A/N: Hello All! I've come out with my new chapter AND...I have a bit of background information on Sirius' escape from the veil! I wasn't ever planning on adding this back-story b/c I have another fan fiction that ties into this one planned (a pre-quel of sorts) set in the MWPP era. If you want a little taste go back to 'her sacrifice II' and read carefully the occlumency scene. Also you'll get a bit of a preview in this chapter as well. It really just kind of came out when I wrote it so I kept it in. Have fun and don't forget to review!

As soon as Harry untangled himself from his sheets of death he was at Rinoa's bedside and trying to figure out what was going on. Rinoa was ghostly pale, to the point where one could not distinguish between her skin and the crisp hospital sheets. This fact only made the wounds stand out more in comparison, and her lips had taken on a bluish purple tint. While these aspects where disturbing to Harry, the fact that Rinoa looked to be in the grips of a seizure scared him to no end. Her body was thrashing from side to side and it reminded Harry of how people had described him when he was in the throws of a Voldemort vision. At this thought a very sharp pain ran through Harry's scar, it was not a debilitating pain ( in all actuality Harry had not experienced a "real" Voldemort vision since the beginning of summer, he had attributed it to the occlumency lessons that they were all taking ) it was more of an alert that Voldemort was extremely unpleased at the moment, and Harry had to wonder if this was connected to Rinoa's thrashing.

As if to answer his question a brand new cut appeared on her cheek, creating a small diagonal cross with the wound already left by Lucius Malfoy's ring a week ago. This needed to stop. She could not keep this up for much longer, and it looked like Voldemort himself was now beating Professor Snape. As Harry thought this he saw his friend's eyes flutter open and her convulsions suddenly stop. He was immediately alert and watchful of any sign that she could hear him.

"Rinoa? Can you hear me?" he asked. She did not speak, but nodded her head slightly in response. Her eyes turned and focused on Harry and he knew she didn't have much time left if she kept up this powerful link.

"Rinoa, you need to stop this! You can't keep this up. You're going to die if you do, Madame Pomphrey said so!" he whispered

"He needs me." Her voice was raspy and soft; it was obvious that her screaming had caused some kind of damage to her voice and throat. She was weak, Harry could tell, and he desperately wanted to help her.

"Please Rhin, he wouldn't have wanted you to do all of this for him. You died Rhin! You died! What would he say to you if he knew that?"

"He knows. He's not happy about it," she scoffed in what Harry could only assume was a small laugh in spite of the situation.

"Then please, stop this, Rhin."

She gave a small nod and let out a breath as she turned her head away from him. A few seconds later her small form relaxed and she fell into a kind of sleep again. When Harry had been by her side for a few moments Poppy Pomphrey came into the makeshift room and ran Harry back out again while she worked on his friend.

Harry was released from the infirmary the next morning and was allowed to return to classes, and finally, his friends. He was especially happy about seeing Ginny. The two had decided not to make their growing fondness of each other public knowledge just yet. They could only imagine the magnitude of attention that it would bring them and wanted to avoid it at all costs.

As Harry walked into the Great Hall for the first time nearly a week he was amazed at it's beauty. It's amazing what one can take for granted when you see it everyday, and as Harry looked up at the enchanted night sky he realized that this was true for the people in his life along with his home.

He made his way to the far right and over to the Gryfindor table, and immediately spotted his ginger haired friend and girlfriend sitting with Hermione. They had a cheerful reunion and a pleasant meal.

The Gryfindor common room later that night...

"What do you suppose happened to Rinoa, Harry? I mean did she say anything to you while you were in the hospital wing together?" asked Ron when the four had sat down in the common room that night.

"No, not really. She was asleep most of the time, and the one time she was awake she didn't say anything to me."

"Dumbledore was really upset about it and everyone is trying to figure out how someone could have been attacked from outside the castle wards. I just don't understand how it is possible," said Hermione, obviously perplexed about the entire situation.

"She was acting rather strangely before it happened though wasn't she?" added Ginny.

"Yes, but that is understandable considering all of the stress she has been under lately. I mean she is Head Girl and now on top of all of her classes she is teaching potions with me, that would stress anyone out." Hermione was always the voice of reason and logic with this group, she never really had any farfetched theories like Ginny did.

"I think that she was having some secret love affair and it must have ended last month because she's been depressed for so long," said Ginny adding the amusing little idea. However, Harry found it very hard not to sputter at this comment because of how close it really was to the truth.

Rinoa was released from the Hospital wing two days later and by the end of the week was participating in training sessions with Sirius again along with the rest of the group. The students were all rapidly improving and Sirius was eager to give them some real fighting experience. So, he paired everyone off and while one pair dueled across the practice room the rest would watch.

Hermione and Luna went first, the pair were equally matched and were not nearly as good as some of the others, mainly because they had a tendency to logic out every move until one of them out logiced the other. Eventually Luna fell victim to Hermione's strategy and lost.

Ginny and Neville came next, the pair was rather interesting to watch because of how different their fighting styles were. Neville put all of his weight into his attacks and used large, over the top movements. Ginny on the other hand, was light on her feet and had speed on her side. After several minutes of Neville attacking and Ginny dodging she finally issued what would have been a fatal blow had a sparing charm not been in place to win.

Harry and Ron were both very good and their fight went on for a long time until both were exhausted and Ron eventually tripped Harry with a low kick and won the match.

Rinoa was the only one left to duel and since Sirius didn't want to have her duel one of the already tired students he offered to go easy on her. The match started out slow, both seeing what the other could do. Sirius was obviously not trying his hardest, and Rinoa was easing into the battle after her long stay in the hospital. However, when half an hour had passed and no one had won the battle stepped up a notch, the observers could tell Sirius was expending more and more energy in the fight by the increase of sweat on his brow, and Rinoa's usually impassive face held much more determination. At one point Sirius attacked and Rinoa had to block using a horizontal motion with her sword, as the two struggled for dominance Sirius glanced to her left hand, which was facing him as she held on to her weapon. On her left index finger was a ring, a ring he had seen before. The Snape family crest. His eyes widened and he grabbed a hold of her left wrist, effectively startling her enough to lower her sword.

"Where did you get that!" he was gripping her so tightly that her skin had turned white where his fingers were. Rinoa didn't answer him, in all actuality no one really expected her to, since her return from the attack she had barely spoken a word to anyone but Harry. She simply stared defiantly at Sirius and wrenched her hand away from him.

Rinoa resumed her defensive position until Sirius had lifted his sword in ready and the fight resumed with a new vigor. She was quicker and more amazing than they had ever seen her be in these practices and Sirius was having difficulty keeping up with her. After another ten minutes of exhausting fighting Rinoa swept Sirius' legs out from under him, promptly landing him on his back, and held him down with her foot. The scene was a frightening one, Rinoa had Sirius pinned down and her sword was at his foot. Her eyes showed no sign of the girl everyone knew, instead they were hard and vengeful. As quickly as the moment started it was over, she lifted her foot, sent her sword across the room to it's designated place on the wall, and left the room with out one look at the other occupants.

For a moment all anyone could do was stare after her.

"Maybe you should go after her, Harry. You're the only one she'll talk to lately," Hermione suggested.

"Alright."

Harry didn't have to look very hard to find her; she was by the lake where he had found her bleeding form not more than a week ago. She looked so small standing there in her baggy pants and tank top. She had a cloak on that Harry had never seen her wear though. It was black with silver trim and reminded him of the sword she had gotten earlier that year.

"Are you alright Rhin?"

"Not really."

"What happened in there, you looked like you were ready to kill Sirius?"

"I wouldn't have killed him, he just upset me. He reminded me of what everyone thinks of Sev. Of what everyone would have thought of us being together. I didn't think anyone would recognize it for what it was."

"Sirius was just startled, I'm sure. He wouldn't think any less of you because of everything that happened." Rinoa didn't respond for a moment, she looked to be in deep thought.

"My birthday is tomorrow, I imagine it will be the worst yet."

"Don't say that, I'm sure it will be great. You've got all of us this year."

"I don't have him." Harry didn't know how to respond to that statement, it was very difficult for him to see his friend like this and have no way to offer her any form of comfort. "I don't have my parents."

"Do you remember them?"

"Very little, I was almost three when they died. I suppose I'm lucky I can remember anything at all."

"I would think of it as bitter sweet myself. I wish I could remember mine all of the time, but at the same time I think it would make me miss them even more. Is that how it works?"

"Yes." At this point the two were seated on the grass and enjoying the cool November breeze flow through the grounds. Harry broke the silence eventually and the two slipped into an easy conversation about their parents.

"What do you remember about them?"

"Small things. The way my mother smelt, my fathers voice, things like that. I only have one real memory of them."

"What's that?"

"It was the day they died."

"You were there the day they died?"

"Yes, I saw everything. We were fleeing the manor to go to a safe house and Voldemort came in just as we were leaving. They ran in front of me and my mother shoved me under the table. He killed them, and by some miracle he didn't see me. I was under that table for five hours until the death eaters were gone and the ministry came. My God-mother had died earlier that year so Melissa took me in."

"Do you remember your God-mother?"

"I remember her funeral, that's all. It was outside and raining. Everyone was crying and at the end my mother went up to a dark haired man and gave him a hug. I didn't really understand what was going on." The two stayed like that for another hour until they decided to go inside out of the November chill.

Later that night...

Harry couldn't sleep that night, there was just too much information going around in his head. The fact that Rinoa had lost not only her parents but also her Godmother made Harry eternally grateful for the fact that he had not lost Sirius last summer. When the man had gone through the veil Harry had thought that his life was over, but when he received a visit from Remus two weeks into the summer telling him that Sirius was indeed alive and well he had never felt so relieved in all of his life.

It was at this moment that he began to wonder just why Sirius reacted so harshly to Rinoa and how he actually knew what the Snape family crest looked like. Was it something well known among pure-blooded families? He looked at the marauder's map and saw that Sirius was in the DADA classroom so he decided to go and see him.

When Harry reached the classroom he found Sirius pacing up and down the aisle mumbling to himself.

"Sirius?" The man in question turned around suddenly startled by the unexpected interruption.

"You shouldn't be here Harry, you're going to get into trouble."

"Why are you so upset? It can't be just because Rinoa beat you." Sirius sighed and motioned for Harry to come join him on top of one of the tables. Both men sat cross-legged and faced each other.

"I don't know why I'm even considering telling you this Harry, but I think you deserve to know what happened in the veil."

"What does that have to do with what happened at practice today?"

"Everything." Sirius sighed and ran his hand through his long, disheveled hair. "Promise me you won't interrupt until I'm done."

"Alright."

"The veil is a gateway to the after life, Harry. I was there for a total of three weeks and leaving was the hardest thing that I've ever had to do in my entire life. My wife died when I was twenty years old and not a day has gone by when I haven't longed to see her face again. For three weeks Harry I was granted my wish, but she's a stubborn little one and she made me come back. She said that there were people that I had to watch over for her. She wanted me to look after her goddaughter. I'll give you three guesses as to who she is." Harry's face portrayed a look of dawning enlightenment as he said the next word.

"Rinoa."

"Yes. So, I watched over the both of you as best I could and when I saw that ring on her finger today I felt like everything I did amounted to nothing at all."

"But Sirius, I don't understand why her having a ring is that big of a deal."

"That ring is the Snape family signet ring, Harry." At this statement Harry tried desperately to look surprised and skeptical.

"How do you know that, Sirius?"

"I've seen that ring before." The tone of Sirius's voice signaled the end of the conversation no matter how much Harry wanted it to go on. He had so much more that he wanted to ask, but he headed back to his room and attempted to get some sleep.

A/N: Ok, well do you like it? Seeeeeee stuff about the veil! I'm not done with it yet, though. There will be more stuff about the veil later on. REVIEW!!!!!

Kyntor Thanx for the advice. I'll take that into consideration.

Lillypotterfan tee hee thank you, don't worry.

Aalikane I LOOOOOVE ICE POPS my freezer is full of them!

Samyjoc ok soooo did you like the flashback thing with the veil. It just kind of happened when I wrote the chapter.

SlytherinGurl176 hahahaha the whole Rinoa dying thing will come into play again soon so watch out for it.

Nightwing 509 thank you please keep reading

Stella awwww I'm sorry I'm not more of a Ron/Hermione person, but I will try to put some fluffy moments in just for you. Keep reading.