Chapter Two

As promised, in the morning, the plan did not look any more stupid and crazy than it already had. Remus woke up feeling the least miserable since Sirius had died. It was amazing what a little hope could do -- even though he realized that the hope was probably woefully misplaced.

He made some breakfast, toast and eggs. Harry was stirring by the time it was finished cooking. "Morning," Remus said, holding a plate out to him as he blinked and tried ineffectually to flatten his hair.

Harry picked up his glasses and slid them over his nose. He looked at the food, then up at Remus. "You seem . . . more cheerful," he said.

"I know," Remus said. "I think, in all honesty, it's because I'm an idiot. Like some tea?"

"Yes, please," Harry said. "Why are you an idiot?"

"Because I'm utterly stupid to think we have a ghost of a chance in succeeding at this," Remus replied, then frowned. "Er -- no pun intended there."

"Right, so, Diagon Alley after this?" Harry asked.

Remus frowned. "Normally I'd say that would be safe enough, but if we'd have to go into Knockturn Alley -- no, sorry to say, Harry, I don't think you'd better come."

"How much is this going to cost?" Harry asked.

"I have enough left over from what Sirius left me," Remus said. "And honestly, Harry, I will not bring you down there. It's dodgy enough as it is, but with Voldemort on the loose? But I'm not particularly comfortable leaving you here, either . . . I'll have to call someone else to keep an eye on you, and then I'll have to explain where I'm going . . . see how I'm an idiot to hope that this will work?"

"So who are you going to call?" Harry asked brightly. He wasn't about to let Remus get cold feet. The werewolf looked like he was going to drop dead of starvation and self-neglect any day. He suspected strongly that Remus could be fairly stubborn when he wanted to be.

"I don't expect any trouble," Remus said. "I'll call Tonks. Besides -- " He gave Harry a lopsided smile. "I'd say you're pretty well capable of defending yourself."

"Do I have permission to use magic?" Harry asked. "Or are they going to try to snap my wand again?"

Remus blinked. "Good point. Perhaps I'll call Tonks and someone else . . . you like Bill Weasley, don't you? He's skilled enough."

Harry agreed to this plan. He ate breakfast while they waited for Hedwig to reach Tonks and Bill. They arrived within moments of each other, and greeted Harry heartily. Unsurprisingly, they had been informed of Harry's new location.

"What's up, Remus?" Tonks asked, flopping onto the sofa and tousling Harry's already-tousled hair. "I like the sofa. It's the extra air, right?"

Remus smiled a little. "Yeah. For all I know, it could have started out as a fridge. In any case, I need to go run a few quick errands in Diagon Alley, but I thought it might be best if Harry didn't come along -- you know, Voldemort still being on the loose and unaccounted for and everything."

"Good thinking," Bill said, nodding. Since Remus was not the rash sort that Sirius had been, they accepted good thinking from him. "All right, we'll stay and keep him company for a few hours. You won't be longer than that, will you?"

"Shouldn't be," Remus said, pulling on his threadbare cloak. "All right, then, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "I'm all right."

Remus gave him a reassuring smile and left the tiny apartment.

"He seems a lot more cheerful," Tonks observed, her eyes following Remus with a tiny frown. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not."

"He's . . . not been well?" Harry ventured.

"Well, he's mostly been shut in here," Tonks said in a low voice. "Moping about miserably. I mean, we know how close he was to Sirius, but . . . sorry, Harry," she said quickly, seeing Harry flinch at the mention of Sirius' name. Even with newfound hope, hearing about him wasn't easy. He couldn't help but wonder if Tonks and the others really knew how close Sirius and Remus had been. "Anyway, he's been a downright mess ever since it happened. I reckon that's why Dumbledore thought you should come here -- as much for Remus' sake as yours, you know."

Harry nodded a little, thinking of Remus' reaction the night before, when he had finally brought up Sirius himself. He found himself glancing at the Firebolt, still propped up in the corner.

"So how are you doing, Harry?" Bill asked. "Mum's been asking Dumbledore just about every day when you can come to the Burrow for a while. She's gonna drive him mad in a few weeks, I bet. He keeps just saying 'not yet.'"

Harry couldn't help but reflect on how Dumbledore really was going to go batty if he found out what he and Remus were planning. Then again, Dumbledore worked in mysterious ways. Harry briefly entertained the thought that Dumbledore had put him and Remus together in the hopes that they would come up with this plan, and have no one around to tell them how ridiculous it was.

"I'm all right," he said in answer to Bill's question, gaining two highly skeptical looks.

"'Course you're not," Tonks said with a sigh, "but none of us are really fit as a fiddle right now anyway."

"I'm about as all right as I can be," Harry said with a wan smile, and much to his relief, Bill and Tonks accepted that answer.

****

Remus came back empty-handed, much to Harry's dismay. He thanked Tonks and Bill and sent them off quickly. They seemed slightly relieved to get out of the small, depressing, slightly claustrophobic apartment. Harry didn't think they had much right, since they'd been able to come and go from Grimmauld Place without flinching.

Then again, they'd been able to come and go. It was the going that mattered.

"Well?" he asked Remus, noting that he didn't have anything.

"I put in the order for it," Remus said. "They don't stock it, of course. It's too dangerous for that. Besides, it has to be keyed specifically to the user and the time period."

"So when will we have it?"

"It takes four days of straight brewing," Remus said. "It's a remarkably intense potion. They said they'd owl it to me by the end of the week."

Harry nodded, trying to think of what else they needed to pull off this crackpot plan of theirs. Besides a miracle.

"The most important thing now," Remus said, kicking off his shoes and flopping onto the sofa, "is how we're going to get into the department of mysteries unnoticed. Last time, Voldemort had bewitched the entire building for your benefit, I think . . ."

"We have the Invisibility Cloak," Harry said. "And the Disillusion Charm, if you can do that."

"I can, and we'll have to use one or the other, but . . . the department of mysteries has more than just sensors for visible things. Nothing comes and goes without someone knowing about it."

"Why do we have to get in at all?" Harry asked. "Why don't we just do it from here?"

"Because if this stupid idea actually works, I rather expect that's where Sirius would come out," Remus said. "And I wouldn't really want to leave him right be the entrance to the veil, that wouldn't be a good idea at all. Hm . . . I suppose we could go at night and just make a dash for it. Now that the Ministry isn't all up in arms at us, it might work . . ."

"Maybe we should bring someone with us," Harry suggested. "I mean, after being dead an hour, we don't know what kind of shape you'll be in, and Sirius, well, he's been dead for a month now . . ."

"Who are you going to try to sell this crackpot idea to?" Remus asked dryly. "Anyone in their right mind would either try to talk us out of it or tell someone who could stop us, like Dumbledore. Which, if for no other reason, would be really galling since I already spent the money for the potion."

Harry paused. "The twins," he said.

"Beg pardon?" Remus asked.

"Fred and George. Who else do we know that will try anything once, purely for the glory of having pulled it off?" Harry shrugged. "This would be a good one. Breaking in, and out, of the Ministry, and resurrecting somebody in between. Plus they've got some terribly inventive spells, and we might need them."

"They'd be good if we needed a diversion, too," Remus said thoughtfully. "What with all those practical joke spells of theirs . . . and they could claim it was just a publicity stunt for their store if they got caught, get off light . . . but honestly, do you think they'd agree?"

"I think it's likely," Harry said. "And even if they don't, they won't snitch on us. They owe me."

Remus raised an eyebrow, clearly inviting explanation.

"A lot," Harry added.

"Very well," Remus said. "I'll send an owl and ask them to pay us a visit."

****

"Excellent," George said.

"Bloody brilliant," Fred added.

"Of course, you're completely nutters," George said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, completely," his twin agreed.

"But seeing as you're resolved upon this matter -- "

"Then we'll do our humble best to serve you."

Harry grinned, feeling honestly happy for the first time since Sirius had died. "Told you that they'd agree to help," he said, and Remus nodded, smiling faintly.

"Just as long as you know that you're starkers," George said.

"We know," Remus said dryly.

"How're you going to find him?" Fred asked curiously. "Once you're, you know, beyond the veil. There must be millions of people back there. It'll be no easy task."

"We're sort of taking this on one challenge at a time," Remus said. "We hadn't precisely gotten to that one yet."

"There are dozens of locator spells," George said.

"Yes, but I won't have my wand when I'm dead," Remus said.

"Learn to do it without your wand," Fred suggested. "You've got five days. Get on the stick, man."

Remus blinked. "Ah -- right, then."

"Honestly," Fred said, shaking his head. "You people have got no imagination sometimes. Let us get back to the store and come up with some truly interesting diversions so we'll be ready. Contact us when you're ready."

"Thanks," Harry said fervently.

"Oh, just returning the favor," George said, tipping a wink, and they both Disapparated with the usual loud crack.

"I'd really like to know what they owe you for," Remus said mildly.

"I gave them my Triwizard winnings," Harry said. "So they could open up the store."

Remus blinked. "Ah," he said. "That was nice of you."

"I didn't want it," Harry said abruptly, with a shrug. "So I gave it to someone who did."

****

In three days, Remus had perfected the locator charm without his wand. He still had no idea if it would work while he was dead, but there wasn't much he could do if it didn't. "Now the real tricky part," he said, munching his toast. "How to get Sirius back once I find him. Any suggestions, Harry?"

"He loves us," Harry said. "Do you really think he won't come?"

"I'm not worried about 'won't'," Remus said. "I'm worried about 'can't.' I've never heard of a soul returning from beyond the veil -- particularly not one that's already been dead for over a month."

"But -- his body is there," Harry protested. "It's not just his soul. It's all of him."

"That," Remus said grimly, "is the only reason I entertained the notion in the first place. People aren't supposed to walk around beyond the veil whole, with their bodies. It's probably the only thing giving us a chance. But even so, I've never heard of a resurrection spell of any sort being successfully performed . . ."

"So you have heard of them?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Well, yes," Remus admittedly. "But to begin with, I wouldn't know where to get my hands on one, and secondly, I doubt I have the mental discipline necessary to perform one of them, and thirdly, I don't know if it would work, myself also being dead at the time. And that's not something I could learn to do without my wand."

Harry wracked his brain. "But really -- can't he just walk back through the veil? He's got his body -- he fell right through the archway, you saw him -- we both saw him. If it's not supposed to be there -- his body, I mean -- you'd think it would be happy to get rid of him. But since he never left it . . ." Harry babbled for another few minutes before Remus gave him a tired look that cut him off effectively.

"I don't know," he said. "I just don't know. All I know is that I can't think of any other way. I can't take anything with me, so I can't do any magic that I need my wand for. And I certainly couldn't bring any spell components. No, I'd say that hoping he can come back because his body is also beyond the veil is pretty much the only hope we have."

Harry nodded. "You're sure I can't come?" he asked, already knowing Remus' answer.

"Sorry," Remus said. "Tell you what -- if I find him, but we can't bring him out, I'll buy another dose of the potion for you . . . so you can at least have a proper goodbye."

"But we're not going to need that," Harry insisted.

Remus couldn't help but smile.

****

They went to the Ministry very late at night. The telephone booth asked them for their names and their purpose with the Ministry. Harry explained what they were doing, figuring that if it hadn't stopped them last time, it wouldn't now. It immediately popped out four badges. Harry and Remus both got 'resurrection committee'. The twins got 'decoy.'

"Oi," Fred said to the telephone. "I resent that. No warm fuzzies here."

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day," the voice said in reply, and the telephone booth sank into the ground. Remus hastily placed Disillusion charms on both the twins, who thought the effects were utterly cool. Harry wrapped the cloak around himself and Remus. However, the lobby was again empty.

"Isn't this place guarded?" he muttered to himself. "You'd think after that last fiasco . . ."

"That the Ministry would think?" Fred asked out of the side of his mouth. "Oh, no. They've been very slow with that. It must be because of Percy . . ."

George let out a very audible snort, and was elbowed by his twin.

"This way," Harry said, going purposefully towards the lift.

"How're we supposed to follow you when we can't see you?" Fred hissed.

"Oh, honestly," Harry said peevishly, sounding very much like Hermione at that moment. "Of all the things to have not thought of . . ." He directed them towards the corridor in a low voice. Still, no one seemed to have noticed their presence. Harry noted vaguely that the fountain statue still wasn't repaired, and was in fact roped off.

They boarded the lift and took it down to the Department of Mysteries. Harry felt queasy when he saw the long, thin corridor full of black doors. He had no recollection of which door the arch was behind; the entire night was somewhat blurry in his memory. Too bad Hermione wasn't there, because she surely would have remembered . . . but then again, Hermione hardly would have stood for this lunacy.

"Let's start at the end," he whispered. Then he remembered, his stomach lurching, that the end door had been the brain room. "Or not," he muttered, and swung open the door next to it instead. It was a room he had never seen before. He wondered if they moved.

"Split up," he said, and gave a brief description of the room they were looking for. There was no one around to see them anyway, which seemed both good and strangely ominous.

It took a few minutes, before he noticed Remus staring rigidly into one of the rooms. That, without question, had to be it. He peered over his shoulder and saw the archway, heard the voices murmuring from behind it, and shivered. "Right, then," he whispered, feeling as though his stomach was in his shoes.

"Blimey," Fred said, right in his ear, making him jump. Remus didn't seem to have heard him. "That's creepy. You're really going through with this?"

Remus took out the vial and determinedly uncorked it. "I'm really going through with it," he said in a taut voice. "And I'm going to bring Sirius back." He strode into the room and sat down next to the archway. "Wish me luck," he said to Harry, with a thin smile.

"Good luck," Harry said, hoping that all the luck he had ever possessed, that had gotten him through the past five years, would be with Remus on the other side.

Remus tipped the vial back and downed the contents. Seconds later, he toppled over to the ground.

"This is seriously starkers," George muttered.

Harry leaned over to check Remus' pulse. Finding none, he sat down, folded his hands in his lap, and waited.

****

Remus looked around. "So this is being dead," he said to himself. It didn't seem so bad, although at first glance, it was awfully boring and misty. All the souls just seemed to be sitting around . . . waiting. He couldn't help but wonder what they were waiting for.

He lifted his hands and tried the locator spell. For an agonizing second, nothing happened, then the small blue flare lifted from his palms. Several of the souls gave him vaguely affronted looks, as if offended by the use of magic in their presence.

The light zipped off into the distance. Remus was hard pressed to keep up with it, having to resort to a full-out run at times. He didn't mind. The faster it went, the faster he would find Sirius.

"Oh, Moony," a disappointed voice said. "They didn't get you too."

Remus started, staring. "Er," he said, finding himself face to face with James Potter for the first time in years.

"Er?" James asked. "Fifteen years and all you can say is 'er'?"

"Er," Remus agreed, then threw his arms around his friend, hugging the air out of him. It didn't seem to matter, being dead and all. After a few seconds, he let go. The blue light was hovering a few feet away, waiting for him. Rather considerate of it, he thought. "Actually, I'm not dead."

James looked at him. "Now, Moony," he said bracingly, "I know it's hard to take in . . ."

"No, really," Remus said. "I took a draught of the living dead."

James blinked.

"What'd you do a foolish thing like that for?" Lily snapped, coming up behind her husband and giving Remus a completely exasperated look. "You were supposed to be the responsible one, the sensible one! What on earth did you think you were doing?"

"I came for Sirius," he said quietly.

"Oh," James and Lily said in unison.

"Besides," Remus said, smiling slightly, "a certain irresponsible and irrational teenager talked me into it. You'd be proud of him . . . he's turning out . . . well, not just like you, but maybe that's all for the best," he teased his friends. It felt odd the way he could just fit right back against them, the way everything had been. Like staying here might be a good idea . . .

He shook himself. He couldn't afford to let the veil take him. At least, not until he had done his best to save Sirius. "Not that I didn't want to see you," he added. "I just . . . came for Sirius, that's all."

"You didn't bring my son in here, did you?" Lily snarled, looking like she might take Remus' head off if he said he had as much mentioned such a thing.

"No, no," Remus said soothingly. "And believe me, it was one hell of a job talking him out of it, so you'd best be grateful." He paused. "You two must know where Sirius is, don't you?"

"Er -- well, yes," James admitted. "Come on, I'll show you, but you'd better be prepared. Getting killed didn't make him any saner."

"Besides," Lily said, rolling her eyes, "how on earth do you expect to get out of here? I mean, with Sirius? You'll be pulled out when the potion wears off, but . . ."

"You two didn't notice anything odd about Sirius being here?" Remus asked dryly.

"Well, yeah," James said. "The fact that his body fell through with him, I assume you mean? Distinctly odd. You don't see it often . . ."

"I intend to have him walk right back out," Remus said.

James blinked. "Can you do that?"

"Let's find out. The worst that'll happen is that he'll stay dead."

"It's hard to argue with that logic," James said, striding quickly across the misty ground. "And definitely a worthy trick, Moony old pal. Worthy of the Maurauders at their best . . . ah, here we are." He gestured across a few more feet of mist, where Sirius was sitting with his head down, staring at the ground.

"We don't see the mist, of course," Lily murmured in a low voice. "Once you've been here for a few days, we get . . . well, our places, things we knew in our life . . . we can't see what everyone else sees, but I'll bet you anything that Sirius is still stuck in that dismal house of his . . ."

Remus couldn't hold back a shudder at the mention of that house. "So death is really what we make of it," he said softly. It was somewhat dismaying to learn that even if he died, he and Sirius might never truly be together again. After a few moments, however, it only strengthened his resolve.

"Well, this isn't all there is," James said matter-of-factly. "You can go on to the greater reward, of course -- most of us do, after being here a few years and getting accustomed to the whole being dead thing -- but some people stay, waiting for something. Like Lily and I, waiting to see what would become of Harry."

"Can you actually see him?" Remus asked curiously.

"Well, er, not much," James admitted. "But still, if we went on, we wouldn't be able to see anything. Go on, give talking a try. We've been working on him ever since he got here, but he hasn't been getting much more coherent."

Remus nodded and knelt forward. He was desperately aware of the passage of time. If they had to walk all the way back to the opening, he did not have much time. "Sirius?" he asked, kneeling in front of him.

There was no response. Sirius stayed huddled, staring at the ground.

"Sirius," Remus repeated, a bit more insistently.

Sirius glanced up, looking around for a few seconds.

"Sirius, can you hear me?" Remus asked patiently, waiting until he integrated properly into whatever Sirius was seeing. "Can you see me?"

"When'd you get here?" Sirius asked in a wondering tone.

"Just now," Remus said, trying to keep his tone as gentle and non-threatening as he could.

"How'd you get in?" Sirius asked. "Kreacher locked me in here . . . which is strange, because he oughtn't to have been able to do that, but . . . maybe Mother gave him orders to . . ."

"Sirius," Remus said quietly, "do you remember what happened? Do you know where we are?"

"We're at Grimmauld Place," Sirius said. He frowned. "I could have sworn I saw James and Lily . . . maybe I'm hallucinating. It was nice seeing them, though."

"Actually, to be quite technical, you're not at Grimmauld Place," Remus said, wondering if there was any way to soften the blow. "I know it looks like you are, but you're not. And you did see James and Lily. They're standing right over there." He gestured to where James and Lily were standing, watching in interest.

Sirius looked over. James gave a little half-wave, and Sirius' eyes bugged a little. After a few seconds, Sirius tottered to his feet and pulled both of them into a hug, babbling profusely about how sorry he was that he'd gotten them killed.

"Don't worry about it, Padfoot," James said, clapping him on the back. "It's all going to work out in the end, you know. Besides, you didn't get us killed. That was Voldemort, if you hadn't noticed."

"And I've been an awful godfather . . ." Sirius managed brokenly.

"No, you haven't," Lily said, tartly. "Although your track record isn't improving by standing around here wailing when our son is, at this moment, committing illegal acts like breaking into the Ministry of Magic. Again."

"What is he doing?!" Sirius burst out. "Is he trying to get himself killed?!"

Remus shook his head slightly, trying to recover from Sirius' sudden mood shift. "Sirius," he said, trying to call Sirius' attention back to him. They were running out of time. "Would you like to walk for a bit?"

"Oh, God, yes," Sirius said, looking around frantically. "Get me out of here."

Remus began to walk towards the archway, gesturing for Sirius to follow him. He trusted that Sirius' mind would provide the adequate images for him to believe that he was walking outside. James and Lily followed along, hand in hand, anxious to see the outcome.

"So, as I was saying," Remus said, since Sirius didn't seem to have figured it out yet, "we're not technically at Grimmauld Place. Do you remember what happened, that night we went to save Harry?"

Sirius frowned, racking his memory. "Some of it," he said.

"How much of it?" Remus asked carefully.

"I remember Bellatrix," he said, a bit of venom creeping into his voice. "We were dueling."

"And now you're here," Remus said, still hoping to break the news gently. "With James and Lily."

Sirius stared at him, as this dawned on him. He pressed both hands against his face, shaking his head. Remus and James helped him keep walking, however, not wanting to waste time. "Are you all right?" Remus asked, once Sirius seemed to have recovered slightly.

"No," Sirius said. "It -- it hurts -- that is, it hurt -- "

"It's all right," Remus said. "It can't hurt you anymore."

"How did you find me?" Sirius asked, still stumbling along between Remus and James, obviously confused.

"With a locator spell," Remus said, skipping a whole bunch of the pertinent details.

"But . . . I'm dead," Sirius said. "I mean . . . I'm dead?"

"Technically, yes," James told him.

"But -- you're not -- " Sirius stared at Remus again and his eyes slowly widened, and a look of complete horror crossed his face. "You are," he said. "What happened?" His face had gone completely different, and was now enraged. The expression would have struck holy terror into the heart of whoever had hurt Remus.

"I took a draught of the living dead," Remus said calmly.

"You WHAT?!"

"I took a draught of the living dead," Remus repeated, "and I came to find you."

"You WHAT?!?" Sirius yelled again.

"Don't make me repeat myself a second time," Remus said, slightly amused by Sirius' reaction. "I obviously couldn't let you stay dead, could I? You weren't handling it at all well. Besides . . ." He smiled a little at Sirius, feeling suddenly foolish. "I missed you."

Sirius looked at him. "But now you're here," he said.

"Yes, but only for about . . . I'd reckon another fifteen minutes," Remus said. "So we'd best get on. See, when you died, you fell through the veil. That means that your body is here as well as your soul. So the nearest I can figure is that if you just step back out again, you'll be able to come back on the other side. You were stunned when you fell through -- not killed. It was going beyond the veil that actually killed you."

"So . . . I can go back?" Sirius asked in a small voice.

"Well, what've we got to lose?" Remus asked, not wanting to promise something he wasn't sure would work.

Sirius looked over at James and Lily, as if to suggest that there was quite a lot he could lose.

"Sirius," Remus said gently, "if you come back to life, you'll be with me. If you prefer to stay dead, then you'll be with them. I can't make that decision for you." They had reached the archway.

Sirius looked between Remus and James, obviously twisting himself into knots.

"Oh, don't be daft, man!" James exclaimed. "You'll get to see us eventually anyway, because don't think that we're not sticking around to see the finale. Remus can't make this decision for you, so I will. If you opt to stick around here rather than going back and protecting our son, I will personally kick your ass! I left you to help Harry and you'd damn well better do it!"

"You're not angry with me?" Sirius asked quietly.

James threw his hands in the air in surrender. "You're an idiot," he said scathingly, "but no, I'm not angry with you."

"I missed you," Sirius said. Remus stood quietly by the archway, waiting to see what Sirius' decision would be.

"I missed you, too," James said, trying his best to sound comfortingly. "But now is not the time to catch up."

"The world needs you," Lily urged. "Harry does, you know that. And come on -- if you let Remus come all this way and break this many laws, you can't let him go back with nothing to show for it."

Sirius nodded, looking a bit stunned.

Remus took a deep breath. "If you want," he said softly, "we could both stay."

James gave him a very nasty look, but waited to see what Sirius would say before he butted in.

"I -- " Sirius stopped, confused, looking at James, then back towards the arch. "We can't leave Harry," he said, and there was confidence in his voice for the first time since Remus had seen him again.

Remus nodded, slightly relieved. He was starting to feel a vague pulling sensation that he presumed was the beginning of his 'undeath.' "I think it's time," he said quietly. "That couldn't have been hour, I got gypped," he added underneath his breath.

Sirius nodded. He turned back to James and Lily and tried to crush the air out of their lungs another time. Remus joined the hug, slipping an arm around Sirius' waist and one around James' shoulders. For a minute, they stood like that. Then Remus felt a sharp tugging. "It's really time," he said. "Thank you," he said to James and Lily.

James rolled his eyes. "Just keeping Padfoot here from doing something stupid," he said loftily. "We'll be keeping an eye on you," he added, giving Sirius a sharp look. "So you'd better not start the stupidity any time soon. And tell Harry that we love him very much and we're always watching out for him, too."

Sirius nodded, feeling dumbstruck. Remus started towards the archway, unable to help himself. Sirius followed hesitantly, sliding his hand into Remus'. When he reached the portal, he took a deep breath and started through. Remus' hand was pulled out of his, as his soul was sucked back into his body.

He paused, just about halfway through, as agonizing pain struck him. Involuntarily, he let out a loud wail. He couldn't make it through the barrier.

James swore, running forward. Although Sirius couldn't see the problem, he and Lily could -- his body was proceeding through the barrier just fine, but his soul was not. "He wasn't dead when he fell in here!" James said furiously, pushing on Sirius' soul with all his strength. "You can't keep him if his body goes!"

Lily added her force to James', both magical and physical. "You have to let him go!" she yelled. "You don't have any right to hold him here!"

With an audible pop, Sirius' form vanished through the barrier.

"Well," Lily said, straightening her clothes, "that was the most excitement we've had in a while."

James agreed.

****

Harry started as Sirius' form toppled through the archway and fell into a heap. He sprang up to see if he was all right, almost in shock that their stupid, crazy plan had actually worked. Then Remus sat up with a gasp, coughing and shuddering.

"Never -- again -- " he wheezed, trying to regain control over his shaking limbs.

Satisfied that he was, at the very least, alive, Harry hurried towards Sirius. He lifted him up slightly. For a few heartstopping seconds, he felt no pulse underneath his fingers. Then it suddenly thudded into existence, and Harry let out a gasp of both shock and nearly physical pain at the surprise.

Fred and George simply stood in the doorway, their jaws hanging open. "Mother of God," George stated.

"Do something useful," Harry snapped at them. "Stop trying to catch flies in your mouth!"

"Right right," Fred said, hurrying forward. They had brought a flask of the strongest restorative they could think of -- technically, firewhiskey, but they hadn't felt the need to tell Harry that. George propped Remus up, and Fred gave him a swig. This only seemed to increase Remus' coughing, so they decided that maybe this was not the best of ideas.

Sirius' eyes flickered open and he looked around vaguely. "Harry?" he mumbled. "Where are we?"

Harry couldn't manage to answer. He simply wrapped his arms around Sirius' waist and held him as tightly as he could, trying desperately to not cry. If he hadn't cried when Sirius had died, he wasn't going to cry now.

Sirius tried to hug him back, but couldn't make his limbs move. "I feel awful," he said weakly, then passed out. Harry let out a squawk of alarm, but his pulse was still steady.

"Had to be expected," Remus said hoarsely. He was giving the twins a narrow-eyed look, wondering exactly what had been in the flask. "He's been dead quite a while, you know . . . I can't imagine that being beyond the veil is good for one's body . . ."

"Can't imagine so," Fred said, dumbstruck. Between himself and George, they managed to haul Sirius into a slightly upright position. "Least he's not heavy," Fred commented, and George nodded agreement.

Harry helped Remus get to his feet with some effort. He was stiff and extremely cold after having been dead an hour, but other than that, he seemed to be showing no other adverse symptoms, such as fainting.

"Where to, mate?" George asked, as they got in the lift to go back up to the ground floor.

"Let's just take him back to my apartment," Remus said, his voice dull with weariness. "That ought to be safe enough for the night, and I can't think of anywhere else off the top of my head."

"Well," Fred said, "it really was brilliant. My only complaint is, we never got to use our fireworks."

****