, summer Sunday afternoon. The rich tones echoed slightly and seemed to be a blend of notes. "This time, Fate will not interfere with you," she promised. "You will be in a time with no war, no hate towards the wizarding world, and you will be with others that you know from this life. It will not be exactly like it is now, but it will help you adjust to your new life."

She smiled brightly at them. Even though the five of them were still trying to understand what she was saying, she vanished from before them and the field started melting away.

***

When Sirius awoke, he found himself in a richly decorated room. Dark red velvet hangings were draped over the four-poster bed and windows, and were tastefully paired with a subtle gold color in the walls. Movement next to him drew his attention and he looked to find Harry next to him, and on the other side of him lay James. Both of them were young, around the age of eleven. Looking down at himself, he found that he was around that age as well. He looked to the other side when he felt a breath on the back of his neck. A sharp gasp escaped him when he found a young Severus Snape half-curled next to him.

He was contemplating what was going on when the door opened to reveal a young Remus and Lily standing before a much younger Dumbledore.

"Wake up, sleepy heads!" Remus' young voice piped through the air before he ran at the bed and leaped on top of Severus.  "Come on, Sev! Granddad says it's time for breakfast."

Sirius looked at Remus until the other boy turned to him. "What's the matter, Siri? Did you have the dream again?"

He didn't know what to do other than nod.

"Well, Heron will know what to do. You know he's the only one that can make that bad dream go away. Although, don't tell Jaime like you did last time," he whispered the last part. "I don't think he could handle Heron taking the dream again if he knew. You know they share dreams sometimes, being twins and all."

Sirius nodded again, figuring that Heron was Harry and Jaime was James. He knew instinctively who was who by the way Harry was curled on his side facing Sirius, while James lay in the sprawl he been most often found in while at Hogwarts.

"Rem?"

Remus looked at him as he poked at Severus or Seb or whatever Sirius was supposed to call him.

"What day is today?"

"July 31st. Your birthday, silly! and your twin's and those twins - " he nodded his head at the two boys to Sirius' right.

**

Sirius smiled while trying to hide his confusion. He found it odd that he now shared Harry's birthday – they all did. "Just making sure," he replied, making sure that he didn't show any of the confusion he was feeling. He looked over at the two laying next to him on the right of the bed. It was the first time he had ever seen Harry looking that peaceful, other than when he had been a baby.

There was something about his face in repose that made his heart tighten at the beauty in it. Was this what everything that had gone on before had been leading to?

The Ladien had said that they were going to a life where there was no war... was this it? If all he had to worry about was the things his father had told him about in his previous life, then he could be content with the way things turned out. He, and not the conditions of what war brought to the world, would be the one to make the decisions of what his life was going to turn out like. He would be able to keep Harry (or Heron as Remus had called him) safe like he had wanted to, keeping their souls together as they should have always been.

Hell, he could even overlook the fact that he and Snape were twins, let alone related at all if this was going to be better than the life that he had been living.

He could be safe here.

Well. If this was what Destiny had in mind, he was going to go along with it.

**

As soon as he had made his decision, the 'dream' he had woken up from faded from his mind, along with all the sadness that had come with it. Instead, he snuggled deeper into the covers and closer to Heron, who turned slightly in his waking slumber into Sirius' embrace, each of them content to wrapped in the arms of their best friend.

******

Sixteen-year-old Sirius laughed as his twin, Sevastian, glared at him behind the green goop that covered his face. Next to him stood his best friend, Heron, who was trying to hold his laughter in but odd snorts were escaping from behind his hand.

"Siri!" Remus was yelling at his friend. "That wasn't funny!"

Lily hit the amber-eyed boy lightly on the arm. "Oh hush, you. It was quite funny."

Remus glared at the lone girl in their group before hustling his friend off to get cleaned up.

Sirius and Harry - as Heron liked to be called - looked at each other before snickering. As they finished laughing, Sirius looked at his best friend and was glad that he had gotten the other boy to laugh. It was quite rare for the boy to do so - his solemn personality was so at odds with his twin's. Jaime was much like Sirius, as well as the other two boys. When the four of them were off making another prank and daring escape, Harry and Lily were more, often than not, found off on their own. Lily was usually holed up in the library, to which all the boys teased her (and Jaime defending her because he was quite keen on her).

On the other hand, the other boys often found Harry in his painting room, bringing to life such beautiful pieces of art that made the soul weep. Their mentor, Albus, would leave the paintings as they were, refusing to enchant them to move like the other pictures that hung on the walls of the large house. He was often found to be saying that it would ruin what Harry was trying to say in the swirl of oil paints and brushstrokes.

Sirius was always awed when he saw his friend's latest work, although the last one had been distressing to look at. The canvas had been painted a dark red that reminded Sirius of the dried blood on Harry's temple when the other boy had been thrown by the wild horse they'd been attempting to tame the muggle way – it had been found wandering in one of the fields outside of the village by the old Riddle homestead, and many had agreed it had been a bad omen for everyone knew that the Riddles weren't the best people to associate with and had been driven from the village a half-century ago.

Added to the canvas in little spots was this grotesque shade of green that eerily echoed the green of Harry's eyes, but was quite different at the same time. Sirius wasn't sure how to describe it, but there was something about that particular shade that he did not like. What had been the worst for Sirius to look at the picture, though, had been the suggestion that there were people hidden underneath the green paint, as if they were being consumed by something so terribly awful that they would never escape.

That painting had made Jaime go crazy - he and Lily both.

Sirius shook his head as he was brought back into the present by a sharp tap upside his head. He looked into the green eyes that differentiated his best friend from his twin, before moving his eyes to the strange, lightning shaped scar left from the horse accident. Ever since the accident, Harry had retreated into himself more and more. Occasionally he would be as open as he had been, but even when they were younger he had always been the one content to sit back and watch everybody until he made his own decisions. At this point, Sirius and Jaime (and sometimes Lily) were the only ones who were able to get Harry to do anything other than his painting.

His reverie was broken when a sharp elbow pressed into his ribs. Looking to the right, he found Harry grinning widely at him before noticing that everyone else had disappeared.

Sirius' eyebrows lowered slightly in confusion. "Where'd everybody go?"

Harry's smile became gentler and much more softer. "Jaime and Lily decided to go somewhere quiet - "

"Which means," Sirius interrupted, "that they're going to find some hidey hole to snog."

The other boy nodded. "Same thing with Remy and Sev."

Sirius grinned. He had found the idea that his twin was in love with his best friend hilarious, seeing as it was just a few months after Jaime realized that Lily was quite beautiful, and he didn't have to waste his time mooning over the King's daughter, which was pointless anyway. Jaime-my-name-is-'Jameson'-no-more-of-those-silly-little-nicknames-please had then proceeded to woo her most industriously for the next month, most of the time embarrassing himself - and his friends - when the occasion arose. Sevastian, on the other hand, had realized his feelings for his friend after Remus had shyly read a moving poem at one of the little parties thrown by whoever's turn it was in the small village. Remus was the dreamer of the group, and it had hardly been surprising to learn that he would be reciting some of his work at one of them. After all, Dumbledore encouraged them to play to their strengths, a lesson he taught to all of the children in the village in the hopes that they would, in turn, teach it to their children when the time came.

That week it had been the Gryffindors' turn, and Sirius had been off playing with Harry and Roderick - the eldest of all the village children at eighteen and the first son of two out of nine children - the three of them slipping off to the stables to play with the young griffins just lately weaned. The Gryffindors were famous for taming the wild beasts, which magic alone could not do. Roderick was always saying that his family was going to be famous 'round the world for more than just rearing griffins. (Sirius laughed when the other boy had announced he had already named his children - Malon, Becca, and Godric (after his brother, who'd just turned five).)

The three of them had just staggered into the salon where most of the village was gathered to find a rousing round of applause for their friend, a shocked Sevastian in the middle of it squished not-quite-politely next to his best friend. An hour later, Sirius and Harry were on the way home when they stumbled across a passionate and sloppy first kiss between the two of them, startling everybody within a half-mile of the spot. From that point on, Remus and Sevastian had made it their first duty to find someplace not-so-easily findable to do their more 'private' talking.

For most of the time, now, it was usually just Sirius and Harry and that was the way he liked it. It gave him a warm feeling to just sit with his best friend for a while. Sometimes they didn't even have to talk, enjoying long, comfortable silences that would have driven Sirius mad even if he had been with his twin. Like now, for instance, when they were sitting in the field behind the horse barn, watching the birds rise and settle in search of food among the harvested wheat. He was comfortable with himself when he was with Harry. The nightmares that had haunted him since he could remember went away when he shared a bed with the other boy. Just hearing Harry's soft breathing was enough to call him from the terrible images the night terrors brought with them.

The two boys stayed in the field long after dinner was called, content to watch the sun sink lower into the sky. Sirius could feel the heat emanating from Harry's body as they sat side by side underneath the huge elm tree that stood tall in the corner of the field. The elm was said to guard all that sought shelter from it, and Sirius was sure that it understood how close he and the other boy actually were at times like this. It was almost as if their souls were like the puzzle pieces Sirius had found fascinating when they were younger, and that they fit perfectly together right next to one another. He felt it the most with Harry, but every once in a while he could feel it with the rest of his friends.

It was Harry he loved most, though, so the connection was much stronger than with anyone else.

******

From the time when he was little, Sirius had known that there was something he could trust about Heron of Rivenfold. When they had been introduced at the age of five when Heron and Jameson had arrived after their parents had been taken while defending their home, Sirius had taken one look at the twins and had been captivated by the smaller boy's green eyes. He had been surprised to find that the smaller boy was actually the elder of the two, but it had made little difference to him when he had seen the way Heron protected his younger brother from the prying eyes of the villagers as they tried to find out more about the visitors.

Sirius had seen the shy spark within the green eyes, but the other boy had foregone protecting himself in favor of his brother, an action that had gained his respect. He may have liked to fight with his own twin, but there was still a deep-seated bond between the two of them that cut their fighting when an outside force threatened one of them.

That had also been around the time that Dumbledore had arrived with his two grandchildren. The older man was a roaming tutor who had taken in his son's daughter and son when times were hard. Sirius and Sevastian's parents hadn't minded taking in two more children, not when it had afforded them their own sons being given one of the best magical educations in the world. Dumbledore was accounted a genius by most of the small magical community they lived in, and if there was the chance that one of the grandchildren would develop more personal ties to the family when they were older it would be wonderful. Sirius had ignored all of that in favor of learning just who all these new children were and making friends with them. He had never really thought of he and Sevastian acting so much different than most people expected them to, but it was only with the introduction of Heron and Jameson that it brought home that no matter how much someone looked like someone else, it was their souls that were much different and made them that way.

Even now, he could still remember how wonderful it had been to meet the other set of twins and learn all about them. The moment that Sirius had shook hands with Heron, he had felt a tiny little spark deep within him. It had told him that there was something about this boy that let him know that they would always be bound together in some way or another.

That feeling had grown stronger the first time he had awoken to discover that he hadn't had a nightmare the night before. He could distantly remember it starting, but then a sense of peace had flowed over him, and the troubling dream had stopped before it had gotten bad. Sirius had tried to think of why he actually hadn't had the nightmare when he noticed that he was warm. Each morning he had always woken up with the covers tossed onto the floor, often having ripped them in order to get out from under their restrictions. Now, he was warm and still tucked into the covers the nursery maid had gently wrapped around him before she herself left for bed.

At first he thought it was his brother who he then felt wrapped around him, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed Sevastian standing at the door, watching carefully. Sirius then saw that while the boy in bed with him had black hair, it was short and messy.

Then green eyes had sleepily opened and the world fell into place for the first time.

Tbc...