Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter; it all belongs to JK Rowling. I suppose I own the plot, in a way.
Summary: In dark times, prophecies predicted the rising of five who would have the power alone to defeat evil. They were the Pack.
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~ The Pack ~
Chapter Three: Beyond the Veil
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Hermione leaned back against the pillow of her bed, an old heavy book on her lap. She tried to concentrate, tried to focus on finding the secret of the Veil that Sirius had fallen into, but she couldn't stop thinking about him.
She stared, unseeing, at the page and her mind began to wander, searching through her hordes of memories and finding those that stood out most prominently. She remembered the first time they'd met, the fear and anger she'd felt at him, only to be replaced by sympathy and compassion when she'd found out the truth about Wormtail and him. She remembered the letter he'd sent her two Christmases ago, asking her to come to Grimmauld Place because Harry was depressed and couldn't be cheered up . . .
. . . Dear Hermione,
How are you? I hope things are going well at school and that you're well on your way to collecting those OWL thingies you were talking about. I know you have plans on going skiing with your parents, but I was wondering if you might like to stop by the place and visit for a little while. Little Prongs is rather low and might need some cheering up.
Love,
Uncle Padfoot . . .
Hermione realized there was a smile playing on her mouth as she remembered that letter. Sirius had had to be careful, of course, with that old bat Umbridge in the school - but he'd worked out his simple code brilliantly and she'd understood everything.
Uncle Padfoot . . . That hadn't exactly been the most cheering sign-off, and she had been inclined to wince at the thought of him thinking of her in the light of a niece, but she assumed that he'd had no choice but to sign that way.
Of course, that didn't mean he'd ever felt anything other than a close friendship for her!
With a slight sigh, she closed her eyes for a long moment and let the memories wash over her. Finally, she popped them open again and focused on the open page in front of her. It was time to find Sirius, and bring him back - and this book was going to get her there.
By midnight, she had found it.
"One of the most unexplained and mysterious chasms in the magical world is that of a curtain that drifts inexplicably in the darkest arenas of enigma. Most commonly called the Veil, a form of it lurks in the Department of Mysteries, in the care of the Ministry of Magic. This Veil holds the secret of life and death. It is a void that is breached only by entrance into its depths, and once a human enters, he or she is trapped forever - neither alive, nor dead, but sometimes able to view the world he or she left behind through windows.
To save a human from the clutches of the Veil is near impossible and has never been known to happen. However, great philosopher Albert Waffleck informs the magical community that it is possible for a human to be rescued - only by the breaching of the Veil by a chain of purity or by ultimate sacrifice."
Hermione stared down at the page, re-reading the paragraphs and wondered what on earth a 'chain of purity' and 'ultimate sacrifice' was supposed to mean. She closed her eyes. All these riddles were beginning to give her a headache, but she had to keep working - for Sirius and for the Pack.
She pried her eyes open, slipped a bookmark into the page and shut the book before climbing out of bed. She trudged towards the door, wondering briefly whether or not she should wake the others - they were all tired, after all.
Changing her mind, she walked back to bed and opened the book again. She could figure this out, and if she couldn't, there was always morning to use for discussion. Let them sleep, 'Mione . . . who knows when we may next get a chance at a good night's rest?
Chain of purity . . . what in hell??! Ultimate sacrifice - what were they supposed to do, kill themselves? That couldn't be, because the prophecy stated that they had to fight. And they also had to bring back Sirius, not just for the prophecy, but because he was trapped - and because they all needed him.
"I hate Albert Waffleck." She grumbled. Why couldn't these ancient wizards just state the solutions and situations in clear, un-cryptic-ized language? Was that so hard? Even she, the expert at reading between the lines, was completely lost.
I guess it'll just have to wait till morning, she thought, smothering a yawn. She struggled to stay awake, but after two long days of hard work - both mental and wand-oriented - she was exausted to boot . . . and her eyes closed as she fell asleep with the book open across her stomach and dreams of Sirius slowly invading her subconscious . . .
***
"Morning, 'Mione," Remus greeted her with an obnoxiously cheery smile and hot mug of coffee when she stumbled into the kitchen late the following morning, her eyes surrounded by slight dark circles. "Didn't sleep well?"
She responded with a disgruntled growling sound and thumped the heavy old book down open on the table. "The Veil." she muttered irritably.
"Wow, great work!" Harry enthused as he and Ron hurried around the table to look over Remus's shoulder.
With a grunt, she gulped down half the coffee in one go and blinked hard. Finally, her vision began to focus and she watched the interested, excited and puzzled expressions cross her the faces of the rest of the Pack.
Pack of wolves, she thought with a slight smile, observing the vast quantity of food which had been consumed by her companions in less than an hour. We're going to need Mrs. Weasely back here soon . . .
"Oh bloody hell, can't they just state the obvious and be done with it?" Ron's voice demanded exasperatedly.
Hermione glanced up. Apparently they had finished reading about the Veil, and judging by the expressions on Harry and Ron's faces, they were no closer to understanding the drivel written there than she was. Remus shook his head with a sigh. "This is complicated."
"Yeah, tell me about it." She smirked.
She stared down into the dark, thick liquid of her coffee and found Sirius's eyes staring back at her. They were that colour; that warm, dark coffee-color that had been growing less haunted by the day and could bore deep into her and make her feel like he could see right into her soul . . . and read the emotions in her heart.
Across from her, the three male residents of the house were discussing possibilities.
" - the name of a weapon, maybe?" Ron was suggesting, "Like a sort of necklace that will allow safe passage through the Veil? The Chain of Purity?"
"Probably would have been highlighted or italicized if it was the name of something," Remus pointed out, "Maybe he's trying to explain that someone with pure intentions - like true friendship or love - can get in through the Veil and bring the person they feel those emotions for back."
Hermione groaned. Her head was beginning to throb from exhaustion, her mind was growing edgy with uncharacteristic impatience, and her heart was beginning to ache from longing.
"The 'ultimate sacrifice' part," Harry commented, "Is this Waffleck person expecting people to sell their souls or lives or something to restore the trapped person?"
"We really can't tell, Harry - "
"Should we maybe call Dumbledore again?"
" - Time isn't something we have a lot of, especially if Voldemort's getting closer to Diagon Alley and Hogwarts - "
"This is our task now, our duty, we have to fight now - and we need Sirius, and not just for the official Pack - "
"We've always been a pack. Nothing will change that, and that's why we need to get Sirius back."
Hermione didn't even realize she'd been the one to speak the last sentence until she looked up and saw them all staring at her, smiles on their faces. They agreed, she knew, and she knew she was right. They had always been a pack - together, loyalty and trust and friendship binding them together stronger than a prophecy could. And they owed the same loyalty and love their fallen member had showed them to him now.
"We're going in." She said, standing up. "This information about the Veil can go to hell or not; it doesn't matter right now, because we have to go in. Into the Department of Mysteries; today."
"Hang on a minute," Ron grinned. "Is Hermione Granger suggesting we break a few rules and go in without a plan?"
A reckless burst of longing and energy was beginning to flow through her and she supposed that side of her personality had been unlocked by the death she'd seen and by the knowledge the prophecy had given them. "That's exactly what she's suggesting."
Harry and Ron high-fived her and then each other and disappeared to change. Remus was smiling as he turned to Hermione and said quietly, "So tell me, what do we do once we get into the Department of Mysteries?"
She smiled. "Improvise."
***
Mr. Weasely got them into the Ministry of Magic and from there, it wasn't a hard route to the Department of Mysteries. Quiet and chilly, it was the source of many of their nightmares, and they knew they were only getting closer to the harsher player of their worst dreams.
Harry moved in the lead, subconsciously taking on the role of the Leader without even realizing it. Hermione followed automatically, Remus went after her, keeping a close ear trained on their surroundings, and Ron brought up the rear - watching their backs like the Knight he was, Hermione realized with a slight smile.
And finally, they reached the room, and climbed down the flights of stairs to the lower level. There, across from them, fluttered the eerie Veil with its whispers and voices . . . its signs that indeed - complete death did not lurk beyond.
"It's time." Remus said quietly.
Hermione steeled herself and watched Ron wipe his sweaty palms on his shirt before gripping his wand tightly. "Who wants to go first?" he asked feebly.
They all glanced at Harry, but Hermione saw something in his eyes - sheer fear lurking beneath the courage visible in those emerald green - and she knew that Harry had had the worst nightmares of all about this Veil, because he had watched it happen . . .
"I'll go." she said in what she hoped was a calm voice. "I'm the Angel, after all - so I think I'm the closest we'll get to that stupid 'chain of purity'. If I call back to you guys, follow me in."
She was less than a foot away from the fluttering curtain when Remus's hand on her shoulder stopped her. She looked back into his worried gray eyes and then at Ron, who choked out: "What if you don't call back?"
"Then it'll be time to call Dumbledore." She replied calmly. "Don't worry about me."
Harry reached out and squeezed her hand and in that sign of gratitude, Hermione suddenly felt a bolt of energy shoot through her, making her feel oddly hardened, oddly immune . . . and suddenly, she understood the meaning behing the words in the book.
"Chain of purity," she whispered. "That's us."
"What?" Ron asked, and Remus's brow furrowed.
Hermione raised her hand, which was still clasping Harry's. "This," she explained. "We're meant to create the chain of purity; and we can, because we're the descendents of the lion - the personification of good as opposed to evil. We have to create a link that will make us immune to the power of the Veil and allow us to get into the Veil, find Sirius, and the last one of the chain will remain on this side . . . and pull us all back."
"Brilliant!" Remus said hoarsely, clapping her on the back. "So let's get to work on our chain then."
Ron grabbed Harry's other wrist and Remus did the same for Ron, forming the end of the link. And he planted his feet firmly into the ground, while Hermione took and deep breath, and envisioning Sirius as she remembered him firmly in her mind, stepped in through the ethereal curtains.
A cold wave flowed over her, and looking down at herself, she realized she was almost translucent - rather like a ghost. Harry, standing just behind her, looked like she did, and so did the part of Ron's hand that was visible through the curtain.
"Don't move." she said to Harry, and her voice floated like a bubble through water towards him. He nodded, and stretched his arm as she did hers, pushing through the strange force, like a wall of liquid, to move forward into the Veil.
And then she saw him. He wasn't translucent, but solid like always, kneeling on a rock with only his profile visible, staring into a shining window which she assumed allowed him to look into the life he'd left behind. She wondered what he was seeing.
A lump formed in his throat. He didn't look thinner, in fact he looked exactly like he had when he'd fallen in; not being entirely alive, his physical appearance hadn't changed. But there was emotion about him that caused a stab in her heart. A certain sorrow . . . anger . . . longing . . . guilt . . . he was going through so much. She could feel it.
Maintaining a tight hold on Harry's hand, who, she could see, was staring wide-eyed at Sirius, as if he couldn't believe it. Hermione swallowed and turned back to the Marauder. Moving forward a little, she felt Harry take a step forward as well and half of Ron appeared in the Veil. She couldn't move forward any further, or Remus would fall in as well and then they would all be lost . . . but Sirus was still a few feet away from her, out of her reach.
"Sirius!" She called loudly, but her voice became that bubble again and floated slowly through the liquid air between them. "Can you hear me? Sirius!"
His gaze, which had been focused on the shining window, wavered. He blinked and he seemed surprised, as if he wasn't sure why he was hearing voices. But he didn't turn, so he didn't see her.
"Padfoot! It's me - Hermione!" she yelled desperately. It was draining her energy she realized, to stand in the Veil, and she could see Harry and Ron growing paler too. "Sirius! I'm here, damn you, turn around!"
He shook his head violently, as if trying to shake her voice away. She realized with a pang of sadness and helplessness that he thought he was hearing things . . . obviously he'd done so before . . .
"SIRIUS!!!"
And then, so slowly that the weight and pain weighing down on her multiplied terribly, he turned at last and his eyes, coffee-colored and intense, filled with shock and incredulous disbelief. Then, almost like in slow motion, delight grew inside them.
"'Mione?" his voice, quiet and hoarse, reached her ears. "Harry? Is that really you?"
"It's us, Sirius, come on!" She called back. "You need to come back . . . come with us!"
His elation faded. "I - I can't," he choked out, not moving from the rock but facing her fully now. "I can't leave this rock - I'm trapped. No one can leave their rocks unless another weight takes their place."
She stared at him, horror-struck and glanced back at Harry, eyes wide and pained. They couldn't stay here much longer . . . but they couldn't leave without Sirius . . . they had to do something! But what could they do? Remus was probably struggling with all their weights, and Ron was slipping further into the Veil. What could they do? How could they bring Sirius back if he was trapped on the rock?
Unless another weight takes their place . . .
Sirius was the Warrior. He was the protector. The Pack needed him; without him they would be left vulnerable, lost. And Dumbledore was always around to be the brains of the operations. Besides, Remus needed Padfoot - needed his best friend back. Harry deserved his godfather. Ron needed some laughter and prank-playing in his life again, now that Fred and George were working at the joke shop.
In that instant, Hermione knew what she had to do.
"Harry!" she called back. "Get ready to grab Sirius's arm, all right?"
His eyes widened in horror as he seemed to realize what she was saying, but she forced herself to turn away so that he couldn't pull her back; the force of the liquid air was too much . . .
"Sirius!" she yelled to the shocked Marauder. "When I yell 'three', you need to leap from your rock. Never mind if you think you won't break free; you will - just aim for grabbing Harry's hand as you jump."
"WHAT?!" he looked furious. "What are you going to - NO!"
"Just do it!" she snapped back. "It's the only way, damn it! You have no choice! Do it for Harry, for the rest of the wizarding world!"
He stared at her, pain unlike anything she'd ever seen filling his eyes. She was shaken. Did he care so much?
"One . . ." she yelled, ignoring the screams and yells from Harry, Ron and Remus reaching her through the waves of the Veil. " . . Two . . . THREE!"
Hermione and Sirius both moved at the same time, but neither got very far, because at that moment, a blinding flash of silvery light burst through the windows of the Veil and like a powerful Expulsion Spell, they were all flung backwards and thrown out of the Veil, where they hit the hard ground, bruised - but alive.
"Merlin's beard." Ron grunted, pushing himself up into the sitting position and getting off where he'd fallen on Remus's legs.
Hermione opened her eyes and found herself staring right into Sirius's eyes. And he looked angry. "What in hell did you think you were doing, giving up your life like that?" he demanded. "Are you crazy?"
"In love, maybe." She muttered, under her breath, wincing from the impact of falling.
"What was that?" he demanded, frowning.
She groaned. "Nothing, nothing. Good to have you back, Sirius, by the way."
At that he grinned, and he managed to give her a brief hug (one that sent fiery heat exploding throughout Hermione's skin at his touch) before he was overcome by Ron, Harry and Remus throwing themselves at their fallen friend and convincing themselves that he was actually and really back.
By the time Hermione struggled to sit up, they were all staring at her. "You must have been crazy!" Ron yelled angrily. "What if that hadn't worked - we would have lost you!"
"Big deal." She shrugged.
They looked outraged. Then Remus, shaking his head, said, "Well, I guess there was no way it wouldn't have worked - you figured out the code of 'ultimate sacrifice' as well, didn't you?" He helped her to her feet and squeezed her shoulder. "Well done, 'Mione."
"Yeah, so don't I get a proper hug now?" Sirius asked her, grinning.
She smirked. "Sure, Sirius, you can get a kiss too if you like - but not until you do something I've been meaning to ask you to do for a long time now: get a haircut."
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TBC.
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A/N: Well, that was Chapter Three, and Sirius is back (yaaay! :-)). I'll upload the next chapter as soon as possible, and please keep reviewing, because the reviews really help! Enjoy!