Sirius handed over a hastily wrapped package to Harry. He looked better than Harry had seen him before; he had gotten more food and had filled out, his face didn't look as waxy or sunken, and long hair did seem to suit him. Sirius gave a feeble smile. Harry felt like throwing the gift from Sirius back at him.
"If you ever need me, Harry… Just use that, alright?"
"Yeah, alright," Harry answered. He was angry that he had to say goodbye to Sirius. The feeling of dread had settled thick within his stomach. He didn't want to say goodbye to Sirius… not now, not ever. Sirius was his father, now. Sirius was all that Harry had. They were family.
However, goodbyes had to come at some point in time. Mrs. Weasley gathered up the Weasley group and Harry, ordering them to get their things around. Harry wiped silent tears out of his eyes. He really, really didn't want to say goodbye…
"I'll see you later, alright, Harry?" said Sirius. He was looking down at his Godson with a fatherly expression… one that was telling him to get into trouble every now and then, break the rules, bend what he could. It was, after all, the Sirius and James way.
"Bye, Sirius."
Mrs. Weasley pushed the group of children out of Grimmauld Place. The group was followed out by Tonks and Remus. Harry gave a wave to the house as it shrinked back out of view, then stole a glance at Remus. Remus gave him a warm smile.
They were escorted to King's Station, where Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George boarded the Hogwarts Express. After finding an empty compartment, Harry opened his trunk and put the parcel Sirius had given him earlier inside of the trunk. And there it lay… forgotten.
Remus walked back into Grimmauld Place after escorting the group back to the station. He was tired and fatigued - the full moon was soon approaching, and his sickness was beginning to kick in, but he ignored it to the furthest extent that he could and flashed a winning smile at his dearest friend.
Sirius was sitting at the kitchen table, glancing down at the dirty old mirror that he had seen so many times before. Remus lifted an eyebrow in question, taking a seat next to his friend. "What's up with the mirror, Siri?"
After a few moments, Sirius looked up from the mirror. His eyes glittered with a few unshed tears. He had obviously been thinking of the past, of something that he hadn't shared with his ol' pal Moony. Remus patted him on the shoulder.
"Why d'you have that old mirror out, Siri?" Remus asked him, acknowledging the mirror in his friend's hands. Sirius smiled and wiped away some of the dust that had accumulated on its face.
"I gave the other one to Harry. The one…" Sirius gave a small laugh, "the one James used to use."
Remus didn't know what to say. He watched the mirror for a while, half expecting Harry's face to pop up in it, or even James'. He shook his head, knowing that he was being silly. James would never appear in that old mirror again.
Tonks walked into the kitchen and started rummaging through the refrigerator. Remus turned and watched her as she moved back to the table and sat down across from Sirius. Tonks passed Sirius and Remus a butterbeer.
"What's that for?" Remus shot Tonks a sideways look. She stared pointedly at the mirror.
Sirius looked up at her and then down at the old mirror again. "It's a two-way mirror," he said. Tonks' face brightened up. "I used to use this when I was younger… James Potter had the other one, and we'd use them when we'd end up in separate detentions. No matter what teachers tried to do, there was no separating James and Sirius." A sad smile crossed over Sirius' face.
"How'd you get it back if James had it, then?"
"He'd given it back at the end of seventh year. We decided that we'd hang onto them and keep 'em safe, and give them to our children when they were in school."
Tonks' eyes lit up. "How exciting. I wish my friends and I had done stuff like that when we were in school…" She gave a dreamy sigh. "I wish I would've known you sooner, Sirius. Think of all the fun we could've had together."
"Heh…" Sirius looked up at the ceiling and back down to the mirror. "I doubt you would've found my sense of humor funny. I was a prick at times, and a prat at others."
"Yeah, but," Tonks started. "You had so much to do, with two great friends… That's two more than I ever had in school."
Remus gave Tonks a pat. "Technically, at school, there were three friends… but we'll overlook that, seeing as how the situation changed."
The expression on Sirius' face darkened. "I can't believe that worm… that… that rat would-"
"Sirius, we can't change what happened, now. It's in the past, and we've got to learn to live with it. It's been fourteen years."
Sirius gave a heavy sigh. "I know. I just… it still irks me to know that I'll never see my best friend again. All that I have left of James Potter is my godson, and I'll be damned if I'll ever-"
"We know, Sirius. We know." Moony stood up from the table, giving his friend a pat on the back. "And we don't doubt it, either." He stretched his arms up and gave a yawn. "I don't know about the two of you, but I think I'm going to catch a little rest. Full moon in a couple of days…"
"Goodnight, Remus," the two remaining at the table said.
Remus walked out of the room. Tonks turned her attention back to her cousin, Sirius.
"You're really great with Harry, you know. He really loves you," she said. Sirius gave a withering smile.
"It's the least I can do for practically killing my best friend."
Tonks leaned across the table and put her hands on Sirius's, forcing the mirror out of his hands. "Listen to me," said Tonks, seriously. "You did not kill James. There was nothing to help him and Lily. Just be thankful that Harry's still around, y'know?" She gave him a haphazard smile.
"Yeah. You know… I'm getting tired, too. I think I'll go to bed."
Sirius picked up the two-way mirror, stood up, and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Tonks alone at the table.
Harry had never used the two-way mirror. He never contacted Sirius. Maybe that meant that Harry didn't really need him after all?
Sirius watched the mirror carefully. He had been watching it day in and day out since Harry had left back to Hogwarts, and never once had there been a sign of communication to take place. Hm… It was just another sign that Harry, indeed, wasn't James Potter.
But something wasn't right. He could feel it deep within his bones. Something was going wrong, and he felt the urge to speak to Harry. He tried calling Harry in the two-way mirror, but there was no reply. Simply a dark blackness appeared.
An urgent knock at the door caught his attention. Sirius turned away from the mirror and dislodged himself from lying next to Buckbeak on the hay-strewn floor to open the door. Moody was on the other side, looking angry and disgruntled.
"Potter's got himself into a bit of trouble, it seems. Gotta get down to the Ministry - it's an attack. The two Weasley children and Longbottom's kid are there, too… seems they escaped from school…"
Sirius grabbed his cloak, and the two were gone.
Bellatrix surprised Sirius with the thing he expected the least - a stunning spell to the heart. Sirius felt himself freeze, tense up, and then, he knew no more.
Sirius had disappeared behind the veil.
Harry sat with the parcel that Sirius had given him earlier that school year. He weighed it carefully in his hands before unwrapping it, wondering what in the world it was. His curiosity got the better of him, and Harry unwrapped it in a hurry.
Sirius had been gone for only a few days. It seemed like a sad, sick joke that somebody wanted to play on him. Why, he didn't know the answer. Perhaps it was the fact that Harry was never supposed to have something to care for him. Everything he loved got taken away from him, sooner or later.
He looked at the mirror, frowning. Why would Sirius give him a mirror?
He inspected it. It was old and dusty, and had definitely not been used for a long while. He flipped it over and looked on the back.
Tears stung his eyes. Sirius was really gone… Sirius, and his father and his mother. He had precious little in the world, anymore. Sirius had precious little, but he had lost it all, but he had tried to share it with Harry. He had shared it with Harry by giving him this gift, the one he'd never gotten to use.
Harry gave his godfather one last, loving memory, and smashed the mirror on the floor. There was no Sirius anymore.