Disclaimer- the folk songs in this chapter are "The End of the Road"
and "A Star in the Night" this is the final chappie. I own Thyra Sparrow
and nothing else.
"So, how do you know Sirius?"
"We were engaged," Thyra answered simply. She was stunned about Sirius. She hadn't seen him since.since it happened.
"You never married?"
"No, we never got a chance."
"Why?"
"Well, wait, you're Harry Potter?"
"Yeah."
"Why do you want to hear about Sirius Black?"
"Because, I told you, he was my Godfather!"
"Yes but he betrayed your family!"
"No, that was Peter Pettigrew, he framed Sirius." Thyra's eyes grew wide and she collapsed into the chair from which she'd recently risen.
"I knew it," she murmured absently to herself.
"Yeah, so what got in the way of your marriage."
"I suppose it might have been him being thrown into Azkaban or perhaps my death."
Thyra sat in her apartment. She had been crying non-stop for over 5 days. She had the 6-day old Daily Prophet clutched in her pale, weak hand. The Headline read:
"The Late James and Lily Potter were found dead: Betrayed by James's best
friend: Sirius Black."
At first she had tried to deny it to herself. After Remus's visit and Peter's death, though, she had to come to grips with the truth. Her fiancé was a Death Eater who betrayed his best friend, his wife and child. She couldn't see ever being happy for the remainder of her life. It was then that she decided what she would do. A delicate knife lay on the table beside her and a carefully composed letter lay on the kitchen table. She got up and crossed to the couch.
With trembling hands she picked up the dagger. She poised it parallel to her chest and closed her eyes.
"And as the earth at night turns to a star,
Loved long ago, and dearer than the sun,
So in the spiritual place afar,
At night our souls are mingled and made one,
And wait till one night fall, and one dawn rise,
That brings no noon too splendid for your eyes."
In one graceful movement she drove the blade deep into her breast. With a small groan she crumpled onto the floor. Thyra Linaeve Sparrow was dead. She only felt the tiniest twinge, the change between dead and alive. She felt her soul rise from her body. The next thing she knew she was standing in front of a women in long, flowing robes. "You must choose, do you want to leave the earth or stay as a shadow of your former self?" Thyra felt her mouth say the words before she thought them.
"Yes." That was her damnation, her demise. She was cursed to walk the earth forever.
"How did you die?" Harry asked tentatively.
"I committed suicide," she answered, piercing him with her razor sharp stare. The group stayed silent for a few moments.
"Why'd you do it?" Ginny asked, seemingly close to tears.
"The love of my life was a convicted murderer, traitor, and death eater. There was nothing more for me to live for."
"So why didn't you move on?" Neville asked in a very, very low voice.
"I got scared, scared I'd never see Sirius again. I loved him deep down, I knew that, you can't escape from something that strong. I just got scared and the decision was made before I could think it through."
"So-" Harry trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"Of course your information has complicated things. He's behind the veil and I have no way of getting there." A tear slipped down her cheek but no sobs came out. She seemed beyond them in some way.
"We-we could find some way to help you. We have to," Hermione said with adamant determination. Thyra let out a hollow laugh.
"There's nothing you could possibly do. There's no way to reverse it."
"If all the books I've read have taught me anything, they've taught me that everything and anything is possible. I'm not going to give up. Come along, we're going to the library." Thyra smiled faintly at her.
"You remind me of Lily."
"We haven't time for reminiscing. Come along," Hermione said in an off-handish way but secretly glowing with pride at the compliment.
They researched way into the night. They used a small classroom adjacent to the library for research since the actual library was closed. Harry used his Invisibility Cloak to sneak in and get books. Hermione's hair was falling all over the place. She flipped frantically for copy after copy before landing on something that looked promising. "Wait, wait, I think I found it. The "excessus volubilis charm has the ability to alter or switch a dead person's decision-to pass on or continue on earth." Thyra's eyes lighted. She rushed to Hermione's side and looked over her shoulder.
"What do we have to do?"
"We need something that would prove that the person (Thyra) needs and deserves to switch her decision. Then we need something that would link her to someone on the other side."
"Alright, let's get started," Thyra said, an almost human quality surrounding her.
Thyra stood in the middle of the room after Hermione was fully certain of the spell. She pointed her wand toward Thyra and murmured "excessus volubilis". A light shown around them and a woman appeared. She was the same that Thyra had seen so many years before.
"What is your reason for switching?" the woman asked in a strong voice.
"My love is waiting for me," she answered simply.
"Who is he?"
"Sirius Black."
"Would he recognize you?"
"Yes."
"If he couldn't see you, could he place you?"
"Yes."
"Very well, you may try."
A silvery portal appeared and Thyra could faintly make out the outline of Sirius's figure. She wanted desperately to call out to him but she knew, deep down, that what the woman wanted her to do was make him remember her. With a deep breath, Thyra began to sing and as she did, golden threads connected themselves to the portal, gently eating away at the film between them.
"Every road thro' life is a long, long road .
Fill' d with joys and sorrows too
As you journey on how your heart will yearn
For the things most dear to you
With wealth and love 'tis so
But onward we must go"
She saw him turn to her slightly but she continued.
"Keep right on to the end of the road
Keep right on to the end
Tho' the way be long, let your heart be strong
Keep right on to the end
Tho' you're tired and weary still journey on,
Till you come to your happy abode
Where all you love, you've been dreaming of
Will be there, at the end of the road"
He was now fully turned to her, listening intently to her every note. The golden threads were still eating away, little by little and Thyra continued through tears.
"With a big stout heart to a long steep hill
We may get there with a smile
With a good kind thought and a mile end view
We may cut short many a mile
So let courage ev'ry day
Be your guiding star always"
She could see him now. The shape of his face and the color of his skin, eyes and hair. She cold see the look of awe on his face. She could see him mouth her name and she knew that this was the last moment. She would have to make it complete. With her last bit of gusto she sang out the chorus one last time.
"Keep right on to the end of the road
Keep right on to the end
Tho' the way be long, let your heart be strong
Keep right on to the end
Tho' you're tired and weary still journey on,
Till you come to your happy abode
Where all you love, you've been dreaming of
Will be there, at the end of the road"
The film completely disappeared and he rushed out to pull her into his arms. Slowly her skin turned from pale to brilliant gold and her once, limp hair sprung alive. They shared a kiss more powerful then anything anyone had ever seen before and their bodies molded together. The woman stepped foreword. "You must now cross over to the other side, never to return again.
Harry was crying now. It was like loosing Sirius all over again. He could see him and hear him but he knew that Sirius couldn't see or hear him. Tears slipped freely down his face as he tried desperately to hold his leap. He wanted to tear Sirius back to the present, to be with him during this tough time but he couldn't. His heart broke as he saw Thyra and Sirius cross through he veil once more, never to return again.
"So, how do you know Sirius?"
"We were engaged," Thyra answered simply. She was stunned about Sirius. She hadn't seen him since.since it happened.
"You never married?"
"No, we never got a chance."
"Why?"
"Well, wait, you're Harry Potter?"
"Yeah."
"Why do you want to hear about Sirius Black?"
"Because, I told you, he was my Godfather!"
"Yes but he betrayed your family!"
"No, that was Peter Pettigrew, he framed Sirius." Thyra's eyes grew wide and she collapsed into the chair from which she'd recently risen.
"I knew it," she murmured absently to herself.
"Yeah, so what got in the way of your marriage."
"I suppose it might have been him being thrown into Azkaban or perhaps my death."
Thyra sat in her apartment. She had been crying non-stop for over 5 days. She had the 6-day old Daily Prophet clutched in her pale, weak hand. The Headline read:
"The Late James and Lily Potter were found dead: Betrayed by James's best
friend: Sirius Black."
At first she had tried to deny it to herself. After Remus's visit and Peter's death, though, she had to come to grips with the truth. Her fiancé was a Death Eater who betrayed his best friend, his wife and child. She couldn't see ever being happy for the remainder of her life. It was then that she decided what she would do. A delicate knife lay on the table beside her and a carefully composed letter lay on the kitchen table. She got up and crossed to the couch.
With trembling hands she picked up the dagger. She poised it parallel to her chest and closed her eyes.
"And as the earth at night turns to a star,
Loved long ago, and dearer than the sun,
So in the spiritual place afar,
At night our souls are mingled and made one,
And wait till one night fall, and one dawn rise,
That brings no noon too splendid for your eyes."
In one graceful movement she drove the blade deep into her breast. With a small groan she crumpled onto the floor. Thyra Linaeve Sparrow was dead. She only felt the tiniest twinge, the change between dead and alive. She felt her soul rise from her body. The next thing she knew she was standing in front of a women in long, flowing robes. "You must choose, do you want to leave the earth or stay as a shadow of your former self?" Thyra felt her mouth say the words before she thought them.
"Yes." That was her damnation, her demise. She was cursed to walk the earth forever.
"How did you die?" Harry asked tentatively.
"I committed suicide," she answered, piercing him with her razor sharp stare. The group stayed silent for a few moments.
"Why'd you do it?" Ginny asked, seemingly close to tears.
"The love of my life was a convicted murderer, traitor, and death eater. There was nothing more for me to live for."
"So why didn't you move on?" Neville asked in a very, very low voice.
"I got scared, scared I'd never see Sirius again. I loved him deep down, I knew that, you can't escape from something that strong. I just got scared and the decision was made before I could think it through."
"So-" Harry trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"Of course your information has complicated things. He's behind the veil and I have no way of getting there." A tear slipped down her cheek but no sobs came out. She seemed beyond them in some way.
"We-we could find some way to help you. We have to," Hermione said with adamant determination. Thyra let out a hollow laugh.
"There's nothing you could possibly do. There's no way to reverse it."
"If all the books I've read have taught me anything, they've taught me that everything and anything is possible. I'm not going to give up. Come along, we're going to the library." Thyra smiled faintly at her.
"You remind me of Lily."
"We haven't time for reminiscing. Come along," Hermione said in an off-handish way but secretly glowing with pride at the compliment.
They researched way into the night. They used a small classroom adjacent to the library for research since the actual library was closed. Harry used his Invisibility Cloak to sneak in and get books. Hermione's hair was falling all over the place. She flipped frantically for copy after copy before landing on something that looked promising. "Wait, wait, I think I found it. The "excessus volubilis charm has the ability to alter or switch a dead person's decision-to pass on or continue on earth." Thyra's eyes lighted. She rushed to Hermione's side and looked over her shoulder.
"What do we have to do?"
"We need something that would prove that the person (Thyra) needs and deserves to switch her decision. Then we need something that would link her to someone on the other side."
"Alright, let's get started," Thyra said, an almost human quality surrounding her.
Thyra stood in the middle of the room after Hermione was fully certain of the spell. She pointed her wand toward Thyra and murmured "excessus volubilis". A light shown around them and a woman appeared. She was the same that Thyra had seen so many years before.
"What is your reason for switching?" the woman asked in a strong voice.
"My love is waiting for me," she answered simply.
"Who is he?"
"Sirius Black."
"Would he recognize you?"
"Yes."
"If he couldn't see you, could he place you?"
"Yes."
"Very well, you may try."
A silvery portal appeared and Thyra could faintly make out the outline of Sirius's figure. She wanted desperately to call out to him but she knew, deep down, that what the woman wanted her to do was make him remember her. With a deep breath, Thyra began to sing and as she did, golden threads connected themselves to the portal, gently eating away at the film between them.
"Every road thro' life is a long, long road .
Fill' d with joys and sorrows too
As you journey on how your heart will yearn
For the things most dear to you
With wealth and love 'tis so
But onward we must go"
She saw him turn to her slightly but she continued.
"Keep right on to the end of the road
Keep right on to the end
Tho' the way be long, let your heart be strong
Keep right on to the end
Tho' you're tired and weary still journey on,
Till you come to your happy abode
Where all you love, you've been dreaming of
Will be there, at the end of the road"
He was now fully turned to her, listening intently to her every note. The golden threads were still eating away, little by little and Thyra continued through tears.
"With a big stout heart to a long steep hill
We may get there with a smile
With a good kind thought and a mile end view
We may cut short many a mile
So let courage ev'ry day
Be your guiding star always"
She could see him now. The shape of his face and the color of his skin, eyes and hair. She cold see the look of awe on his face. She could see him mouth her name and she knew that this was the last moment. She would have to make it complete. With her last bit of gusto she sang out the chorus one last time.
"Keep right on to the end of the road
Keep right on to the end
Tho' the way be long, let your heart be strong
Keep right on to the end
Tho' you're tired and weary still journey on,
Till you come to your happy abode
Where all you love, you've been dreaming of
Will be there, at the end of the road"
The film completely disappeared and he rushed out to pull her into his arms. Slowly her skin turned from pale to brilliant gold and her once, limp hair sprung alive. They shared a kiss more powerful then anything anyone had ever seen before and their bodies molded together. The woman stepped foreword. "You must now cross over to the other side, never to return again.
Harry was crying now. It was like loosing Sirius all over again. He could see him and hear him but he knew that Sirius couldn't see or hear him. Tears slipped freely down his face as he tried desperately to hold his leap. He wanted to tear Sirius back to the present, to be with him during this tough time but he couldn't. His heart broke as he saw Thyra and Sirius cross through he veil once more, never to return again.