Chapter three - Life goes on
Harry opened his eyes to see himself in a strange place. He felt like he was walking through a mist of clouds. He couldn't see anyone it was all white. He kept walking, thinking that he would reach somewhere but this place didn't seem to have an end.
Suddenly a form of a man appeared in front of him. Harry stopped to take a good look at the person who was coming forward to him. He couldn't believe his eyes. Sirius was standing in front of him smiling. Harry smiled back. He didn't know what to say. He felt stupid. He wanted to see Sirius and talk to him, but he never thought that his wish would come true.
"Hello Harry." Sirius said as he came closer.
"Sirius? Is that really you?" Harry replied.
Sirius looked around, "Do you see anyone else around?" he said jokingly.
Harry ran to him and hugged him. He was so happy to see his godfather again. He was alive! He knew it! If only Remus would let him go through the curtains and get Sirius out when they were at the Ministry. But somehow he felt strange. Sirius's body felt cold.
"Why didn't you get out from behind the curtains that night?" Harry asked. "I wanted to get you out of there but Remus didn't let me."
"He did the right thing Harry. That was my destiny." Sirius said. "No one can change destiny."
Harry pulled back to look at Sirius's eyes. They weren't the same as he remembered them to be. They were different now. They seemed to be glowing in pain.
"I really miss you." Harry said.
"I miss you too Harry. I wish we had some more time together. But it seems that life has never meant to be in the way we want."
"Tell me about it. Whenever I get to the point where I feel happy, something happens and everything turns upside down."
"But you talked to your aunt this morning and settled some issues, and you are back on the Quidditch team again. You're happy as I see and nothing bad happened."
"How do you know that?"
"A ghost's life has its interesting sides. I have been with you since the day you came back home."
Harry's eyes widened. "You were there all the time?"
"Yes. I couldn't leave you all alone now, could I?" Sirius said and smiled. "I wouldn't leave you no matter what. You may not be able to see me in your room, but I decided to meet you in your dream. There are things that you need to know."
"What things?"
"First, whenever you need me use the two-way mirror that I gave you. You'll be able to talk to me, but don't mention it to anyone."
"But I've broken it." Harry said with a feeling of guilt filling him. He has thrown the mirror away the day he tried to talk to Sirius after his death, thinking that he was still alive.
"If you open your trunk, you'll see it unharmed." Sirius said. "It was so stupid of you to go and break it."
"I didn't mean to."
"I know. But you have to learn to control your emotions. We don't want your aunt to be blown up again you know."
Harry smiled. "But how come it's unharmed?"
"As Fred and George would say in a situation like this: Do not ask any questions and I won't have to lie to you. This is one of the secrets of the second life Harry. I am sorry, but I can't tell you how I fixed it."
"Alright, I won't ask." Harry said.
"There's another thing you need to know." Sirius continued, "Today when your aunt told you about your mother. You felt that she was telling the truth, but you didn't seem to believe her."
"I think that she's telling the truth. She told me to ask her if I needed anything."
"Yes, I know. I was there when we went with James to take Lily to Diagon Alley and to King's Cross. I saw your aunt when she was younger and her true self. She wasn't the same as she is now. She was a loving and a caring sister. She was with your mother all the time. We took her with us once to Diagon Alley to do some shopping for Lily. But when her mother heard about that she went crazy and she didn't allow Petunia to talk to us."
"How come you never told me about this before?"
"Did we ever had the time to talk Harry? You know that both of us wanted to have some privet time with each other, but every time someone interrupted."
"Yeah, I remember." Harry said.
"One last thing Harry." Sirius said.
"What is it?"
"I need you to take care of Kreacher."
"What?"
"He is alone now at the house. He will go mad if he stayed with my mother's portrait. I want you to take Dobby with you and go to my house. Talk to Kreacher and convince him to go to Hogwarts. Dobby will be able to convince him to come."
"But Dobby has started a life of his own. He is demanding to be paid for working in the kitchen."
"And Dumbledore is paying him. I know. Dumbledore told me once. If you fail to convince Kreacher to go to Hogwarts bring some other house-elf with you. Anyone that you can trust to help you in convincing Kreacher."
"Maybe Winky will help. She feels about her master just like Kreacher feels about your mother."
"Anyone will do as long as Kreacher doesn't end up at the Malfoys. You know what might happen."
"Yeah. I will go there as soon as I can."
"Good." Sirius said as he put his palm on Harry's cheek. "If I see your father I'll tell him that you look just like him."
"And tell him to come to visit me just like you did."
"I'm not sure if he will be able to, but I'll tell him anyway. I need to go now Harry."
"No. Please Sirius. Not again." Harry said.
"I have to. Besides, you have the two-way mirror and you can call me whenever you need me."
"Will you come again?"
"I'll try. I still have to get used to this place. Now go back and don't turn around." Sirius said.
"I'll miss you Sirius." Harry said.
"I'll miss you too Harry. Now go." Sirius said and his image started to fade. "Go. And remember, life goes on."
Harry turned back and started to walk. He hardly managed to control himself from turning around and look at Sirius again, but suddenly he felt the light getting stronger and stinging his eyes.
Harry woke up to see it was a bright morning. He felt complete again. Sirius was dead, but he was with him all the time. He put his glasses on and got up. He opened the letter he wrote to Remus and added his dream in it. Then he called Hedwig and told her to take the letter to Remus. Hedwig took the letter and flew out of the window.
Harry walked to the window and stared at the clear sky. He could see Sirius looking at him from above. He smiled happily. He felt like Sirius was still at the Headquarters and that made him relax. He should start convincing Kreacher to move to Hogwarts. That would be the hardest thing to do. But he couldn't let Sirius down. He would call Dobby and Winky and ask them to help. Although he was sure that Dobby will start talking about how good it is to be free and to get paid for working. But that didn't seem to bother him. Everything will be fine as long as Kreacher doesn't go to the Malfoys.
Harry went downstairs to the kitchen. Everyone was still asleep. He put the kettle on the stove and was about to make himself some breakfast when his cousin appeared.
"What are you doing in our kitchen?" asked Dudley.
"If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to make some breakfast."
"Ha! You are stealing food from our kitchen! I'll tell dad about you!"
"Tell him a lie about me and you'll see a tree growing on your face instead of your nose." Harry said and took out his wand. Dudley saw the wand and ran out of the kitchen, terrified. Harry laughed at him. This summer was going to be the best he ever had.
THE END