A/N: If you didn't know already, I have started a new HP/RW story called "Shattered Illusions" that has nothing to do with the Soul Mate Series. Check out my bio page for details. (Sorry for the shameless plug!)

A/N2: Here's the chapter that everyone has been waiting for. I hope that it is worth the wait. I tried to make it especially adventurous and dramatic seeing that this is the climax of the story, but I'm not sure if I achieved the desired effect. Don't forget to leave a review!

Chapter 30- The House of Donn

"Without a soul;
my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold,
until you find it there and lead it back home."

-Bring Me to Life by Evanescence

The foursome quietly made their way across the Atlantic from the coast of Ireland in search of Donn Island. They first headed due west towards the Arran Islands where they would take another breather before heading another five miles south. Fortunately, Harry appeared to be well enough to ride on his own broom stick again. Fearful, however, that the effects of the Dementor-induced hallucinations may cause Harry to fall of his broom, Ron and Draco insisted that Harry fly between them. They wanted to be sure that they could catch him were he to fall. Amazingly, Hermione, who had gained some confidence over their long flight, offered to take the lead.

They soon reached what they assumed to be Donn Island, but after exploring it for nearly half an hour they were no closer to finding the elusive temple that housed the second Veil.

The island was small, only about two or three miles in diameter. Like most of Ireland, it was very rocky with many low lying shrubs and was dotted with the occasional tree. In his mind he had pictured an ancient temple jutting out against the wild landscape like in some National Geographic Magazine he had once seen. Harry had also assumed that they might find some sort of ancient village, but it appeared that the island had been abandoned long ago because there were no signs of human habitation left.

The four friends were on guard, however. For all they knew, there could be Death Eaters on the island watching their every move.

The little Kneazle, who Harry insisted they bring, followed them closely as they searched the island. She occasionally left their sides to explore a bit on her own, but she always returned swiftly. It seemed as if she didn't want to get left behind.

They picked their way across the landscape with their wands out, searching for the ancient wizard's temple. Each of them was growing more and more tired with each step, Harry especially. They only had another few moments of light before the sun set completely, and they had no idea how to find what they were looking for.

"This has gotta be it. We followed the map carefully and the compass directions seemed right. We even used Point-Me spells! This has gotta be it!" yelled Harry out loud in frustration. He was getting really worried that something may have happened to the temple after all these years, and that they may not be able to rescue Sirius like they had planned; which meant Harry would live a life time dreaming, hearing, and seeing memories that were not his own.

Draco looked at him worriedly and pulled him near. Placing a hand at the nape of the dark haired teen's neck he brought his head down until their foreheads were touching. Harry breathed in his wonderful scent deeply. Draco never said a word, but the comfort this simple gesture brought him was amazing. The blond kissed his temple to reassure him and pulled away.

Hermione looked at Ron and approached the pair cautiously. "Don't worry, Harry. I'm sure this is Donn Island. We just have to keep on looking… wait a minute…I just thought of something… Didn't you say that the Veil's archway was subterranean?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah… underground…"

"So all this time we've been looking for the temple. Maybe the temple itself is underground too…" she offered. Her soft brown eyes looked at him hopefully. He knew she wanted to save Sirius as much as he did.

"Then how are we supposed to find it! I've tried Point-Me spells, but they're not working!" Harry felt himself begin to panic again slightly as he looked around at the landscape. This was harder than he had expected. Everything had seemed so easy when he planned it all down on paper.

It was Ron now that approached him in an attempt to relieve his worries. "Harry, mate, calm down. We'll find it! I know you wanted to be there before midnight, but Beltane lasts 24 hours. I'm sure that the Veil will still be at its thinnest during that time."

"Ron's right. We have plenty of time," said Draco rubbing his back. "Maybe we should start looking for a cave or some sort of entrance while we still have a few minutes of light."

"Yeah, I guess," said Harry as he nodded.

They began their arduous search once again; occasionally going back to cover ground they went over before in case they missed anything. As much as they wanted to split up to increase their search, they decided to stick together for safety reasons. The moved quietly as it grew darker and darker, each hoping that they would find the entrance soon. The only noises they heard in the dead of the night were the croak of frogs and the sound of the waves crashing against the beach a short distance away. As night fell, they lit their wands with a Lumos spell so that they could continue to search in the blackness.

"Hey Harry…" said Ron cautiously, peering into the night. "You don't suppose there's any spiders here do you?"

"Not sure…" he replied, smiling gently. Harry knew what a phobic the red head was about them. "Probably small ones… just like anywhere else."

Draco laughed out loud. "What's wrong Weasley… scared of an itsy bitsy spider?"

Hermione gave him a fierce look as if to say, "Knock it off!"

Ron mumbled, "You haven't been almost eaten by a herd of Acromantulas…"

"Acro-what?" asked the blond, trying to pick up on what he had said.

"Never mind…"

It grew quiet at one moment, and they found themselves puzzled by the lack of sound. It was as if the night was holding its breath in fear of some unknown danger. Suddenly, a loud noise broke the silence. A small flock of birds took flight loudly from a grouping of trees as if something had spooked them. Upon closer inspection it appeared as if that something was moving through the bushes and was headed right towards them. They looked at one another worriedly and held their wands at the ready.

Draco, who looked somewhat frightened, was about to stun the creature coming towards them, when Harry's arm darted out and pushed his wand towards the ground. "No, don't!"

The blond was about to ask why when the little Kneazle came bounding out of the bushes and ran towards him. Ron and Hermione suppressed their giggles as the tiny creature rubbed up affectionately at his legs and purred like she hadn't seem in him a long while, when it really had been only a few minutes.

"Ugh! Stupid bloody thing… get away from me!" he shouted looking rather embarrassed about the situation.

"Mrrarow…" the Kneazle called, putting her two front paws on his pant leg like she wanted to be picked up.

"Get off me!" he said pushing her away. Draco began walking again quickly, determined to continue searching for what they had come for. The Kneazle followed her master obediently, but looked sad that she had been rejected.

The others caught up quickly, teasing him for being afraid of his own pet. "Oh no, what's that in the bushes!" Ron joked.

"Ha ha… very funny. We should never have brought it with us in the first place. If there was anyone following us, that racket it just caused certainly gave away our location!" Draco said, walking a bit quicker. "Stupid thing is just bad luck!"

Just as he finished his last word, he tripped rather ungracefully over a rock and fell forwards. He caught himself just as his upper body was going to slam into the ground. He got up angrily and began to dust off his already filthy clothes.

"Are you alright?" asked Harry, trying to hide the smirk on his face.

"I'm fine!" he shouted. The little Kneazle tried rubbing up against him again to show that she was concerned, but he grabbed her and picked her so that they were face to face. The sneer that he had plastered on his face was very familiar to the trio. They had seen that disdainful look many times in their first five years at Hogwarts. "You're nothing but a jinx! Now get out of here and leave me alone!" he shouted into her furry face. He then tossed her aside, and looked satisfied when she ran away without looking back.

"Hey! That was pretty harsh! It wasn't her fault that you tripped, so why are you taking it out on her!" said Hermione, ever the cat lover.

"I don't care! We have a mission to complete, and I can't concentrate with it in the way. Now let's go!"

"No, you can't just leave her here! That's cruel! You're such a Slytherin sometimes," she retorted. Draco walked away from her after the last comment.

"He's just being a git because he's embarrassed he tripped. There is still a lot of the old Malfoy in him. He'll get over it and realize he was a jerk," explained Harry, knowing that he understood the blonde's idiosyncrasies better than any of them. "Don't worry, 'Mione. She'll turn up like she always does. And if she doesn't then we'll look for her once we've saved Sirius." He was getting quite fond of the Kneazle too. He hated to think about the poor creature on its own out there, but he had to stay focused on the mission.

"Fine!" she replied, although she didn't look too happy about it. Ron grabbed her hand and gave her a small smile. Her devotion to all creatures, big and small, was one of the things he loved about her. She had a big heart and would stop at nothing to ensure the well being of any animal.

After searching in the dark for another hour or so, the group was starting to wonder if the temple ever really existed. They had yet to find any sign of it anywhere. They took a break on a few boulders and looked at one another in despair. They hated to think that they had come all this way for nothing.

Harry had been leaning up against Draco, who was seated behind him, when he noticed their little friend had returned. No one else had seemed to notice. Ron and Hermione were currently sitting apart from them to enjoy a bit of privacy, and he was pretty sure that Draco had his eyes closed behind him taking a bit of a rest.

She looked rather anxious and was turning around in circles excitedly. Harry had stood up to greet her when she took off towards a cluster or rocks. Puzzled by her behavior, he sat back down and leaned into Draco again.

"What was that all about?" he asked in confusion, opening his eyes when Harry first left and then returned to his embrace.

"Oh nothing… Jinx came back and when I went to pet her she ran away…" Harry replied turning to look up at his boyfriend.

Draco looked bewildered. "Who the hell is Jinx?"

"Your Kneazle… you said yourself that she was nothing but a Jinx, and I thought it would be a cute name…" He smiled up at him, knowing that now it had a name Draco wouldn't be as quick to discard it. Harry had an inexplicable feeling that Draco would come to rely on her as most wizards do with their familiars. He just had to admit that she wasn't all that bad.

"Yeah… real cute…" he replied sarcastically.

Just then, Jinx made another appearance. "What do you want?" Draco asked it with annoyance, standing up with Harry. But when they tried to approach her she darted off again.

"I think she wants you to follow her," said Hermione. She and Ron had heard their conversation and decided to join them again. "Crookshanks acted like this once before. Harry, remember when he led us through the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack? I think that he may be part Kneazle. They are known to guide witches and wizards when they are lost. Despite what you may think they are really intelligent creatures," she added to solidify her argument.

"Why would it want us to follow?" asked Draco.

"Cats can see really well in the dark, and Kneazles and cats are closely related. Maybe Jinx found something that we overlooked in the dark." Seeing the cat-like creature a near the line of bushes, Ron said, "There she is. C'mon… what have we got to lose?"

"Yeah right. She probably just found another flock of birds to scare up," he mumbled as he crossed his arms defiantly.

"Ron's right. Jinx might have found something. Let's follow her a bit…" said Harry, tugging on Draco's sleeve. He was suspicious that their new friend had discovered something important, and he was anxious to get to the temple as soon as possible. Maybe she could actually lead the way.

"Fine… but don't blame me when we end up walking around in circles chasing a field mouse!" he exclaimed.

Seeing that Draco was walking towards her, Jinx turned around in a circle anxiously and trotted off toward the cluster of rocks once again. She moved quickly through the night, dodging bushes and logs along the way. The four of them had to keep up a brisk jog in order to keep up with her.

Feeling rather fatigued, Harry began to lag behind a bit. His brain felt like mush and he was starting to get a headache. He assumed that he was still feeling the effects of the Dementor he had encountered, and he decided to stop to take a quick breather. Just as he was about to catch up to the others, the figure of a scornful looking woman stood before him, startling him greatly. Raising his illuminated wand he could see that she was dressed in formal looking robes and her hair was pulled back into a severe bun.

"What have I told you about fraternizing with those mudblood loving friends of yours? For Merlin's sake, I found out from a family friend that one of them is a half breed!" she screeched as she advanced up on him.

Harry recognized her instantly. Her familiar face was the same one from the horrid painting that hung in Black Manor on Grimmauld Place. This awful woman, although she seemed somewhat younger, was Sirius's mother. He backed away fearfully as she lunged over him. Part of him knew that this was probably just another hallucination, but that didn't mean it wasn't any less scary. The woman was supposed to have been dead for years!

"What were you thinking? Did you ever think about how badly this would reflect upon the Black family's good name!"

Her black eyes narrowed hatefully, and her lips were pursed like she had tasted something rather sour. The angry woman reminded him so much of his Aunt Petunia, that he half expected Uncle Vernon to arrive at any moment. He continued to back up until he fell awkwardly over fallen log.

"Harry!" shouted Draco, as the blond ran over to where he had landed. "What's wrong!"

Harry's beloved charged right through the apparition, unaware that she had ever been there, and reached his side quickly. Seeing that Mrs. Black had vanished from where she had been standing, Harry stood up shakily.

"Nothing…" mumbled Harry as he brushed off his jeans.

"That wasn't nothing… what spooked you?" Draco asked putting an arm around his shoulder.

Harry sighed deeply. "I had another hallucination."

"What happened?"

"Sirius's mother was yelling at me… well I guess I mean him…or she thought I was him… I mean… whatever… it's hard to explain…"

Draco looked down at him in the darkness and pulled him near. "I'm sorry… I wish I could somehow fix everything…" he muttered into his messy hair.

"I know…" replied Harry, whose face was buried in the tall blonde's shoulder.

"We're going to do this, okay? We're going to save your godfather and put end to your misery…"

"I hope so…" said Harry sadly. He was still having some doubts that they would ever find what they were looking for.

"C'mon… we need to keep looking..." said Draco, taking him by the hand.

They caught up with the others and before Ron could ask, Harry said, "I'm fine!" The red head shut his mouth quickly, but looked as though he still wanted to inquire about his friend anyway.

They finally reached the large pile of jagged boulders, and sighed in relief. They had thought originally that the boulders had been their destination, but Jinx ignored them and ambled towards the enormous hill that the boulders lay at the base of. She took a quick left and then began to navigate her way around the hill. When they finally reached the other side, they found that the rock had been cut into, leaving a steep flat wall that jutted up sharply from the ground. The boulders on the other were probably from when the rock was cut away.

Jinx sat down in front of the sheer face and wagged her tail back and forth. The others illuminated their wands more brightly and tried to figure out what she was staring at.

"See… I told you… this one is mental… it's staring a blank wall…" Draco complained.

Ron agreed reluctantly, "Yeah, I don't see anything either. Maybe we shouldn't have followed. Sorry I suggested it."

"No wait… look…" said Hermione, pointing her wand towards the rock wall.

"What?" asked Ron. He looked at the blank wall and then looked at her like she was now mental.

"Those are runes… do you see?" she asked Harry.

Very slowly oddly shaped markings etched their way into the rock in a semi circular fashion. They were similar to the ancient runes Harry had found on the archway at the Department of Mysteries. It was as if some invisible scribe were standing before them trying to communicate by carving into the rock itself. Jinx looked back at them expectantly. When it seemed like the last word had finally been etched, the runes began to shimmer magically.

"Yeah, can you translate them?" Harry asked his bushy haired friend.

"Yes," she replied excitedly. "I brought the books that I used to translate the markings that you showed me before. It'll take me a while, but I think I can do it." She placed her bag onto the ground and began to retrieve her precious tomes. She then sat down and began flipping through the pages quickly using her wand as her only means of light.

"Why couldn't we see them before? Why did they just now appear?" asked Ron curiously.

"Don't know… maybe there was some type of Notice-Me-Not Spell on the markings to keep people from finding this place," said Harry, rubbing his temples with his fingers. His headache was getting worse, and they hadn't even completed the last part of the mission.

"Hey, look at this!" Draco shouted, as he began walking towards the rock.

Beneath the strange carvings a rudimentary cave opening slowly appeared. Like the entrance to Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron, the stones jutted out of the wall began to quiver and wriggle until they rearranged themselves completely to reveal the entrance. It must have sensed a wizard's presence and opened up accordingly.

The cave entrance was held up by an archway and supported on either side with stone pillars. The opening was so old and decrepit that it looked as if it might collapse in on itself at any moment. Harry felt his heart quicken, knowing that they would have to go in there. He hated confined spaces with a passion. He just hoped that it had the same spells the Weasley's used on the Burrow to keep it all together.

"This has gotta be the entrance to the underground temple!" said Harry, walking towards the opening curiously. As he neared however, he felt a distinctive magical force between himself and the entrance. It felt as if the air itself were electrically charged. He took a hesitant step back and looked at the others. "It's protected by wards."

Ron picked up a stone he found on the ground and threw it towards the cave entrance. About a meter away from the opening, the stone was caught in mid air as the wards began to react to the intrusion. A bright blue force field illuminated the dark sky, as it crushed the stone into smithereens. The light dissipated as quickly as it appeared.

"Great!" Draco said sarcastically. "How are we going to get past them?"

"I'm not sure. The Celtic Mythology book I read only mentioned that the wards were erected by Merlin himself. It didn't say how to remove them or get past them," Harry replied.

He hadn't really given much though to it before, and he was feeling rather stupid to have forgotten to research it. Wards could be quite tricky to remove because there were so many kinds and variations. Curse breakers, like Bill Weasley, could spend months trying to destabilize a ward. The strength and power behind the spell used to erect a protective ward depended on the witch or wizard who cast it. If Merlin had put these wards in place like legend says, Harry was sure they would have little or no chance at removing them.

"What about your mother's research? Do you think she may have mentioned a spell that would help us?" asked Ron, taking a seat on nearby rock.

Harry shrugged, "I don't recall her ever mentioning one, but I'll look again."

After retrieving it from his shoulder bag, Harry began flipping through his mother's journal. Hermione was still feverishly trying to translate the runes. Like before, she had to first translate the runes into Latin and then use another book to transfer the Latin into English.

"Nope, nothing…" Harry replied sadly as he held onto the old leather journal tightly. His mother's work may not be able to help them now, but it would be essential in helping to save Sirius once they were inside.

"Got it!" shouted Hermione, leaping off of the ground where she had been sitting. Her sudden outburst startled everyone greatly. Jinx ran over to Draco and stood behind him fearfully. "Solus natio per benevolentia itaque fidelis animi obduco"

"And that would mean….. what exactly?" asked Draco, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well this is really a loose translation, but I think it means: Only those with good intentions and are true of heart shall pass."

"How does that help us?" Draco's voice drawled. "That doesn't exactly sound like a spell to get past the wards."

"I don't know!" she retorted angrily. "That's just what the runes said."

Harry began to repeat the expression to himself, "The true of heart shall pass… true of heart…" It sounded like something he had read before about the Veil, but yet again it really didn't help them understand how to disengage the wards.

"What is it Jinxie?" asked Draco all of a sudden. Harry glanced over at the blond and noticed him kneeling beside the Kneazle, petting her somewhat absentmindedly. He must have already forgiven her for whatever he had thought she had done. Jinx had led them to the entrance to the temple after all, and he knew Draco would eventually have to swallow his pride and admit she had been helpful. He just didn't expect to see him warming up to her again so soon.

After receiving a few more strokes, she darted off towards the temple entrance, stopping just outside the wards. She glanced back at them for a moment before walking straight towards the wards, "Jinx don't!" Draco cried, as he watched his pet's bravery.

They all watched in morbid fascination, expecting the wards to stun her or possibly kill her, but she walked right through untouched. Once on the other side, she ran into the cave entrance and down the stone stairways that had appeared. A torch on the inside of the passage lit up brightly as she passed.

"I can't believe it…the wards didn't even harm her…" said Ron, his mouth hanging open in amazement.

The four friends looked at one another, hoping that one of them would know what to do next. Harry finally broke the silence after much deliberation with himself.

"I've been thinking," said Harry, "that the wards may have been placed here so that no one would come here for evil intentions and mess with the Veil somehow. What if someone came here for good intentions? Like to save someone who shouldn't have passed through the archway… Wouldn't they be able to pass through the wards unharmed, like Jinx?"

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. "I don't know, Harry, it sounds like an awfully big risk."

"Well, what other choice do we have? None of us know any good spells that can help us, and Jinx didn't seem to have any problem. I'm going to do it," he said determinedly.

Ron was angry about his decision. "Harry, no! We don't know what will happen to you! What if the wards allow animals to pass but not humans? Did you think of that?"

"Ron, I already considered that, and I'm sure about this. I didn't come all this way to be stopped by some stupid protection spell that a Kneazle can pass through!"

Ron was about to protest again when Draco intervened. "Fine, we'll do it together then," said Draco grabbing his hand.

"What? No!" Harry exclaimed.

"You're not doing this alone, so stop arguing with me so we can do this," he replied.

Harry looked up at him in amazement. He knew now that no matter what choices he made in his life, Draco would always be by his side. As much as he didn't want Draco do something as dangerous as testing a ward with him, he knew that arguing with him would be pointless. Once Draco set his mind to something there was no stopping him. Smiling slightly, Harry led him over towards where the wards began. Their skin began to tingle slightly as they got closer, but it was not painful.

"Ready?" Draco asked. Harry nodded, tightly gripping the blonde's hand on the left and squeezing his mother's journal in his other hand for comfort.

They stepped through together and found that they had already reached the other side safely. They both gave a huge sigh in relief. Hermione and Ron soon joined them.

"I didn't actually think Malfoy would be able to pass," said Ron sarcastically. "I never thought of him as being true of heart."

"Yeah, well, now you know. So maybe we can stop all this bickering, and you can finally see that I'm not the stupid prat that I once was," Draco said, rather seriously.

Ron as a little taken back by his remark, but he soon realized that what he said was true. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Let's go!" said Hermione.

Harry paused for a moment as he peered down the passage way, feeling little more apprehensive now that they were on the other side of the wards. "It's okay Harry, I'm right beside you…" said Draco, knowing about how he felt about enclosed spaces. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Harry nodded and took a cleansing breath to conquer his fear. Together they descended the narrow stone staircase, hesitant of what they would find below. Torches began to alight as they moved further and further below the surface, illuminating their path brightly. The steps were rather steep, and Harry and the others found themselves having to reach out to the walls on several occasions to prevent themselves from toppling forwards into the darkness.

When they had reached the bottom, they found themselves in a giant cavern, much to Harry's relief. He had half expected that they would have to navigate small tunnels to reach their destination. He could deal with a large cavernous room.

The air down here was thick, and the foursome found themselves shivering slightly against the cold. Torches, that lined the cave walls, magically ignited revealing their surroundings. A deep pool of water lay before them, completely covering the rocky floor. Stalagmites and stalactites protruded from the floor and ceiling, their water droplets echoing off the stone walls with each plop.

"Look! There it is!" said Harry excitedly, his voice sounding louder than it really was as it reverberated off the stone. The temple itself was on the other side of the underground cavern, and seemed to have been carved right out of the rock. Glancing down, Harry noticed that the only way across was to traverse a crumbling stone bridge that stretched 50 meters across the expanse of the cavern. The large pool water lay only a few feet below the top of the bridge, and there was no railing to prevent them from falling in.

Harry led the way, and the other three friends followed behind him closely. They had to move in a single file line because of the narrowness of the bridge. Harry kept his eyes down; so that he could make sure that he stepped carefully. The bridge itself was rather slippery and any wrong step would cause him to fall into the black water.

As they walked, Harry and the others noticed something moving through the dark liquid, sending large ripples that pierced the water's surface. A fish like creature, maybe four feet long, was swimming back and forth beside them. Upon closer examination, there appeared to be several of them. The creatures' silvery black scales shined in the torchlight whenever they neared the surface. Their overly large teeth protruded menacingly from their jaws and extended past their mouths. Each razor sharp tooth looked like it could saw a man in half for they were all serrated. Harry tried not to think about what was currently hunting them and placed his focus on the bridge itself.

They were almost on the other side, when Harry heard a scream. "Ron! Help!" Hermione shouted as she slipped and fell over the side of the bridge.

The tall red head instantly whipped around and grabbed for one of Hermione's left arm, just as her lower half entered the water below. Holding onto Ron, she tried to scramble up the side of bridge, but the walls were too slippery and she fall back into the water.

One of the monstrous fish was coming towards her with its mouth open wide. Ron was just about to pull her up when the large fish lunged at Hermione. Luckily, the only thing it managed to bite into was her knapsack that was on her back. The strange fish used its large head to shaking her pack violently back and forth in order to dislodge it, and Ron was having a hard time holding onto her. The force of the shaking and the added weight of the creature were putting quite a strain on his arms. His hands were slipping under the strain.

Hermione screamed as another fish began to draw near from the other side of the cave. Harry wanted to help, but the bridge was to narrow for him to get around the blond behind him. Draco, who was in front of Ron, quickly grabbed her other arm.

"Let go of Ron's hand and take your arm out of your bag's strap!" Draco shouted, watching as the other monster began to draw near. Ron looked at him warily wondering if he could be trusted, but Hermione let go and quickly maneuvered her arm out of strap. She then grabbed Ron's hand and did the same with her right arm, letting go of Draco temporarily.

Together hoisted her back to safety just as the other fish was about to close in on her. The fish that still held onto her bag had fallen back into the water and swam away. They had used so much force that they almost fell over the other side, and it took a moment for them to regain there balance. They watched briefly as her bag floated away, with no hope of ever retrieving it.

"Thanks," she muttered to them graciously, as she watched the gruesome creature swim away. "Sorry I lost balance… I'm not even sure what happened."

"No problem," answered Draco.

As an after though she added, "I hope Madame Pince isn't upset that I lost some of her library books."

Ron hugged her tightly to reassure her that it would be okay. "You were almost eaten by a very large fish, and you're worried about books. I swear… you need to get that head of yours on straight."

Ron then performed the same drying charm on her that she had used on him earlier that day; proud that he had finally remembered it. He then kissed her on the cheek before placing her in firmly between him and Draco so she couldn't fall again.

Once they were sure that no one would lose their balance again, they finished crossing the bridge. They found Jinx anxiously waiting for them on the other side. She didn't seem to like the nasty fish either. The temple itself was much smaller than Harry had imagined, but he figured that it was probably because it had to be carved out of the rocks instead of built on land.

They walked through the front entrance and found themselves staring at a main corridor, which various rooms and small hallways extended off from. Like before, magical torches lit their pathway. Moving together as a group, they glanced quickly into each one searching for an archway similar to the one at Ministry of Magic, but each room was completely barren. The only signs that anyone had once been here were the occasional mural on the walls and ancient runes that marked the tops of each doorway.

"I think this is it," said Harry as they reached the far end of the corridor. Jinx seemed to think so as well because she was pacing back and forth along the far wall.

There they found a single wooden door. Around the threshold was a brilliantly colored mural, which depicted the day that the Veils were created. Just like in wizard paintings, the images in the mural moved magically. In the far upper right corner was the image of a red haired woman dressed in billowing teal colored robes. She looked to be in great distress and appeared to be weeping. Her position in the mural, above the rest of the landscape indicated that she had died and was now in the otherworld, which Muggles called heaven. Harry wondered if her sadness stemmed from having to leave her true love behind.

An ancient looking wizard on the lower left side of the mural was casting a powerful spell, and the natural forces around him caused the wind and leaves to swirl around him. Harry remembered reading that Donn had been trying to contact his long lost love, Mira, in the Otherworld Mag Mell through a series of magical spells and charms, when he accidentally punched a hole through our world leading to the next. The wizard in the mural then raised the staff he held in his right hand high above his head and a bright blue light shot out of it. Two "holes" were created and they appeared on either side of door. Slowly an archway covered in a tattered Veil appeared in front of each hole indicating the existence of the two portals between the worlds. The wizard Donn lowered his staff and then his head realizing what he had done. His true love, still unable to speak with Donn in her afterlife, continued to weep with sadness. Soon the whole scene began to repeat itself, like it was stuck on an endless loop.

"This is amazing," said Draco, gazing at the wall in wonder. "I've never seen anything like this."

"Nor have I," replied Ron, "but we should see what's behind this door. We haven't technically found the Veil yet."

The red head tried to turn the handle on the door, but it wouldn't budge. Draco tried himself, thinking that Ron wasn't doing it right, but found it immovable as well. After examining the handle carefully, Hermione tried a standard unlocking charm, but still the door wouldn't open. They looked at one another in frustration, not knowing what to do next.

On a whim, Harry stepped forward and placed his hand on handle. He closed his eyes and felt it turn in the palm of his hand. "How did you do that?" asked Ron incredulously.

Harry shrugged uncertainly, before pulling the door open wide and peered inside. The sight that greeted him was a huge relief. There, in the middle of the room, stood the other stone archway. Like the Department of Mysteries, it was covered in a tattered Veil, but the archway itself lacked the ancient runes that the Ministry arch had. This one must have never been used to punish criminals. The black Veil swayed in the archway slightly although there was no breeze in the room. In front of it lay some sort of stone altar.

Harry walked into the room and instantly felt his connection to Sirius strengthen. His head felt heavy, as if Sirius's memories were trying to make room in his head for all of them. Glancing at his watch, he realized that it was already past midnight. Beltane had begun.

He walked towards what he thought was an altar, and discovered that it was a basin, just like his mother had said there would be in her research. The walls on either side of the structure came up about three feet high, but hole in the basin was only a foot deep meaning that solid stone must lie beneath it. Runes had been carved around the lip of the basin, but they were so worn with age that they were no longer distinguishable. Harry didn't care, however; he already knew what he needed to do. From this distance he could hear the shadowy whispers coming from beyond the Veil, but he ignored them in an attempt to concentrate on his next task.

The others watched him, as he wordlessly set to work. First, he started two large fires on either side of the room in large open hearths. In Celtic Mythology people would build two large fires on open plains and drive their herds between them. The seasonal ritual celebrated the return of life and fruitfulness in Spring. Beltane is about honoring life, and by using the fires in the temple, Harry hoped to ward off any evil spirits and promote good will before he brought Sirius back.

He opened the journal he had been carrying to the proper page and set it on the stone structure for easy access. He then gathered the things he needed from his bag and began to enlarge them one by one. He also slipped an important item into one of his pockets before anyone could notice what he was doing.

"I will need some water," Harry said, handing several empty canteens to Ron. The red head looked like he was about to ask where he was supposed to get water and when he remembered the hazardous pool they had crossed to get here. He sighed deeply, but left the room to obtain to what Harry needed. He returned quickly, looking a little pale, and handed Harry the canteens

"Did you purify it?" the smaller teen asked.

"Of course," Ron replied nonchalantly. "I do pay attention in class occasionally."

Harry set up his large cauldron beside the basin and poured the water into it. He then cast a fire to begin the boiling process.

"Can I help?" asked Hermione. Harry wanted to say no, but decided that he could probably use the assistance. His headache had not diminished in the slightest and he was worried that he may make a mistake. Hermione and her expertise would make sure that wouldn't happen.

"Yeah, I'll hand you the ingredients and you can measure and add them to the potion. This needs to be stirred continuously in a clockwise fashion as well."

"No problem," she said, spelling the spoon he had placed in the cauldron to stir on its own.

"Good thinking," Harry replied. She smiled sweetly at him, grateful that he had actually asked for her help.

"What can we do?" asked Draco, feeling a little put out that Harry had asked Hermione to help and not him. The blonde was as skilled as she was in potions, if not more.

"I guess nothing…" Harry said distractedly, as he squinted in the torch light to read his mother's directions.

Draco sulked, but didn't say a word. Ron took a position at the door and it seemed to be standing guard. They still had no way of knowing if they had been followed. Jinx kept her distance from the Veil, and continued to eye it warily. She eventually positioned herself beside Draco, and waited patiently.

Together, Harry and Hermione created the potion, adding each ingredient at the proper time. With each new substance the potion turned a different color, indicating that the proper reaction had taken place. The process took longer than expected, but they finally added one more ingredient, which was spine of Lion Fish.

The surface began not only to bubble, but also began to send out fiery sparks, as though it were on fire. Hermione and Harry quickly took a step back. The steamed thickened and sent smoking tendrils wafting towards the ceiling. Harry was reminded of the potion Wormtail created to resurrect Voldemort when he was held captive at the cemetery.

Harry never said a word about it, but the entire time they worked together, he had been hearing disturbing voices. They weren't coming from the Veil, however. These were the same voices that had haunted him during his dreams about Sirius. Thankful that he wasn't hallucinating also, he did his best to ignore them and concentrated on the potion. A few times Hermione had glanced over at him knowingly, but Harry chose not to say anything to her about it. Hopefully, all of these horrible delusions would go away soon enough.

After checking to see that the potion was of the right consistency, Harry looked over at his friends and indicated that it was ready. He grabbed the journal that had been resting on the edge of the stone and quickly re-read the contents, making sure he had done everything correctly. Together, Ron and Draco levitated the cauldron and carefully spilled the contents into the stone basin with a wave of their wands.

Harry had memorized the spell he had to use bring back Sirius long ago, so he placed his mother's journal back into his bag for safe keeping. The shimmering liquid began swirling around the basin, and Harry took his position beside it so that he was facing the Veil.

"Whatever happens now… please don't interfere!" he said loudly, turning his head slightly to make his point clear. The three friends nodded reluctantly and took a step back to indicate that they understood. Neither one, however, put their wands away. They held them at the ready in case something went terribly wrong.

Harry turned his attention back to the archway and stared at the darkness that lay just beyond the billowing fabric. He could hear the voices much more clearly now, but there was only voice in particular that he would be searching for.

Remembering how he reached Sirius last time, he took slow steady breaths, inhaling and exhaling through his nose, trying to clear his mind of all thoughts. He then concentrated on locating Sirius in Limbo by thinking about the happy memories he had of him. He soon felt an uncomfortable pull on his solar plexus as an invisible web-like connection was made between Harry and his godfather. It was much easier than last time because the Veil was already at its thinnest because of Beltane.

Closing his eyes tightly, Harry saw spidery like stands of white light emanating from his chest as the energy coursed between him and the Veil. Like before, the feathery strands then began to encircle his head and shoulders, but he felt no fear. Behind his closed eyes, Harry soon saw the ghostly form of Sirius's soul.

"Harry!" the man called out to him.

"Hold on Sirius! I'm going to get you out of here. Whatever happens, don't break our connection or I may lose you forever…" he said in his mind.

Sirius nodded that he understood. "Be careful Harry, don't risk yourself for me!"

Harry opened his eyes, and could see the temple room come into focus once again. Although he could no longer see Sirius standing before him just beyond the Veil, he could still feel their connection.

He reached into his pocket and retrieved the small dagger that he had hidden there earlier. Now all the potion needed was the final ingredient and he could perform the spell. He stared down at the simmering liquid as he rolled up the sleeve on his left arm. He then glanced at the many scars that lined his pale skin and brought the dagger to it.

"Harry, no!" screamed Draco, grabbing the hand that held the dagger while Ron pulled back his exposed arm.

"No! Stop! Don't interfere!" Harry screamed trying to struggle free without losing the connection. He sensed that Sirius was concerned about him from the other side. He must be able to read his emotions through their link right now.

"You can't do this Harry! You promised me you wouldn't cut anymore!" Draco yelled, his eyes shining with emotion.

"You don't understand! I need to perform a blood sacrifice in order to complete the potion… it's blood magic!" he tried to explain.

"How much?" Draco finally asked. When Harry didn't answer he knew that it meant it needed a lot. "Fine, then we'll all add our own blood, that way it doesn't have to all be from you."

"Draco's right, Harry. If I remember correctly blood magic doesn't have to be confined to one person making the sacrifice," said Hermione.

"But it has to be from someone who loved him!" Harry knew it was a bad idea to allow them to come along.

Hermione tried to reason with him, "Harry, we all loved Sirius, even if he wasn't our godfather. Ron and I spent a lot of time with him that summer before our 5th year. And even if Draco didn't know him all that well, they were cousins by blood. That has to count for something…"

"I don't know…"

"Well, you don't have a choice… I'm not going to risk losing you…" Draco replied.

He pried the dagger from Harry's hand and swiftly cut his left hand across the palm. Holding it over the basin, Harry watched in fascination as it began to drip into the swirling potion. He then handed the knife to Ron and Hermione who did the same, pain etched on their faces as they held their hands over the potion as well.

Harry was about to reach for the dagger himself when Draco grabbed his left hand. "No, let me do it," he said. Harry was sure that his boyfriend was trying to prevent him from cutting himself at all costs. He watched as he sliced his left palm gently, leaving only a very shallow cut that wouldn't bleed very much.

"That's not enough!" he protested. He was accustomed to cutting his arms, which tended to bleed more because of the number of large veins.

"It's enough…" Draco replied holding Harry's hand out with his own bloodied hand.

The four of them stood there, dripping their crimson blood over the stone basin and watched as it slowly turned dark red. Harry felt a small sense of satisfaction at the pain he felt in his hand, and knew that it was because of his addiction. It was just like old times. He could ignore everything else going on around him, and focus on the pain. It left him feeling much more clear-headed than he was before. He only wished that he could have bled more freely. He hadn't cut in months, and he had been counting on this moment for a long time now because of his promise to Draco. He felt slightly robbed of the experience.

When the sacrifice was complete, Harry used a spell he knew to heal his friends' hands. He didn't want to see them in pain or bleed any longer. Unfortunately, he wasn't as skilled as Madame Pomfrey and they were each left with a faint scar; a constant reminder of this perilous journey. Ignoring his own laceration, he prepared to perform the final spell.

Draco grabbed his hand before he could do anything else and healed him properly as well. Seeing that the blood had vanished and scar was now in its place, Harry felt saddened. He had kind of wanted it to heal on its own, but he didn't have that choice any longer.

"Thank you," Harry muttered. "Now please step aside."

He waited until the others stepped back to the original positions before he continued. He took another deep breath, closed his eyes, and concentrated on the connection. "Sirius, are you still with me?"

"Yes, are you alright?" Sirius shouted with concern.

"I'm fine. Now get ready, I'm going to bring you through the Veil. Don't break the connection!"

"Okay…"

Harry opened his eyes, and grabbed his wand from where he had stowed it up his sleeve. He pointed the wand straight at the Veil and yelled "Solara Reverto!"

A white light shot out of his wand and passed through the Veil, when he felt the light connect with Sirius's soul, he mentally began to draw the light back. It took a lot more exertion than he expected and he had to hold onto his wand with both hands he was shaking so badly.

The room was now swirling around him dizzyingly and Harry was having trouble concentrating. Part of his mind felt like it was Limbo again, and the other part felt like it was still here in reality. He could feel the darkness that had plagued him while he was there in the otherworld calling to him and Harry struggled to remain conscious.

His body was slowly weakening under the strain, and he was seriously starting to wonder if he would be able to complete this task. Never before had he cast such powerful magic. He knew he couldn't fail, the lives both he and Sirius was a stake now. He would stop at nothing.

Suddenly, the walls of the temple began to shake, and he could hear his friend's frightened cries behind him as dust and debris fell from the ceiling. The magic he was using was more powerful than he had ever expected.

He concentrated even harder on bringing Sirius out and tried to block out everything that was going on around him. Slowly a glowing ball of light connected to the end of the spell emanating from his wand began to reveal itself through the Veil. It was Sirius's soul. Now all he had to do was to direct his soul to the stone basin where his body could begin to reanimate itself with the potion. Since he had no body to come back to, it was essential that the blood sacrifice had taken place. It was the only way his soul could return to its mortal form.

Harry could hear a commotion coming from behind him, but he kept his sights on saving Sirius. Bits and pieces of conversations floated their way into his ears, and Harry came to realize that Remus and Snape must have suddenly arrived.

"Harry! What's going on, Hermione! Ron, let me go!"

"No, Professor Lupin! Let him finish! He's bringing Sirius back! You can't interfere with the spell! They'll both be killed!"

"Draco! I'm very disappointed with you for leaving like that! There are Death Eaters all over this region!"

"Sev, I'll explain everything, but not right now!"

"What has the boy gotten himself into this time!"

"Harry! Sirius!"

Harry lifted Sirius's soul towards the stone basin and slowly lowered his wand and directed it at the potion. It was becoming increasingly hard for Harry to concentrate and he felt only semi-conscious as he struggled to breathe normally under the strain.

The brilliant ball of light entered the swirling crimson liquid little by little, as if melting into it. Harry kept his focus on his wand, knowing that the spell was not over. He had to now put some of his own magical energy into the potion to bring Sirius back. Suddenly, the light from his wand changed from white to orange and the liquid in the basin reacted violently. It began swirling faster and faster around itself, until a crystal form began to take shape. Harry could feel what little magical energy he had left leave his body and enter the potion.

"What's happening!" Remus shouted.

Harry could barely stand upright from the effort he was forced to put into the spell. He knees slowly began to buckle. The crystalline image in the basin slowly morphed into that of a human male. Facial features and muscles along the body began to emerge and soon the almost transparent body became more solid. Fleshy hues appeared through the skin and Sirius's black hair became visible along various parts of his body.

Finally, when Harry was utterly exhausted from the spell casting, the soul transfer was complete. He dropped his wand to the floor and stared at the image before him in amazement. The naked form of Sirius lay in the stone basin where the potion had once been.

Harry suddenly collapsed in front of the stone structure, catching himself just before he fell completely. Draco ran to his side and put helped support his body. Jinx had followed him, and was now standing on her hind legs licking Harry's hand affectionately.

"Sirius…" Harry whispered, desperately trying to keep his eyes open. His head felt like it was spinning.

Sirius's body looked better than over. His days in Azkaban had taken a toll on him, and Harry had only ever known his haggard, tired appearance. All traces of that hardened life seemed to have been erased when he was brought back through the Veil. He was beautiful now. His soft skin was peach like a new born baby, and his black hair was lustrous how it had been in his youth.

"Sirius…" called Remus, as he joined Harry beside his best friend. "Is it really him?"

Harry nodded silently, wondering if he had done something wrong when he noticed Sirius hadn't awakened. Had Sirius died or something? Why wouldn't he wake up?

Remus shed his outer robe and placed it over his friend's body to preserve his dignity and began to search for a pulse. "He's alive," he said, with tears in his eyes. "You did it Harry. He's alive…"

Ron and Hermione came around to the other side of the basin to see their lost friend. Snape seemed to stand back from the others, watching them with restrained curiosity.

Suddenly, Sirius took a deep breath and his chest rose up to accommodate the volume of air in his lungs. Exhaling slowly, his eyelids fluttered open, revealing baby blue eyes. "Harry…" he whispered as he caught sight of his godson. He raised his left hand slightly, but it seemed as if it was a huge effort. Just as he was about to reach out to him, he passed out once again.

"What's wrong with him?" Harry asked Remus worriedly, his head still feeling rather foggy.

"I'm not sure…"

Harry was about to try standing up when he felt a blinding pain in his forehead. He had had a headache for most of the evening, but now it felt as if his head was going to split open from the agony. Realizing that this familiar pain was stemming from his infamous scar, Harry began to panic.

"No!" he screamed grabbing his forehead tightly to quell the torture that was coursing through his brain. He fell sideways and made no movement to try to rise again.

That was when he heard it. "Harry…" a voice called.

"Harry!" Remus and Draco both yelled, rushing to his side where he had fallen. "What's wrong?"

"Harry…"

"NO!" he moaned once again, feeling rather nauseous from his suffering. It felt as though someone was trying to poke around in his head. He suddenly realized what was happening, and he was terrified.

A maniacal laugh consumed his mind completely until it was all he could hear; Voldemort couldn't have been more delighted than to re-establish their old link. Harry was terrified of that horrible nightmare beginning once again. Unable to stay conscious through the pain and exhaustion, the small teen soon passed out.

A/N: Sirius lives! Yea! I hope you are all as excited as I am. I was deeply disturbed with how OoTP ended and this is my way of making things right. I hope you liked how this chapter turned out. Remus and Snape's sudden appearance will be explained in the next chapter since we only see this story from Harry's point of view. Sorry about the cliffie at the end there!

A/N2: I am excited to say that there is only one chapter left after this! It will be an epilogue and serve as a transitional piece between this story and the sequel, which will be called "Somewhere I Belong." The summer sequel will be the last story in the Soul Mate Series (trilogy). There will be more details about it in the next chapter. I don't think I have the energy to write a 7th year story for the universe I created. Who knows… maybe something will come to me later.

To be truthful I'm glad to see this story end as it turned out to be much more complex (and longer) than I have ever anticipated. The sequel will pick up right where this story stops and will span the length of the summer. I hope you all continue to read this series and still find it enjoyable.

Many thanks to all my reviewers! And around of applause for my beta Drae for putting up with my endlessly long chapters!