A/N: Cinnibar, Sol, and Artemis are all named after three of my reviewers.
Chapter 2: Home At Last
Part II
"So where are we going now?" Sirius asked Lily and James eagerly, as the three exited out of the Registry building, devouring everything in sight with hungry eyes. Lily and James exchanged glances. Sirius had never been this energetic and spirited, not even in life, and it was nice to see Sirius so happy for a change. His lips curving into a smile, James answered, "We're going home."
Sirius threw a fist into the air, his actions echoing those of a certain little girl he had met on a train. "Yyyesss!!!" Sirius whopped.
The three turned into a dark and dingy alley. There, scattered all over the ground at their feet, were a bunch of people's possessions lying seemingly abandoned. They were all quite attractive and valuable, however, and Sirius wondered what kind of idiots would just throw away their gold bracelets and diamond rings. Lily went right over and picked up a silver necklace with a small, emerald wrought Celtic cross.
"What are you do---?" Sirius began, but Lily interrupted, "Its a Portkey."
Sirius looked at the Portkey quizzically. "Wouldn't Muggles pick this stuff up?** Wouldn't anyone pick these up, for that matter?"
"Nah, people are nice around here, they wouldn't steal," James waved his hand dismissively. "And besides, even if they tried, they couldn't. Even if we don't really need security around here, the Great Beyond is very secure. The most well guarded, in fact. The Higher Powers themselves run this place."
"...and where in this place does this Portkey transport us?" Sirius pondered.
"Well, all these Portkeys around here take us to one neighborhood or another. This particular Portkey brings us to West Paradise Street 1485. That's where we reside."
"Is our neighborhood far from here?"
"Pretty much. Lily and I, and practically the rest of the residents of the Great Beyond live on the outskirts of the cities in suburbs. Fortunately, though, we live just outside this city. Cities are the homes to the very few information centers and office buildings there are at all are located. There are very little flats here, and the only ones who really live in those apartment buildings are souls like Sora who have unfinished business to attend to here, and they don't stay forever. They have another place waiting for them; they eventually move out. The only ones who permanently settle into the apartment buildings are the Angels."
"The Angels-----?"
"They're manifestations of the Higher Powers. They always have business to look after. The conductor of the train that brought you here is an Angel; so's the Healer."
"...and the city --- there's more to the city than information centers, office buildings, some flats, and a few eating houses, right---?"
" 'Course. Even workers take their break."
"And anyway," James added, "There's not much to do at home but relax, is there? People from outside the city are always coming here to have a fun time.
There are inns for visitors, shopping malls, department stores, parks, game arcades, theaters, movie cinemas, and music halls-----"
"And a whole lot more." Lily injected impatiently. "People, shut your traps and let's GO already."
"Twitchy as ever, ain't she?" James said in a low voice to Sirius.
"Very." Sirius quietly mouthed to James. James grinned, before turning back to his wife and flashing her a sweet smile. "Yes, Lily dear."
"Okay, then...One...Two....Three-----"
Sirius, James, and Lily all clasped onto the chain of the necklace and the three were swiftly spinning and the city around them was becoming a blur. Very rapidly their former surroundings vanished suddenly, and so did the three of them. Sirius, James, and Lily very abruptly re-appeared in mid-air, and there was a resounding scream as Sirius yelped, "MY ARSE!" as they all hit the ground hard in a heap.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Lily winced, looking pained herself as she unsteadily came to her feet and brushed herself up. "We have our own fireplace in our home, so we could've taken Floo Powder, of course, but doing that we would've went straight inside the house, and we wanted to show you around outside first."
"Then its a good thing we took the Portkey, after all," Sirius said cheerfully, looking around, and forgetting his earlier annoyance and beaming. "I would love for you to show me around. The place already looks awesome."
Sirius had landed in the middle of a serene, taciturn street surrounded by many exquisite and breathtakingly gorgeous homes. The houses were made of various materials ranging from the finest stone to the sturdiest brick, and some even sported stain-glass windows. Everything looked cozy, in a quiet sort of contentment. The peace and quiet contrasted greatly with the hustle and bustle of the city, but no less beautiful and wondrous.
"...See that pink manor with the lavender stain-glass wind---oh stop snickering, Sirius---see that pink house with the lavender window, that's where Marigold, Pegasus Perks live. And there, to the right and next door to the Perks is that inseparable set of best friends, Aragorn Bones and Petruchio Midgen. To the left and next door to the Perks are the Jordan brothers, Farrell and Tyrone. Next door to the Jordans are the Chang triplets, Mulan, Mei-Ling, and Jun. Next door to the Chang sisters are Christiana Brocklehurst and Emma Turpin. Two houses down is Selene McKinnon."
"What about the house between Christiana, Emma, and Selene?"
Lily's face broke out into a smile. "I was just getting to that," Lily said lightly. "That's our home."
Sirius started. "Let's get inside, then!" Sirius urged in breathless anticipation.
"C'mon," James snatched his best friend and led him towards the house.
The house was Sirius's dream come true. It was a very large mansion, built out of the most elegant, refined steely blue marble. The mansion sported splendid glass windows. The doors were made of steel, and very fine steel at that. The mansion came with a chimney, a porch, pillars (where several yellow ribbons were tied around into a bow), a fair and green front lawn, and a few glittering manganese stone doorsteps.
As Sirius walked up the doorsteps and came to the pillars, Sirius stopped in his tracks to look upon and admire the sun-streaked ribbons. James watched Sirius, followed his gaze, and smiled. "They're lovely, aren't they?" James commented. "They're not just for show, though. These yellow ribbons symbolize beckoning our loved ones to go to the Great Beyond when they die and join us here at home. We put them up for you, Harry and Remus."
Sirius's heart was smote with emotion, but all he did was crack a small, even shy smile. James strode over, and briefly gave Sirius a clap on the back. Then James took out a golden key, slipped it into the gold keyhole, and turned the bronze knob. The door opened, and James, smiling encouragingly, bade Sirius to go inside the house. Inhaling sharply, and bracing himself for more wonders to come, Sirius nodded to James and took a step inside.
He sucked in his breath. The inside of the house was, if possible, more beautiful than the outside. The walls were cobalt blue, and the floors were a deep purple and carpeted. At the right-hand corner there was a staircase spiraling upwards, and off at the right-hand side wall, there was a merry fire crackling at the fireplace in the drawing room. On the mantelpiece, six pictures were stacked up in pretty picture frames, pictures --- Sirius's heart tightened --- of James and himself laughing and posing for the camera, of James, Remus, and him smiling, of Remus and him draping their arms around one another's shoulders, of Lily and James kissing, of Lily and James holding hands, of James standing by Lily's side as she held Harry in her arms...
Set in the living room were a polished wooden bookshelf, a rocking wicker chair, a black leather armchair, a fairly large teal couch and peacock blue sofa. There was a rug on the floor, and on this rug was Lily's old cat, Cinnibar, curled up in a deep and satisfying nap. He could hear a distant hooting getting closer and closer, until suddenly two owls came sweeping in, one pretty and tawny, the other a regal-looking eagle owl. Sirius's eyes widened, and he finally spoke up again, crying, "Sol!" Sol was the pretty, tawny one, and also his old owl, who had died about thirty years ago.
The regal-looking eagle owl (belonging to James, named Artemis) greeted Sirius with a welcoming hoot, while Sol perched on Sirius's shoulder. She nipped at Sirius affectionately with his beak. Sirius let out a strangled, choked laugh. He was stroking Sol's feathers, and headed for an emotional breakdown when he heard James call ---
"Hey, Sirius!" James called from somewhere behind the living room wall. "Come here into the kitchen!"
Sirius bolted off towards the kitchen. The kitchen was neat, orderly, and spanking clean. The kitchen floor was made up of rich maroon tiles. Set in the kitchen was a large gas stove, a steely blue marble sink, complete with a silver faucet, a counter, and several cupboards, cabinets, and drawers. The cupboards, cabinets, and drawers held silverware. The dining room was right next to the kitchen, and set in this dining room was a large, four-legged wooden coffee table with a few chairs. The chairs came with cushions on the bottom of the seats.
Regaining his composure, Sirius remarked, "Smashing house you've got here."
"There's more." Lily, standing next to James, spoke up brightly, and seizing Sirius by the hand, she led him back into the living room and up the stairs, James in toe. The three reached the landing. They went down a large, wide hallway, with many doors at the sides leading to different rooms.
Lily cocked her head towards the doors (three in total) on the right side. "Those are the bathrooms. They all have tiled floors, toilets, silver faucets, and marble sinks. The three bathrooms are practically identical, except for one factor."
James jerked open the doors of each of the three bathroom, and as he went from one to the other, James explained, "This one has a quaint little Jacuzzi, this one has a regular bathtub, and this one has a stall for a shower."
"And those?" Sirius asked, jerking his head to three relatively large doors at the left side.
"Bedrooms." Lily replied. Lily gestured to the door at the end of the hallway. "This one's a guest room. The one next to that one is our bedroom (mine and James's). And the one next to it, the one nearest the staircase, that's yours."
James spoke up. "The bedrooms are pretty much all the same except for the beds. Lily and I share a king-sized canopy bed, you've got a queen-sized bed, and the guest room contains two sets of twin-sized waterbeds. But don't take my word for it, come see for yourself." James beckoned Sirius to enter the bedroom.
Sirius nodded, and went inside his bedroom. A cry of happiness escaped Sirius's throat, as his eyes first fell upon his bedroom. At one side of the room was, as James said, a queen-sized bed, with ebony black bed covers, a steely blue set of blankets, white pillows, and a comfy mattress covered in an ocean of dark teal. Several inches away from the bed, and near the door, was a maroon-colored marble wardrobe. To the other side of the room, and to the far off side of the bed, were two sets of chairs. A small table was propped in front of the chairs. The chairs faced a large, polished wooden desk several inches away and to the side of the dresser. On the wooden desk sat, curiously enough, a television, complete with a VCR. A remote control was lying on top of the TV.
Exploring his new bedroom, Sirius came at last to the television set and looked at it, marveling.
"Isn't this a box? What's it doing here?" Sirius asked, curious.
James smiled slightly. " 'Course its a box. But its no ordinary Muggle television set. This here," James patted the TV fondly, "doesn't run by electricity, it runs by the pure might of the Higher Powers." James paused. "It isn't really for entertainment purposes, either. It plays only five channels, and running on each channel there's only one TV show."
Sirius's eyebrows furrowed. "What would that be?"
"A day in the life of a loved one."
A thoughtful look deepened Sirius's handsome features. "So you're telling me that I can watch over Andromeda, Harry, and Remus through this?"
"Yep."
Sirius's face relaxed. "That sounds wonderful." With that declaration, he sank down on a chair.
For the first time that Sirius could remember, he was home at last.
A/E/N:
** By the time Muggles reach the afterlife, they already know about magic. However, the general bunch of them prefer that the wizarding world remain hidden.**
Chapter 2: Home At Last
Part II
"So where are we going now?" Sirius asked Lily and James eagerly, as the three exited out of the Registry building, devouring everything in sight with hungry eyes. Lily and James exchanged glances. Sirius had never been this energetic and spirited, not even in life, and it was nice to see Sirius so happy for a change. His lips curving into a smile, James answered, "We're going home."
Sirius threw a fist into the air, his actions echoing those of a certain little girl he had met on a train. "Yyyesss!!!" Sirius whopped.
The three turned into a dark and dingy alley. There, scattered all over the ground at their feet, were a bunch of people's possessions lying seemingly abandoned. They were all quite attractive and valuable, however, and Sirius wondered what kind of idiots would just throw away their gold bracelets and diamond rings. Lily went right over and picked up a silver necklace with a small, emerald wrought Celtic cross.
"What are you do---?" Sirius began, but Lily interrupted, "Its a Portkey."
Sirius looked at the Portkey quizzically. "Wouldn't Muggles pick this stuff up?** Wouldn't anyone pick these up, for that matter?"
"Nah, people are nice around here, they wouldn't steal," James waved his hand dismissively. "And besides, even if they tried, they couldn't. Even if we don't really need security around here, the Great Beyond is very secure. The most well guarded, in fact. The Higher Powers themselves run this place."
"...and where in this place does this Portkey transport us?" Sirius pondered.
"Well, all these Portkeys around here take us to one neighborhood or another. This particular Portkey brings us to West Paradise Street 1485. That's where we reside."
"Is our neighborhood far from here?"
"Pretty much. Lily and I, and practically the rest of the residents of the Great Beyond live on the outskirts of the cities in suburbs. Fortunately, though, we live just outside this city. Cities are the homes to the very few information centers and office buildings there are at all are located. There are very little flats here, and the only ones who really live in those apartment buildings are souls like Sora who have unfinished business to attend to here, and they don't stay forever. They have another place waiting for them; they eventually move out. The only ones who permanently settle into the apartment buildings are the Angels."
"The Angels-----?"
"They're manifestations of the Higher Powers. They always have business to look after. The conductor of the train that brought you here is an Angel; so's the Healer."
"...and the city --- there's more to the city than information centers, office buildings, some flats, and a few eating houses, right---?"
" 'Course. Even workers take their break."
"And anyway," James added, "There's not much to do at home but relax, is there? People from outside the city are always coming here to have a fun time.
There are inns for visitors, shopping malls, department stores, parks, game arcades, theaters, movie cinemas, and music halls-----"
"And a whole lot more." Lily injected impatiently. "People, shut your traps and let's GO already."
"Twitchy as ever, ain't she?" James said in a low voice to Sirius.
"Very." Sirius quietly mouthed to James. James grinned, before turning back to his wife and flashing her a sweet smile. "Yes, Lily dear."
"Okay, then...One...Two....Three-----"
Sirius, James, and Lily all clasped onto the chain of the necklace and the three were swiftly spinning and the city around them was becoming a blur. Very rapidly their former surroundings vanished suddenly, and so did the three of them. Sirius, James, and Lily very abruptly re-appeared in mid-air, and there was a resounding scream as Sirius yelped, "MY ARSE!" as they all hit the ground hard in a heap.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Lily winced, looking pained herself as she unsteadily came to her feet and brushed herself up. "We have our own fireplace in our home, so we could've taken Floo Powder, of course, but doing that we would've went straight inside the house, and we wanted to show you around outside first."
"Then its a good thing we took the Portkey, after all," Sirius said cheerfully, looking around, and forgetting his earlier annoyance and beaming. "I would love for you to show me around. The place already looks awesome."
Sirius had landed in the middle of a serene, taciturn street surrounded by many exquisite and breathtakingly gorgeous homes. The houses were made of various materials ranging from the finest stone to the sturdiest brick, and some even sported stain-glass windows. Everything looked cozy, in a quiet sort of contentment. The peace and quiet contrasted greatly with the hustle and bustle of the city, but no less beautiful and wondrous.
"...See that pink manor with the lavender stain-glass wind---oh stop snickering, Sirius---see that pink house with the lavender window, that's where Marigold, Pegasus Perks live. And there, to the right and next door to the Perks is that inseparable set of best friends, Aragorn Bones and Petruchio Midgen. To the left and next door to the Perks are the Jordan brothers, Farrell and Tyrone. Next door to the Jordans are the Chang triplets, Mulan, Mei-Ling, and Jun. Next door to the Chang sisters are Christiana Brocklehurst and Emma Turpin. Two houses down is Selene McKinnon."
"What about the house between Christiana, Emma, and Selene?"
Lily's face broke out into a smile. "I was just getting to that," Lily said lightly. "That's our home."
Sirius started. "Let's get inside, then!" Sirius urged in breathless anticipation.
"C'mon," James snatched his best friend and led him towards the house.
The house was Sirius's dream come true. It was a very large mansion, built out of the most elegant, refined steely blue marble. The mansion sported splendid glass windows. The doors were made of steel, and very fine steel at that. The mansion came with a chimney, a porch, pillars (where several yellow ribbons were tied around into a bow), a fair and green front lawn, and a few glittering manganese stone doorsteps.
As Sirius walked up the doorsteps and came to the pillars, Sirius stopped in his tracks to look upon and admire the sun-streaked ribbons. James watched Sirius, followed his gaze, and smiled. "They're lovely, aren't they?" James commented. "They're not just for show, though. These yellow ribbons symbolize beckoning our loved ones to go to the Great Beyond when they die and join us here at home. We put them up for you, Harry and Remus."
Sirius's heart was smote with emotion, but all he did was crack a small, even shy smile. James strode over, and briefly gave Sirius a clap on the back. Then James took out a golden key, slipped it into the gold keyhole, and turned the bronze knob. The door opened, and James, smiling encouragingly, bade Sirius to go inside the house. Inhaling sharply, and bracing himself for more wonders to come, Sirius nodded to James and took a step inside.
He sucked in his breath. The inside of the house was, if possible, more beautiful than the outside. The walls were cobalt blue, and the floors were a deep purple and carpeted. At the right-hand corner there was a staircase spiraling upwards, and off at the right-hand side wall, there was a merry fire crackling at the fireplace in the drawing room. On the mantelpiece, six pictures were stacked up in pretty picture frames, pictures --- Sirius's heart tightened --- of James and himself laughing and posing for the camera, of James, Remus, and him smiling, of Remus and him draping their arms around one another's shoulders, of Lily and James kissing, of Lily and James holding hands, of James standing by Lily's side as she held Harry in her arms...
Set in the living room were a polished wooden bookshelf, a rocking wicker chair, a black leather armchair, a fairly large teal couch and peacock blue sofa. There was a rug on the floor, and on this rug was Lily's old cat, Cinnibar, curled up in a deep and satisfying nap. He could hear a distant hooting getting closer and closer, until suddenly two owls came sweeping in, one pretty and tawny, the other a regal-looking eagle owl. Sirius's eyes widened, and he finally spoke up again, crying, "Sol!" Sol was the pretty, tawny one, and also his old owl, who had died about thirty years ago.
The regal-looking eagle owl (belonging to James, named Artemis) greeted Sirius with a welcoming hoot, while Sol perched on Sirius's shoulder. She nipped at Sirius affectionately with his beak. Sirius let out a strangled, choked laugh. He was stroking Sol's feathers, and headed for an emotional breakdown when he heard James call ---
"Hey, Sirius!" James called from somewhere behind the living room wall. "Come here into the kitchen!"
Sirius bolted off towards the kitchen. The kitchen was neat, orderly, and spanking clean. The kitchen floor was made up of rich maroon tiles. Set in the kitchen was a large gas stove, a steely blue marble sink, complete with a silver faucet, a counter, and several cupboards, cabinets, and drawers. The cupboards, cabinets, and drawers held silverware. The dining room was right next to the kitchen, and set in this dining room was a large, four-legged wooden coffee table with a few chairs. The chairs came with cushions on the bottom of the seats.
Regaining his composure, Sirius remarked, "Smashing house you've got here."
"There's more." Lily, standing next to James, spoke up brightly, and seizing Sirius by the hand, she led him back into the living room and up the stairs, James in toe. The three reached the landing. They went down a large, wide hallway, with many doors at the sides leading to different rooms.
Lily cocked her head towards the doors (three in total) on the right side. "Those are the bathrooms. They all have tiled floors, toilets, silver faucets, and marble sinks. The three bathrooms are practically identical, except for one factor."
James jerked open the doors of each of the three bathroom, and as he went from one to the other, James explained, "This one has a quaint little Jacuzzi, this one has a regular bathtub, and this one has a stall for a shower."
"And those?" Sirius asked, jerking his head to three relatively large doors at the left side.
"Bedrooms." Lily replied. Lily gestured to the door at the end of the hallway. "This one's a guest room. The one next to that one is our bedroom (mine and James's). And the one next to it, the one nearest the staircase, that's yours."
James spoke up. "The bedrooms are pretty much all the same except for the beds. Lily and I share a king-sized canopy bed, you've got a queen-sized bed, and the guest room contains two sets of twin-sized waterbeds. But don't take my word for it, come see for yourself." James beckoned Sirius to enter the bedroom.
Sirius nodded, and went inside his bedroom. A cry of happiness escaped Sirius's throat, as his eyes first fell upon his bedroom. At one side of the room was, as James said, a queen-sized bed, with ebony black bed covers, a steely blue set of blankets, white pillows, and a comfy mattress covered in an ocean of dark teal. Several inches away from the bed, and near the door, was a maroon-colored marble wardrobe. To the other side of the room, and to the far off side of the bed, were two sets of chairs. A small table was propped in front of the chairs. The chairs faced a large, polished wooden desk several inches away and to the side of the dresser. On the wooden desk sat, curiously enough, a television, complete with a VCR. A remote control was lying on top of the TV.
Exploring his new bedroom, Sirius came at last to the television set and looked at it, marveling.
"Isn't this a box? What's it doing here?" Sirius asked, curious.
James smiled slightly. " 'Course its a box. But its no ordinary Muggle television set. This here," James patted the TV fondly, "doesn't run by electricity, it runs by the pure might of the Higher Powers." James paused. "It isn't really for entertainment purposes, either. It plays only five channels, and running on each channel there's only one TV show."
Sirius's eyebrows furrowed. "What would that be?"
"A day in the life of a loved one."
A thoughtful look deepened Sirius's handsome features. "So you're telling me that I can watch over Andromeda, Harry, and Remus through this?"
"Yep."
Sirius's face relaxed. "That sounds wonderful." With that declaration, he sank down on a chair.
For the first time that Sirius could remember, he was home at last.
A/E/N:
** By the time Muggles reach the afterlife, they already know about magic. However, the general bunch of them prefer that the wizarding world remain hidden.**