JN: I'm back with another chapter.

Remus: Oh great. Now you're gonna get me thrown into Azkaban.

JN: ^^;; Possibly…

Remus: -_-'

JN: Disclaimer?

Remus: ::sighs:: Hi Sukoshi Jigoku Neko doesn't own Harry Potter.

JN: Thanx!! On to the fic!!

Chapter 2: Through the Veil

Remus looked at the phone booth for a moment before he made up his mind, steeled his reserve, and stepped towards it quickly. If it will make you happy, I'll show you where he is, but then, we're leaving; immediately, Remus thought vehemently as the wolf gave off a smug smile. Stepping inside the old phone booth, Remus dialed 62442 on the dial and waited. Soon after, a cool female voice said,

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business." Deciding that he wouldn't lie, though he felt certain that he had read somewhere that the visitors to the Ministry of Magic were recorded somewhere as coming and going, he said,

"Remus Lupin, I'm here on an inquiry from an annoying counterpart." A few seconds later, the voice came again,

"Thank-you. Visitor, please take the badge and attach them to the front of your robes." A small square silver badge that read Remus Lupin, Knowledgeable Inquiry on it, which Remus took and pinned to the long-sleeved green shirt he wore. Then, the voice continued,

"Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium." Then, the floor of the telephone booth began to sink beneath the pavement with a shudder, and the blonde thought to himself, It's still this easy to get into the ministry, what with what's gone on within the past few days? And with that, he cast a strong invisibility charm, assuming that there would be some kind of guard on duty down there, possibly more than one. Gold light slipped through the glass in the phone booth, and Remus tucked his wand away, crouching to see if his suspicions would be confirmed about the guards. Shock found its way to his face as he didn't see any extra security guards; just a few stragglers that were pulling late nighters, and to his luck, one of them was getting in the phone booth to leave the way he had gone out, so he would be unnoticed.

Slipping past the witch that was waiting to get in the phone booth, he heard the phone booth woman's voice say in a semi-loud fashion,

"The ministry of magic wishes you a pleasant evening." With that, the invisible werewolf made his way around the few witches and wizards that were standing around chatting and waiting for a turn with the floo powder at the fireplaces. Again he was in luck however, as there was a witch waiting to get on the lifts and go down, so that he again wouldn't be noticed. Patiently, he waited for the lifts to arrive, and arrive they did, after a minute. Following the red-headed witch in, he pushed the number 9 button, waiting patiently for the lift to start its descent. This witch, however, got off on level seven, and the voice came up, saying,

"Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club, and Ludicrous Parents Office." The lift continued down the shaft, and when it reached level nine, the doors opened, and the telephone booth voice said,

"Level Nine; Department of Mysteries [1]." Doors clanking open, the blonde stepped out of the lift and made his way down the corridor, he knew exactly where to go; he had been there in his dreams, bringing Sirius back, much like the wolf wanted him to do now.

Through the plain black door, into the circular room with the polished smooth black floor, and now, for the guesswork. As he closed the door he came through, he muttered "astrum parvus" [2], a quiet charm that put a small green star on the handle, and then, the room spun, which was to be expected. Stepping up to one door, he attempted to open it, but found that it was locked, and none of the unlocking charms he used, from "alohamora" to the post N.E.W.T. level "Patefacio", and nothing worked. Giving up on it, he decided that it was the door that he was told held something quite unpleasant behind it; not the deep pitted room with an archway in it. Muttering "astrum cruentus parvus" [3] and another star appeared on this handle, though it was red this time, because if all other doors failed, he would return to this one.

Turning to the one directly left of himself, he opened it, and immediately decided that this was most definitely not it. The brilliant glare that blinded him told him so, because the room with the archway was dark with only a few candles to light the way. Closing the door halfway, he created another green star, and then, closed the door the rest of the way. The room spun again, and the werewolf waited patiently as the walls stopped moving, and he chose the door three from his left, one away from the door with the red star's right. Opening it, he found that this room wasn't it either; there were multiple cages here, each holding a different kind of bizarrely mutated animal. It was dark and dank here, and the extremely low burning torches were purplish in hue, casting long, strange shadows on the floor that were simply not normal looking. Backing up a bit, the wolf growled deep in his throat as each animal lunged at its cage doors and bared what fangs it had, a few blowing fire, or reaching out with vines that the blonde werewolf dispelled with "Incendio". Making it back into the black room again, he half closed the door, added another green star to it, and closed it all the way. Whirling again, Remus closed his eyes when it stopped and took a deep breath. He didn't have time for this. He needed to find the room with the veil in it, and get there. Now. After a second, his eyes snapped open. That one, thought the blonde as he walked to the door third from his right. Opening it, he didn't smile as the darkness of the room seeped into him, chilling him to the bone, wrapping around his mind and drawing him in; calling to him, wanting him to find the veil. Calmly walking down the amphitheater like room, he made it to the circular floor that was sunken in, hands trembling as he told himself that he wouldn't find anything; told himself that he only did this to make the wolf quiet for a time.

He was lying, and he knew it, however. The wolf's talk of Sirius most likely having that very slim chance of being alive had sparked a forbidden sense of hope inside of him; a small candle's flame, flickering in the winds of reality. It would soon be put out though, or so he told himself, approaching the slightly raised dais that the ancient looking archway sat on. He heard soft whispers, though they were muddled and undecipherable; people from other worlds, their words slipping past the magic of the edge of their dimensions. Stepping forward, he reached the platform and stepped up fluidly, as if his feet had already decided where they were going, and weren't to be stopped by anything; even the blonde himself.

The feeling that someone was standing just on the other side of the veil intensified, as if Remus could simply reach in and touch the arm of this would-be creature. He knew that this was not the case though; should he put a hand through, things would become disastrous for the blonde werewolf, and he was aware. Tears stung the backs of his eyes as he sank to his knees. He couldn't do this, and he knew it. If there was anything holding on behind that archway, he didn't know what it was until it came over here, and he wouldn't be able to put it back very easily if it wasn't Sirius. It was a risk that he knew he shouldn't take, but really……

Weak, incompetent human. You would turn away now, after you've taken so many pains to get here, now that you're so close to seeing if perhaps he has survived? You say that I am the weakest one of all; well, perhaps that is because I share a body with you, came the taunt of the wolf as it realized that Remus was despairing. Leave it to the creature to goad Remus in just the right way that he would continue with what he was doing. Standing shakily, Remus thought vehemently, If I die, you go to, and I will *so* make your afterlife a living hell. And with that, he muttered the incantation that would open the veil for only a moment; enough for something to slip through the veil if it were close enough.

"Sustuli Velum." [4] A sliver coating slipped down the veil, and the edge of the darkness that covered the area between the legs of the arch, and it started to slowly dissappate, as if being lifted away…

TBC……

JN: So, how was that?

YJN: It sucked, just like all of your other fics.

JN: ;_; it did?

YJN: yep. I think you should discontinue it.

JN: ;_; ::starts to sob:: You mean it? Really?

YJN: Yep. In fact, you should delete this chapter and this fic and just forget about it.

JN: ::sobs uncontrollably::

YJN: -_-' ::slaps JN::

JN: ::cries harder::

Remus: -_-' R'n'R if you want another chapter, or else I think Yami Hi Sukoshi Jigoku Neko is going to make Hi Sukoshi Jigoku Neko delete it… -_-'

Footnotes:

1 - I'm not sure this is what she says; it might be just "Department of Mysteries", but I can't really remember, so please, dun flame me about it! ^^;; I can't remember everything, and I'm too lazy to look it up.

2 - Latin for "Small Star" (lit. star small)

3 - Latin for "Small Red Star" (lit. star red small)

4 - Latin for "Lift the Veil" (lit. lift curtain")