Thanks a million to everyone who reviewed this story, I hope this second chapter is as well liked as the first, and that even more people will read it! :D R&R!

Sirius leapt to his feet and stumbled away from James, nearly falling over the chair in the process. He pulled out his wand once more and pointed it at James' heart. Now he was certain that Voldemort was playing a trick on him.

'Who are you?' He shouted, 'Malfoy? Crabbe? Lestrange? Or is it little Wormtail, playing yet another sick joke?'

James Potter's jaw dropped and he stared at his best friend in amazement.

'What happened to you, Sirius?' He asked cautiously.

'Confundus Charm, I think', Joseph informed him helpfully.

'I AM NOT UNDER ANY BLOODY CHARM!' Sirius roared, taking another few steps back, his heart pounding against his ribcage, 'WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?'

There was a crack, and Remus Lupin apparated next to James, looked around, and gave a start at the sight of Sirius moving his wand from Joseph to James. 'What the devil is happening?' He asked, confused.

'Remus!' Sirius cried, delighted to see someone who was where they should be, and alive, 'Remus, these two are Death Eaters, trying to mess with my head!'

Remus looked from Sirius to James, who shrugged, looking worried.

'Sirius, this is James Potter, your best friend', Remus explained gently, taking a step towards Sirius, who automatically stepped away again, 'and this is Joseph Anderson, the security guard for the Order and for the Ministry.'

'I know who they LOOK like!' Sirius shouted in exasperation, 'but this is all wrong! Joseph is retired, and James is dead!'

'What?' It was James' turn to look stunned, 'Sirius, I think you had a pretty bad knock on the head.'

'No, no, NO!' Sirius cried, 'please, just show yourselves and let's get this fight over with-I need to see my godson, I need to know if he's okay!'

'What d'you keep bringing Harry into this for?' James asked impatiently, 'and stop waving that wand at me! Expelliarmus!'

Sirius' wand flew out of his hand, and James caught it.

So Sirius turned to the trick that had kept him alive and safe for so long- he morphed into a large black dog and ran straight at the man who said he was James Potter. James leapt out of the way, caught Sirius by the tail and held on tight. The only way for Sirius to escape was for him to turn into a human again, which James knew full well. Panicking, Sirius morphed back into human form and staggered away from the trio of astonished wizards.

More of Sirius' friends were apparating; Tonks, Kingsley, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Mad-Eye Moody, Lily Potter...

They can't all be fakes, Sirius thought, Polyjuice Potion can't make you become a dead person...

'What's up, Sirius?' Tonks asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

Suddenly, a theory crossed Sirius' mind. 'How old is Harry, James?' He asked quickly.

'Fifteen, he'll be sixteen in July', James replied, looking perplexed.

Sirius' breath caught in his throat. So he hadn't gone back in time. 'Where are the headquarters for the Order?' He asked urgently.

'Here! Look here Sirius, what the hell's going on?'James asked, thoroughly exasperated.

'My God', Sirius gasped, 'this is...this isn't my reality! I should be dead- in my reality, I fell through the veil and-this is what the world could be like...'

'So...you're not the real Sirius?' Lily remarked, looking slightly frightened and very puzzled.

'I must've replaced the Sirius in this reality', Sirius muttered, no longer aware of everyone watching him, 'something must've gone wrong...the fall should've killed me.' He looked up again. 'Where were you all, just now?'

'We', Remus responded, putting his wand away, 'including yourself, were outside the Malfoy Mansion, spying on the Death Eaters, when you suddenly disappeared. James offered to come back and find you, and let us continue, but one of the Death Eater guards spotted us at that moment and a short battle ensued. None of us were hurt, thankfully, and we got back here, to find you bellowing the place down with some crackpot story about us being Death Eaters! What happened to you?'

'I disappeared?' Sirius repeated, trying to make sense of everything, 'then...the Sirius in this reality must not exist anymore...I replaced him when I fell through the archway...'

'What bloody archway are you on about?' Mad-Eye Moody interevened, staring beadily at Sirius.

'The one in the Department of Mysteries.'

'What were you doing down there?' Asked Alice Longbottom, astonished.

'Saving Harry', Sirius replied wearily.

'But-'

'Yes, James, I know, in THIS reality, Harry's in Hogwarts. In MY reality, he was in the Department of Mysteries, trying to rescue me, because he thought Voldemort had captured me, but it was actually just Voldemort manipulating his mind.'

'Voldemort can manipulate Harry's mind?' Lily gave a soft scream of terror, 'James, go check on him!'

'I'm sure he's fine in this reality', Sirius interrupted irritably, 'but in mine, he's had a rough year. I've been trying to watch out for him, but it hasn't been easy-'

'Why are you the one watching out for him?' Lily interrupted nervously.

Sirius opened his mouth to tell Lily that she was, in fact, dead, but closed it again. He looked from James to Lily and knew that he couldn't tell them the truth-not yet at least.

'And what did you mean, I'm dead?' James added.

'I-I was confused...Dunno what I meant', Sirius replied quickly-a little too quickly, he could tell, because both Moody and Lupin were watching him closely, 'look, I really don't know what's going on, d'you think I could talk to Remus alone, please, just for a minute?'

James looked slightly offended that Sirius wanted to talk to Remus instead of him, but Sirius had bigger worries than putting his murdered friend's nose out of joint. Remus nodded calmly, and walked over to Sirius. 'Come on', he said, 'we'll go down to the meeting room.' Then, turning to everyone else, 'you lot go and clean yourselves up, I'll try and sort this out.'

Remus led Sirius to the furthest fireplace from the entrance in total silence. He pulled out his wand, and tapped the four bricks in each corner. Slowly, the floor of the fireplace dropped downwards, revealing some steps, which led to a long, dark stone passageway.

Sirius was not surprised to see this-he had spent much of his time in one of the rooms off this secret passageway the last time Voldemort had been in power, when the Ministry had also housed the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, unbeknownst to those in authority, of course; it would have made the Ministry look bad, to have what would appear to be a vigilante organisation hiding out in a secret chamber. It was Dumbledore who had told them about it, and mostly, Order member apparated straight there. Now, apparently, things had changed.

Sirius followed Remus along the passageway in silence, until they reached the Order chamber. Sirius smiled, as he saw that this at least had not changed; the same large, circular mahogany table, surrounded by dining chairs; the same portrait of Albus Dumbledore on the wall, newspaper clippings stuck all around it.

'What the hell is going on, Sirius?' Remus asked, shutting the door carefully behind them, 'what are you talking about? And why did you want to talk to me?'

Sirius looked at his old friend sadly. 'I wanted to talk to you because you're the only person here I can really trust and I think you're the least likely one to call me crazy', he said, 'you've become my best friend, Remus, in my reality.'

'What's happened to James?' Remus asked sharply, 'I noticed how you looked when you spoke to him and Lily.'

'They died fifteen years ago', Sirius responded quietly, 'I didn't want to tell them that, it'd only upset them. Frank and Alice lost their minds, after being tortured by Voldemort a few years before that.'

'My God', Remus breathed, looking horrified, 'Sirius, I think you'd better start at the beginning!'

And so, Sirius told Remus everything; about how, fifteen years previously, a prophecy was made about Harry Potter, and Voldemort went to kill him; about how the curse rebounded on Voldemort and he fled, horribly weakened and powerless; about how Harry had grown up with his horrible aunt and uncle, and now regarded Hogwarts as his true home. For as long as possible, he put off telling Remus about his own trials and tribulations during those years. 'How's Wormtail getting along?' He asked casually.

'Great', Remus replied with a smile, 'he's on of the leaders in the Order now. He's quite popular! How is he getting along in your world?'

Sirius took a deep breath and plunged into the truly dark and upsetting part of his tale.

'He...he sold Lily and James?' Remus choked, 'and left you to rot in Azkaban?'

Sirius nodded grimly. 'And now, Voldemort's rising again, and he's desperate to kill Harry. I was in the middle of saving him when I fell through the veil.'

After giving all the details of the fight in the Department of Mysteries, Sirius sat down, exhausted. Remus had a stunned look on his face.

'This...this prophecy...' Remus said slowly, 'it hasn't been made in this reality...but does that mean it's not true?'

'What d'you mean?' Sirius asked, puzzled.

'I mean, just because nobody heard it in this world, doesn't neccessarily mean it isn't correct', Remus explained, 'it could apply to both our realities. Maybe Harry does need to fight Voldemort, for him to be utterly destroyed. In this world, Harry's just a normal boy. Quite bright, good at quidditch...but he has no scar, and he's not famous. Y'know Sirius, I think you were sent here for a reason. We've been fighting Voldemort for so many years now, and we're no closer to winning-if anything, he's got the upper hand right now. I don't think you appearing just now was a coincidence. Fate decided you had a better purpose than just dying, trying to save your godson. Who knows, maybe if Harry destroys our Voldemort, yours will be gone too!'

Sirius and Remus stared at each other, filled with a mixture of excitement and fear.

'We need to tell Dumbledore', Sirius said after a few seconds, 'he can tell us what to do!'

Remus nodded gravely. 'But first', he advised, 'I think you left a few puzzled people upstairs, who deserve an explanation.'

Sirius sighed heavily. Was he ever going to get a day's peace?