It was, by all accounts, a miracle. This had never happened before, and likely would never happen again, but it had happened, and that was what counted.
The Ministry of Magic was in ruins. Nobody had set foot in the building since November of 1996, nearly 10 years ago. But tonight, through some hiccough of fate, there was now an unconscious man lying on the floor. A man that the Wizarding world knew was long dead.
A waking grunt echoed across the room as one man stirred back to consciousness. He eyes slowing as he recalled exactly where he was. Something about… Voldemort… Death Eaters… Bellatrix… Harry…Harry!
Sirius Black sat straight up, suddenly everything thing rushing back to him.
"HARRY!" He screamed, jumping to his feet. "Harry! Where are you?" he yelled again, looking about wildly. A number of thought came rushing to him, about what horrible fate had befallen his godson. Was he dead? Had Voldemort taken him? Sirius panted and tried his hardest not to panic, and failed miserably. Steeling his nerves, Sirius started to run, prepared to face whatever evils waited him outside, but before he could, he felt a familiar sound not too far away.
The Veil.
His heart pounding against his ribs, Sirius slowing walked forward to the fluttering curtain. He remembered. Bellatrix had surprised him, and he had fallen... Through the veil. But if that was the case, he would be dead. And he was most certainly alive… Wasn't he?
Before Sirius could continue with his thoughts, however, a woman's voice interrupted him.
"Oh, are you awake? Very good, I suppose I was starting to become a bit worried."
Sirius looked quickly back, his hand at his side, reaching for his wand. Standing up near the top tier of benches was a woman that Sirius thought looked somewhat familiar. She had a kind face and long, straggly, blond hair. Large, unblinking, brown eyes watched him as though they were having tea, rather than having met moments ago.
Sirius blinked, slightly unnerved. "Er, hello? Who are you?" he asked, lowering his wand.
She smiled at him, "Oh, my apologies. My name is Stella, and you are Sirius Back."
Sirius blinked again, in surprise. "That's right… Why aren't you terrified of me? Aren't you worried I'll try to kill you?"
Stella smiled at him, "That's ridiculous. In any event, your friends will we back in a few minutes. I believe they went to find some Floo powder."
She suddenly looked past his shoulder the doorway behind him.
"Oh, and here they are!"
Sirius turned around and his heart nearly stopped beating.
James Potter smiled down at him, "Hey mate. What's up?"