Chapter Twenty-Two
Ye Who Living Amongst the Dead
"You. you're. hold it a minute. you're a Potter?" Harry didn't believe his ears.
"Oh course I am." Angelica said. "Does that surprise you?"
Actually, it didn't. It made sense. Angel had the box of the Potters that she gave to him. She knew a lot about him. it made sense now. like a puzzle falling together. "Hurry Harry, Seri and Sirius are in bad state. Before I disappear, follow me."
Angelica ran down the path the pearly floating people were making them. Harry jogged behind her. "Why can't you stay long?"
"Because we are memories. one from any state you have. since you don't remember me or your parents very well, there isn't enough memories of us to keep us about long."
Harry thought of this. the Longbottoms famished as soon as Harry saw them because he didn't have to many memories of them, the same with the Potters he just met. probably their faces making goofily eyes at him when he was born and such just gave them enough of memories Harry had for them to introduce themselves to him. and then his parents. they didn't stay nearly as long as he would have liked. but how did they stare so long. he had little next to no memories of them and what about Angelica?
His thoughts were interrupted when he saw two figures that weren't pearly white, but solid with a blue light reflecting off their skin. "SIRUS! ANGEL!" Harry yelled. Sirius was lying on the ground, his body arched beautifully and laughter still on his face just like it was before he fell behind the veil. Angel was kneeling beside him, her hair over her face; her face in Sirius's chest.
She looked up at them. "Harry.." She stuttered. Then she saw who else was there. "MUM!"
Angelica ran to Angel and forced a hug on her. "Oh mum." Angel muttered, holding on tightly to her mom.
"It's okay Seri, it's alright. everything will work out. don't worry." Angel's mum said soothingly.
"Mum." Angel whispered one more time, but the women disappeared. Angel fell back on Sirius, tears forming. "Harry, I can't go on." She muttered.
"Oh yes you can, as soon as we get Sirius out of here, you have what you've always wanted." Harry said. He picked up Angel by her arm and she spinned around, hugging him.
Taken aback at first, he hugged her back, rubbing her hair softly and hushing her. "It'll be okay, I promise."
"Oh shut up Harry, of course it won't be okay, you of all people should know that!"
"Angel, you can't live you life looking over you shoulder at everything that went wrong. you have to live for tomorrow, and your tomorrow has Sirius in it. We have to get him out of here." Harry said, peeling her off of him.
"He's not breathing." Angel said softly, wiping her eyes.
"He's not dead though, your mum said so."
"Really?" Angel said, looking up slightly.
"Now come on."
Harry picked up Sirius's arm and draped it over his.
Angel was shaking more than ever. She picked up Sirius's other arm and put it over her shoulder as well. With out another word they walked back through the blue, the floating people still making a path. "Angel, do you know where we are going?" Harry said after a moment.
"No."
But, they needed not worry about that. The people floating didn't float out of their way, but around an invisible path. All they had to do was follow it.
They walked for a long time, longer than Harry remembered actually coming in. Sirius was heavy on his shoulder and weighed him down quite a bit.
Like the others, one figure didn't move out of the way.
"Potter," A man with a Bulgarian accent grunted, "Vhat afr you doing here?"
"Karkaroff?" Angel wheezed.
"Yev you damn Malfoy. You have done the Dafk Lord vork." Karkaroff sneered, is nostrils flaming. His cold eyes fell on Harry, "Vatch it Potter, Krum is not the golden boy I knew. and neither is she."
Angel eyes got big and just when she opened her mouth to say something, Karkaroff disappeared.
There was a long silence. They walk some what-felt-like miles. "Angel, how did Karkaroff die?"
"Voldemort caught up with him sometime after he came back. No one has fond him, s'pec they never will."
"How do you know then?" Harry said, staring at her.
"I have my secrets as do you."
Harry heaved a sigh and started off again. Finally, over the floating bodies, Harry saw a ripple in the blue light. it must be the veil. Harry gathered Sirius up on his shoulder again and started his pace faster. "Nearly there." he breathed. Angel start laughing through her tears, the finish line. they made it.
The people started drifting way more quickly than they did before. Some even started hissing, or what Harry thought was hissing. "Ye who lives amongst the dead, dies amongst the living." And even though they sounded threatening, Harry couldn't help but agree with them.
The veil and the ripple became clearer now, yes. bigger, life size, no longer far away, but close enough to touch. With one breath, he carried Sirius through the veil, Angel dragging behind.
They made it.
They were out of the veil.
And Sirius was alive.
"Oh my goodness!" A lady shriek from behind them. Harry tried to see who it was, but the sudden rush of light to his eyes, made the world a blur.
"Angel, Angel, oh Angel, are you okay?" said a young man.
"Harry.. Harry."
Slowly Harry forced his eyes to focus. Tonks was standing in the door way, hand to her mouth; Charlie was cradling Angel, who looked just as woozy as Harry felt and Dumbledore was leaned over him.
Everything came back to him and he grinned. "Professor, Sirius. we got him. he isn't dead."
Harry didn't feel dizzy or sick anymore. he felt renewed! His godfather was in the same room as he was, breathing the same air. "Sirius, wake up," Harry said happily. Sirius didn't move. His hair looked shorter than when Harry saw him last, it was fresher and fell in his eyes just like it used to in photographs. That didn't seem right, but Harry wasn't too obsessed with that right now. "Sirius, stop being stupid, wake up!" Harry budged him in the shoulder. He didn't stir. "Sirius?" Harry smacked his cheek, still no reaction.
"Dad?" Angel muttered from beside him. "Oh daddy!" She fell onto his chest, gripping his robs and crying in them.
"Seri, no dear child." Dumbledore soothed. Charlie picked Angel off of Sirius and she fell into Charlie's arm, now crying on his robes. "Help me, will you Harry?" Dumbledore picked up Sirius's arms and Harry his legs. Together they lowered him onto the bed.
"Oh my goodness." Tonks said again.
Another rush movement came from the door. "Oh my God! OH MY GOD!" Remus Lupin's face was flushed. He was staring at Sirius though bugged out eyes. "Padfoot?"
Remus slowly edged inside. He walked to where Harry was and stood there, beaming down at the handsome face that was overcome with sleep. "But. how?"
"It seems our innocent little Seri, has some cards up her sleeve." Dumbledore said, a sparkle in his eyes. "She stole the Veil from the Department of Mysteries last weekend. Fudge hasn't even noticed yet."
Angel chuckled. She moved her face away from Charlie's robes and wiped her eyes.
"And. and you went in there!" Tonks hissed, pointing at the veil.
"Yes," Angel said softly.
"HOW?"
"Not here." Dumbledore pulled some covers up to Sirius's chin. "It seems he is asleep or something like that. We should call a doctor. Madam Pomfrey will come."
"I'll get her." Tonks piped before leaving.
"The rest of us will go down stairs for some strong tea." Dumbledore announced.
"Shouldn't someone stay with him?" Angel said.
"He'll be fine till Madam Pomfree arrives." Dumbledore said. "Now, come along."
"Mistress Sirius Angel!" Kreacher came bonding into the room and threw himself at her leg. "Kreacher went and got Harry Potter like you asked Mistress, he went a brought Harry Potter to help you." The house elf straightened up and then saw Harry. "OH MASTER HARRY POTTER!" He bowed down on the ground, wailing, "Oh brave and loyal and strong Master Harry Potter, you save my Mistress Sirius Angel and my Master Sirius. oh thank you, thank you!"
Dumbledore smile at the house elf slightly. "Kreacher, I need you to make some tea."
"Yes." Kreacher whipped his nose on his pillow case, "Yes Master Albus Dumbledore." And Kreacher disappeared.
"Now, then, come." Dumbledore led the way from the room.
"Professor." Harry ran to Dumbledore's side, "How did you know where we were?"
"Ron came and told me, said Kreacher kidnapped you or something." Dumbledore said; a twinkle behind his half moon glasses.
Harry nodded and none of them said a word till they entered the kitchen. Five tea cups filled with steaming tea and a plate of cakes where sitting on the table.
"You. you're. hold it a minute. you're a Potter?" Harry didn't believe his ears.
"Oh course I am." Angelica said. "Does that surprise you?"
Actually, it didn't. It made sense. Angel had the box of the Potters that she gave to him. She knew a lot about him. it made sense now. like a puzzle falling together. "Hurry Harry, Seri and Sirius are in bad state. Before I disappear, follow me."
Angelica ran down the path the pearly floating people were making them. Harry jogged behind her. "Why can't you stay long?"
"Because we are memories. one from any state you have. since you don't remember me or your parents very well, there isn't enough memories of us to keep us about long."
Harry thought of this. the Longbottoms famished as soon as Harry saw them because he didn't have to many memories of them, the same with the Potters he just met. probably their faces making goofily eyes at him when he was born and such just gave them enough of memories Harry had for them to introduce themselves to him. and then his parents. they didn't stay nearly as long as he would have liked. but how did they stare so long. he had little next to no memories of them and what about Angelica?
His thoughts were interrupted when he saw two figures that weren't pearly white, but solid with a blue light reflecting off their skin. "SIRUS! ANGEL!" Harry yelled. Sirius was lying on the ground, his body arched beautifully and laughter still on his face just like it was before he fell behind the veil. Angel was kneeling beside him, her hair over her face; her face in Sirius's chest.
She looked up at them. "Harry.." She stuttered. Then she saw who else was there. "MUM!"
Angelica ran to Angel and forced a hug on her. "Oh mum." Angel muttered, holding on tightly to her mom.
"It's okay Seri, it's alright. everything will work out. don't worry." Angel's mum said soothingly.
"Mum." Angel whispered one more time, but the women disappeared. Angel fell back on Sirius, tears forming. "Harry, I can't go on." She muttered.
"Oh yes you can, as soon as we get Sirius out of here, you have what you've always wanted." Harry said. He picked up Angel by her arm and she spinned around, hugging him.
Taken aback at first, he hugged her back, rubbing her hair softly and hushing her. "It'll be okay, I promise."
"Oh shut up Harry, of course it won't be okay, you of all people should know that!"
"Angel, you can't live you life looking over you shoulder at everything that went wrong. you have to live for tomorrow, and your tomorrow has Sirius in it. We have to get him out of here." Harry said, peeling her off of him.
"He's not breathing." Angel said softly, wiping her eyes.
"He's not dead though, your mum said so."
"Really?" Angel said, looking up slightly.
"Now come on."
Harry picked up Sirius's arm and draped it over his.
Angel was shaking more than ever. She picked up Sirius's other arm and put it over her shoulder as well. With out another word they walked back through the blue, the floating people still making a path. "Angel, do you know where we are going?" Harry said after a moment.
"No."
But, they needed not worry about that. The people floating didn't float out of their way, but around an invisible path. All they had to do was follow it.
They walked for a long time, longer than Harry remembered actually coming in. Sirius was heavy on his shoulder and weighed him down quite a bit.
Like the others, one figure didn't move out of the way.
"Potter," A man with a Bulgarian accent grunted, "Vhat afr you doing here?"
"Karkaroff?" Angel wheezed.
"Yev you damn Malfoy. You have done the Dafk Lord vork." Karkaroff sneered, is nostrils flaming. His cold eyes fell on Harry, "Vatch it Potter, Krum is not the golden boy I knew. and neither is she."
Angel eyes got big and just when she opened her mouth to say something, Karkaroff disappeared.
There was a long silence. They walk some what-felt-like miles. "Angel, how did Karkaroff die?"
"Voldemort caught up with him sometime after he came back. No one has fond him, s'pec they never will."
"How do you know then?" Harry said, staring at her.
"I have my secrets as do you."
Harry heaved a sigh and started off again. Finally, over the floating bodies, Harry saw a ripple in the blue light. it must be the veil. Harry gathered Sirius up on his shoulder again and started his pace faster. "Nearly there." he breathed. Angel start laughing through her tears, the finish line. they made it.
The people started drifting way more quickly than they did before. Some even started hissing, or what Harry thought was hissing. "Ye who lives amongst the dead, dies amongst the living." And even though they sounded threatening, Harry couldn't help but agree with them.
The veil and the ripple became clearer now, yes. bigger, life size, no longer far away, but close enough to touch. With one breath, he carried Sirius through the veil, Angel dragging behind.
They made it.
They were out of the veil.
And Sirius was alive.
"Oh my goodness!" A lady shriek from behind them. Harry tried to see who it was, but the sudden rush of light to his eyes, made the world a blur.
"Angel, Angel, oh Angel, are you okay?" said a young man.
"Harry.. Harry."
Slowly Harry forced his eyes to focus. Tonks was standing in the door way, hand to her mouth; Charlie was cradling Angel, who looked just as woozy as Harry felt and Dumbledore was leaned over him.
Everything came back to him and he grinned. "Professor, Sirius. we got him. he isn't dead."
Harry didn't feel dizzy or sick anymore. he felt renewed! His godfather was in the same room as he was, breathing the same air. "Sirius, wake up," Harry said happily. Sirius didn't move. His hair looked shorter than when Harry saw him last, it was fresher and fell in his eyes just like it used to in photographs. That didn't seem right, but Harry wasn't too obsessed with that right now. "Sirius, stop being stupid, wake up!" Harry budged him in the shoulder. He didn't stir. "Sirius?" Harry smacked his cheek, still no reaction.
"Dad?" Angel muttered from beside him. "Oh daddy!" She fell onto his chest, gripping his robs and crying in them.
"Seri, no dear child." Dumbledore soothed. Charlie picked Angel off of Sirius and she fell into Charlie's arm, now crying on his robes. "Help me, will you Harry?" Dumbledore picked up Sirius's arms and Harry his legs. Together they lowered him onto the bed.
"Oh my goodness." Tonks said again.
Another rush movement came from the door. "Oh my God! OH MY GOD!" Remus Lupin's face was flushed. He was staring at Sirius though bugged out eyes. "Padfoot?"
Remus slowly edged inside. He walked to where Harry was and stood there, beaming down at the handsome face that was overcome with sleep. "But. how?"
"It seems our innocent little Seri, has some cards up her sleeve." Dumbledore said, a sparkle in his eyes. "She stole the Veil from the Department of Mysteries last weekend. Fudge hasn't even noticed yet."
Angel chuckled. She moved her face away from Charlie's robes and wiped her eyes.
"And. and you went in there!" Tonks hissed, pointing at the veil.
"Yes," Angel said softly.
"HOW?"
"Not here." Dumbledore pulled some covers up to Sirius's chin. "It seems he is asleep or something like that. We should call a doctor. Madam Pomfrey will come."
"I'll get her." Tonks piped before leaving.
"The rest of us will go down stairs for some strong tea." Dumbledore announced.
"Shouldn't someone stay with him?" Angel said.
"He'll be fine till Madam Pomfree arrives." Dumbledore said. "Now, come along."
"Mistress Sirius Angel!" Kreacher came bonding into the room and threw himself at her leg. "Kreacher went and got Harry Potter like you asked Mistress, he went a brought Harry Potter to help you." The house elf straightened up and then saw Harry. "OH MASTER HARRY POTTER!" He bowed down on the ground, wailing, "Oh brave and loyal and strong Master Harry Potter, you save my Mistress Sirius Angel and my Master Sirius. oh thank you, thank you!"
Dumbledore smile at the house elf slightly. "Kreacher, I need you to make some tea."
"Yes." Kreacher whipped his nose on his pillow case, "Yes Master Albus Dumbledore." And Kreacher disappeared.
"Now, then, come." Dumbledore led the way from the room.
"Professor." Harry ran to Dumbledore's side, "How did you know where we were?"
"Ron came and told me, said Kreacher kidnapped you or something." Dumbledore said; a twinkle behind his half moon glasses.
Harry nodded and none of them said a word till they entered the kitchen. Five tea cups filled with steaming tea and a plate of cakes where sitting on the table.