SPOILERS!!!!! Book five!!!!!! Don't do what I did, kiddies, I read a fic without heeding the warning and I got the ending of OotP ruined for me. Oh well, even with that I was not ready to accept JK's ending.

On the Other Side Of The Archway

The blue beam that hit him square in the chest blinded Sirius Black's eyes for the longest time. He couldn't see anything but vague, blurred shapes, couldn't hear anything but distant male crying, distant female laughter… he couldn't feel anything at all, but was dimly aware of his body hitting the floor.

"SIRIUS! NOOOOOO!!!!!!" Someone screamed. He knew that voice… but whose was it? Remember, come on you old git, remember!

"Harry," he whispered weakly. He clawed his way off the floor, except his hands weren't moving, at least not that anyone but him could see. However, to him they were, and heartened, he stood up, vision suddenly cleared. He looked around at the scene before him: a teary-eyed Remus Lupin restraining his Godson Harry, who was screaming his name wildly, over and over. Other scattered people were staring around the room, confused beyond intelligent thought, and his cousin Bellatrix was standing right next to him, laughing wildly.

"They think I'm hurt," Sirius mused, and the thought almost made him laugh. "Guys, I'm fin," he started to say. "Harry, Moony, it's me, I'm fine!"

Neither of them acknowledged his words. Sirius moved closer, confused. He held out his hand to touch Harry… and it went right through him.

"What happened?" He thought wildly. "Some sort of intangibility curse?" he looked suddenly back at Bella to continue his attack, but what he saw made his heart stop. Well, it would have.

He, Sirius Black, was standing next to his Godson. And he, Sirius Black, was there, lying on the floor, meters away. "God no," Sirius whispered. "No, don't let me be dead. NO!"

"Calm down, Padfoot," a voice said from behind him. "They can't hear you." Sirius whirled around and came straight face-to-face with James Potter. A blue James Potter, no older than fifteen years old.

But instead of being over-joyed, instead of throwing his arms around his best friend like he'd swore he would were he given a second chance, Sirius pushed James forcefully away and bolted in the other direction, only to snap back like a dog on a leash seconds later.

"I'm sorry, old friend, but you bit the big one," the teenage James insisted, holding his hand out. "It's time to go."

"No," Sirius protested, panicking now. "They need me, Harry needs me!" he turned back to his Godson, who was now struggling harder against Lupin's arms and keening painfully.

"That's what I thought at first, too," James said sadly, and through he haze in his mind, Sirius suddenly understood the insensitivity that must have come through in his last statement. He turned to face his best friend, to look him straight in the eye. "But give him some credit," James continued once he had. "He's a big boy."

Sirius shook his head; the motion releasing tears own his cheeks. "No, no, no…"

"It's time to go," James said, and took him forcefully by the arm and throwing him with impossible power into the archway. He felt his body fall through the veils draped there, and was suddenly surrounded by hands, patting his arms, stroking his hair…

"Get away from me!" He yelled, brandishing his wand.

Back on the dais, Harry was still fighting Remus and screaming hoarsely. "SIRIUS!!"

And on the other side of the archway, Sirius was screaming, too. "HARRY!!"

Okay, that's my take… I still hate the ending, though… I mean, if JK had to kill Sirius, she could have at least waited for book seven. If she needed to illustrate something by his death, why didn't she kill Percy or someone annoying… (Sorry, everybody, I used to be a major Percy fan, but after this book, now I'm mad at him.)