Chapter 14: The gilded frame
Sirius felt a cold floor beneath him as his senses returned. He hesitantly opened his eyes. Once he did however, it looked as if they were still closed. The space around him was pitch black, allowing no room for even the smallest speck of light.
He lay paralyzed on the ground, as he went over what had happened. He was dead. That was certain. He had felt himself fall behind the veil. Harry was trying to climb up the ramp. Remus had held him back. Sirius and Bellatrix had both attempted to use avada kedavra. She had succeeded. Ebony was dead too. He had seen her fall to the wooden ramp at his feet. Before she was hit with the curse she had told him to trust her. It was as if she knew.
But if all this was true if he was dead, where was he? After all where did someone go once they were dead? This was a question Sirius had never truly thought to ask himself. He had toyed with the thought of an after life, but he had never come to a finite conclusion on the subject. What's more what would happen to the others now that he was dead? What would happen to Harry, to Remus to the order with out him? Was there any way of knowing now?
Sirius looked hesitantly around him. He seemed to be alone in the black room, (if it could be called that). Yet suddenly the realization hit him. If this was the strange abstract space that every one entered upon death then, Ebony would be here too. Perhaps they were all here, Ebony, James, Lilly every one he had ever lost in life would meet him again, here.
With this renewed hope. He forced himself to jump to his feet. As he did so soft voices began to echo in the space. It was as if they were calling out to some one. These voices did not speak as normal humans instead they chanted or perhaps sung.
Maybe that was them, James, Lilly, Ebony. Perhaps it was he, Sirius they were calling to. In jubilation Sirius ran through the room.
"Ebony?" His voice echoed through the space. Voices around him grew louder, the tempo they were singing grew quicker but no one voice answered him. He tried again.
"James? Prongs, It's me!" The voices continued ignoring his cries. They became so loud that his ears began to ring with the sound. No sooner had they reached their peak however than they began to fade.
Sirius had a desire to tear after them, but somehow his feet seemed rooted to one spot. And so, he listened, still and silent, until the last voice had disappeared from ear shot. He was alone again. Yet, he could not escape the feeling that, some how, he was not alone.
He was not a stranger to the suspicion that he was being watched. He had felt it on the run, and in Hogsmead with Ebony. Now, there was no doubt in his mind that someone was standing directly behind him, watching his every move. He turned quickly. He saw nothing but black. Still, he could not shake the peculiar feeling.
Then, a small light directly opposite him began to shine, illuminating as small picture frame, which hung in the air as if it were depending on the wall of a room for support. The gold frame held no image inside it as one might expect a golden portrait frame to do. Instead its middle was as pitch black as the space that surrounded it.
Sirius edged hesitantly towards the frame. He had almost reached it when
"Sirius Black" Sirius whipped back around to find the source of this voice. He did not have to search long before another small light was appeared in the space opposite him. This light illuminated a short elderly man with balding gray hair a round stomach and small brown eyes.
"We meet at last." The man said eyeing Sirius with a slight smile.
"Who are you?" Sirius asked slightly taken back by the old man's sudden presence. The man's smile widened. He seemed unseasonably cheerful. His wrinkled, plump face was full with a good-natured expression. His voice had a hint of foreign sound.
" Just like Janie." The old man said shaking his head with a slight laugh " Always curious to discover the world around them with out entering their own souls." He muttered to himself looking down at the floor and pacing the black ground. He then looked up at Sirius. "I believe we both know the question of 'who are you?' to be completely irrelevant. You would be much better served in asking 'where are the people I am searching for?' or perhaps even 'where am I?' these would have brought you closer to the knowledge of your ultimate self. Since you have chosen to ask however, I will tell you. I am the escort into the next dimension of individuality. All life will begin and end with me, my identity is of no importance to the placement of your next destination."
"If this isn't my 'next destination' then where am I?" Sirius asked slightly annoyed with the old man lengthy response to such a simple question.
"Ah, finally becoming more reasonable." Said the old man cheerily
"You are in, what is known as the place between." He said this definitely. As if such an answer closed the question to any further discussion.
"What exactly is the Place Between?" Sirius asked, his tone growing more curious rather than impatient. He was soon incensed however to find that the old man was, once again, shaking his head.
"A shame. We were making so much progress." He muttered to himself. He once again turned back to Sirius "I would not tell you the answer to that even if it were vital to your knowledge. I know you will not believe the truth. It is always convenient to believe in your own reality, after all. I thought that certainly your next question would deal with where those you were searching for are currently residing."
This was indeed the foremost question in Sirius's mind. And while he was frustrated at the fact that he still had only a very primitive idea of where he was, he was almost glad for an excuse to ask.
"Where are they?" The old man starred at him and smiled a weary smile. "They are in a dimension different from the one you have always known. Your friend James and his wife Lilly are both living out separate lives in blissful ignorance of their fate. They have no more memory of their history in your world, they have no grief over their tragic end."
"And what about Ebony?" Sirius asked quickly, surprising even himself.
The old man starred at him for a few moments before his face suddenly burst into a triumphant smile. It looked as if he had been waiting for Sirius to ask this specific question.
"I can not tell you with out breaking the seal of an ancient law. I can, however, show you." The old man moved to Sirius and pointed him in the direction of the golden picture frame on the opposite wall.
The middle, which had been blank before now lightened to display a brightly- lit room that include a couch, a mirror a drawing table and chair. It was the chair to which Sirius's attention was immediately drawn. For there, with her face buried in her hands sat Ebony.
Sirius edged slowly toward the frame as he watched her lift her head to the mirror that stood opposite the chair. Her pale face was tear stained and smudged with heavy amounts of black makeup. She took up a handkerchief attempting to repair the damage, but even as she did, two more tears fell limply down her thin cheek.
Sirius Moved closer to the frame. He felt that some how, even though the screen showed only a picture she was real. That he would be able to comfort her. But even as he put his hand to the picture in the frame the old man tugged it away.
"If you touch the portrait you will fade into her world." He said grimly.
"And what's wrong with that?" Sirius said sharply tearing his eyes away from the picture to look at the old man.
"Why shouldn't I go there? She needs me!" Sirius turned back to the portrait, and watched as Ebony pulled herself out of the chair, her face still slightly tear stained. She put the handkerchief back in her trunk and picked up a small piece of parchment. As he looked closer, Sirius recognized the parchment to be the same that he had left on her bedroom table just before he had left for the ministry. The note he had left her before the department of mysteries was gone. He could see that only the last three words remained. Ebony retraced these several times with her finger before she set the parchment down and hurriedly left the room.
Sirius's eyes lingered where she had disappeared for what seemed like hours.
"I believe we both know that it is you who truly needs her." The old man said quietly. Sirius turned to him, and was surprised to see that he was smiling. Sirius turned back to the portrait once more. He knew the old man was right. He needed her. Though he didn't dare admit it out loud. His pride still remained instinctively intact.
"We need each other." He told the man impatiently. "Just, please let me go there! Please let me see her." The old man's smile broadened as he said: "That I can do." And in less than a second, he produced the cloak that Sirius recognized as Ebony's.
"This is what is known as the cloak of Erota. It will take you into the next world in an adult form. This is unusual in most cases."
"What do you mean in most cases?" Sirius asked. The old man sighed heavily but proceeded to answer.
"Normally after a character such as yourself has entered the place between, they are set to start life over again in a different world. They start as a new born child coming from a mother's womb. I interfered with this process when I sent Janie, the woman you know as Ebony, into your world by means of the cloak. I sent her their in a vain hope of saving you. As you well know that plan failed. But it is still not too late." The old man muttered the last part to himself. Sirius made to grab the cloak, but the man pulled it away from his grasp.
"Two things must be done, I'm afraid, before this process can be put into effect. First I must warn you, when you enter her life. go into the next dimension, only Janie will see you for who you truly are. The rest will see only the body of the man whom you will over take. Do you understand?" Sirius nodded his head eager to be with Ebony or Janie (her name didn't matter.)
"The second thing that must be done. I must ask you a question to which you and I both know the answer. However, in order for the cloak to properly take effect, the answer must be confirmed aloud. Do you love her?"
"Yes." Sirius answered definitely staring anxiously at the cloak in the old man's hands.
"Then it is time." The man said. He placed the cloak tightly around Sirius's shoulders before directing him to the golden picture frame. A portrait of a costumed young man with parted brown hair now replaced the picture of a theater dressing room.
"It is time." The old man said as he pushed Sirius towards the picture which had steadily begun to grow.
Sirius felt a cold floor beneath him as his senses returned. He hesitantly opened his eyes. Once he did however, it looked as if they were still closed. The space around him was pitch black, allowing no room for even the smallest speck of light.
He lay paralyzed on the ground, as he went over what had happened. He was dead. That was certain. He had felt himself fall behind the veil. Harry was trying to climb up the ramp. Remus had held him back. Sirius and Bellatrix had both attempted to use avada kedavra. She had succeeded. Ebony was dead too. He had seen her fall to the wooden ramp at his feet. Before she was hit with the curse she had told him to trust her. It was as if she knew.
But if all this was true if he was dead, where was he? After all where did someone go once they were dead? This was a question Sirius had never truly thought to ask himself. He had toyed with the thought of an after life, but he had never come to a finite conclusion on the subject. What's more what would happen to the others now that he was dead? What would happen to Harry, to Remus to the order with out him? Was there any way of knowing now?
Sirius looked hesitantly around him. He seemed to be alone in the black room, (if it could be called that). Yet suddenly the realization hit him. If this was the strange abstract space that every one entered upon death then, Ebony would be here too. Perhaps they were all here, Ebony, James, Lilly every one he had ever lost in life would meet him again, here.
With this renewed hope. He forced himself to jump to his feet. As he did so soft voices began to echo in the space. It was as if they were calling out to some one. These voices did not speak as normal humans instead they chanted or perhaps sung.
Maybe that was them, James, Lilly, Ebony. Perhaps it was he, Sirius they were calling to. In jubilation Sirius ran through the room.
"Ebony?" His voice echoed through the space. Voices around him grew louder, the tempo they were singing grew quicker but no one voice answered him. He tried again.
"James? Prongs, It's me!" The voices continued ignoring his cries. They became so loud that his ears began to ring with the sound. No sooner had they reached their peak however than they began to fade.
Sirius had a desire to tear after them, but somehow his feet seemed rooted to one spot. And so, he listened, still and silent, until the last voice had disappeared from ear shot. He was alone again. Yet, he could not escape the feeling that, some how, he was not alone.
He was not a stranger to the suspicion that he was being watched. He had felt it on the run, and in Hogsmead with Ebony. Now, there was no doubt in his mind that someone was standing directly behind him, watching his every move. He turned quickly. He saw nothing but black. Still, he could not shake the peculiar feeling.
Then, a small light directly opposite him began to shine, illuminating as small picture frame, which hung in the air as if it were depending on the wall of a room for support. The gold frame held no image inside it as one might expect a golden portrait frame to do. Instead its middle was as pitch black as the space that surrounded it.
Sirius edged hesitantly towards the frame. He had almost reached it when
"Sirius Black" Sirius whipped back around to find the source of this voice. He did not have to search long before another small light was appeared in the space opposite him. This light illuminated a short elderly man with balding gray hair a round stomach and small brown eyes.
"We meet at last." The man said eyeing Sirius with a slight smile.
"Who are you?" Sirius asked slightly taken back by the old man's sudden presence. The man's smile widened. He seemed unseasonably cheerful. His wrinkled, plump face was full with a good-natured expression. His voice had a hint of foreign sound.
" Just like Janie." The old man said shaking his head with a slight laugh " Always curious to discover the world around them with out entering their own souls." He muttered to himself looking down at the floor and pacing the black ground. He then looked up at Sirius. "I believe we both know the question of 'who are you?' to be completely irrelevant. You would be much better served in asking 'where are the people I am searching for?' or perhaps even 'where am I?' these would have brought you closer to the knowledge of your ultimate self. Since you have chosen to ask however, I will tell you. I am the escort into the next dimension of individuality. All life will begin and end with me, my identity is of no importance to the placement of your next destination."
"If this isn't my 'next destination' then where am I?" Sirius asked slightly annoyed with the old man lengthy response to such a simple question.
"Ah, finally becoming more reasonable." Said the old man cheerily
"You are in, what is known as the place between." He said this definitely. As if such an answer closed the question to any further discussion.
"What exactly is the Place Between?" Sirius asked, his tone growing more curious rather than impatient. He was soon incensed however to find that the old man was, once again, shaking his head.
"A shame. We were making so much progress." He muttered to himself. He once again turned back to Sirius "I would not tell you the answer to that even if it were vital to your knowledge. I know you will not believe the truth. It is always convenient to believe in your own reality, after all. I thought that certainly your next question would deal with where those you were searching for are currently residing."
This was indeed the foremost question in Sirius's mind. And while he was frustrated at the fact that he still had only a very primitive idea of where he was, he was almost glad for an excuse to ask.
"Where are they?" The old man starred at him and smiled a weary smile. "They are in a dimension different from the one you have always known. Your friend James and his wife Lilly are both living out separate lives in blissful ignorance of their fate. They have no more memory of their history in your world, they have no grief over their tragic end."
"And what about Ebony?" Sirius asked quickly, surprising even himself.
The old man starred at him for a few moments before his face suddenly burst into a triumphant smile. It looked as if he had been waiting for Sirius to ask this specific question.
"I can not tell you with out breaking the seal of an ancient law. I can, however, show you." The old man moved to Sirius and pointed him in the direction of the golden picture frame on the opposite wall.
The middle, which had been blank before now lightened to display a brightly- lit room that include a couch, a mirror a drawing table and chair. It was the chair to which Sirius's attention was immediately drawn. For there, with her face buried in her hands sat Ebony.
Sirius edged slowly toward the frame as he watched her lift her head to the mirror that stood opposite the chair. Her pale face was tear stained and smudged with heavy amounts of black makeup. She took up a handkerchief attempting to repair the damage, but even as she did, two more tears fell limply down her thin cheek.
Sirius Moved closer to the frame. He felt that some how, even though the screen showed only a picture she was real. That he would be able to comfort her. But even as he put his hand to the picture in the frame the old man tugged it away.
"If you touch the portrait you will fade into her world." He said grimly.
"And what's wrong with that?" Sirius said sharply tearing his eyes away from the picture to look at the old man.
"Why shouldn't I go there? She needs me!" Sirius turned back to the portrait, and watched as Ebony pulled herself out of the chair, her face still slightly tear stained. She put the handkerchief back in her trunk and picked up a small piece of parchment. As he looked closer, Sirius recognized the parchment to be the same that he had left on her bedroom table just before he had left for the ministry. The note he had left her before the department of mysteries was gone. He could see that only the last three words remained. Ebony retraced these several times with her finger before she set the parchment down and hurriedly left the room.
Sirius's eyes lingered where she had disappeared for what seemed like hours.
"I believe we both know that it is you who truly needs her." The old man said quietly. Sirius turned to him, and was surprised to see that he was smiling. Sirius turned back to the portrait once more. He knew the old man was right. He needed her. Though he didn't dare admit it out loud. His pride still remained instinctively intact.
"We need each other." He told the man impatiently. "Just, please let me go there! Please let me see her." The old man's smile broadened as he said: "That I can do." And in less than a second, he produced the cloak that Sirius recognized as Ebony's.
"This is what is known as the cloak of Erota. It will take you into the next world in an adult form. This is unusual in most cases."
"What do you mean in most cases?" Sirius asked. The old man sighed heavily but proceeded to answer.
"Normally after a character such as yourself has entered the place between, they are set to start life over again in a different world. They start as a new born child coming from a mother's womb. I interfered with this process when I sent Janie, the woman you know as Ebony, into your world by means of the cloak. I sent her their in a vain hope of saving you. As you well know that plan failed. But it is still not too late." The old man muttered the last part to himself. Sirius made to grab the cloak, but the man pulled it away from his grasp.
"Two things must be done, I'm afraid, before this process can be put into effect. First I must warn you, when you enter her life. go into the next dimension, only Janie will see you for who you truly are. The rest will see only the body of the man whom you will over take. Do you understand?" Sirius nodded his head eager to be with Ebony or Janie (her name didn't matter.)
"The second thing that must be done. I must ask you a question to which you and I both know the answer. However, in order for the cloak to properly take effect, the answer must be confirmed aloud. Do you love her?"
"Yes." Sirius answered definitely staring anxiously at the cloak in the old man's hands.
"Then it is time." The man said. He placed the cloak tightly around Sirius's shoulders before directing him to the golden picture frame. A portrait of a costumed young man with parted brown hair now replaced the picture of a theater dressing room.
"It is time." The old man said as he pushed Sirius towards the picture which had steadily begun to grow.