A/N: Thanks again to all my lovely reviewers! If anyone has any suggestions for something they'd like to see in the story, I'd be happy to hear them. They may or may not be included, but I still appreciate any new ideas. As always, please review!

Chapter Three

Sirius and his three companions walked through the halls of Hogwarts in silence, but he could tell that James was still slightly suspicious of him. Not that he could blame him. After all, he probably wouldn't have been nearly so calm if someone had shown up at his old school looking like a carbon copy of his best friend. But then, the James Potter of his world was dead, so suspicion in that situation was perfectly understandable.

As they approached the Headmaster's office, Sirius was having a hard time not keeping from staring at Moony. He looked so much happier, so much healthier than the Remus of his own world that it made Sirius' heart ache. Sirius wondered once again how his Remus was faring. He missed his mate so much it hurt. Sirius forced his thoughts away from Remus and the events that could be taking place in his world at the moment, knowing that they wouldn't help the situation. When they finally stood outside the gargoyle leading to Dumbledore's office, James, who had been told the password by the Headmaster before he'd arrived, muttered, "Pixie Sticks." (A/N: I love Pixie Sticks!) The four men hurried up the winding staircase, wondering what Dumbledore would have to say about the current situation. Moony knocked on the door when they reached the top, before entering the room, followed by the others.

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, examining something that looked oddly like a pensieve, except that it was square, instead of bowl-shaped. He looked up as the men entered his office. "Ah, James, Sirius, Remus, I'm glad you could come on such short notice. Something odd has happened in Hogsmeade, and I was wondering if you three would…" The Headmaster trailed off as he finally noticed his other guest. He smiled. "Never mind, then. I see you've already found him."

The others looked at him in confusion. Sirius spoke up after a moment of silence. "Sir, you knew I was going to be here? How?"

Dumbledore's smiled widened, and the ever-present twinkle in his eyes brightened. "The answer to that is quite simple. This device I have here," he said, indicating the strange object he'd been handling earlier, "is a rather ingenious thing I developed several years ago. It allows me to see certain events that are happening in other universes, you see. It does have its limitations, of course. I can only use it at certain times, and even then it will only show me events that are occurring in places where our universe overlaps with another," he said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"What do you mean, our universe overlaps with others? How is that possible?" Padfoot asked, looking just as confused as the rest of them. Well, except for Sirius. He'd never heard of a device that could allow someone to see the events of other universes, but during a visit to a different world, he'd gotten a similar explanation of how travel across universes was possible from another Albus Dumbledore. (A/N: I hope that made sense)

Sirius said, "Unless I'm very much mistaken, there are certain places, like the room with the Veil in it in the Department of Mysteries that are connected an unlimited number of alternate universes. I don't think anyone knows how they are connected, and very few people even know for certain that alternate universes exist. But from what I understand, if you are present at one of those places of overlap at the right time – or wrong time, depending on how you look at it – it is possible to be pulled to a similar spot in an alternate universe. It is also possible to simply go through something like that Veil at any given time and end up in another universe, as I well know."

Dumbledore nodded. "Precisely, Mr. Black."

The others looked astounded. "So, let me get this straight," James said, looking between Dumbledore and Sirius. "You are the Sirius Black of an alternate universe?"

Padfoot, who was taking this all amazingly well, chuckled lightly. "I think that's been established, Prongs."

"Sir, I think I understand what you're saying," Moony began, cutting off James' retort. "What I don't get is why you wanted us to come. Why do you need us, if you've already figured out that Sirius is from a different universe?"

At this, James and Padfoot stopped bickering, and turned their attention back to the Headmaster. Dumbledore paused before answering. He looked directly at Sirius as began to speak slowly. "Centuries ago, some very powerful wizards developed a method of traveling between universes. It was originally used to send people from this universe to another, and then to bring them back. The spell, called Universitas, (A/N: Original, aren't I?) is very complicated, and requires the aid of the people closest to the one who is attempting the jump between dimensions. I have altered the spell so that we will be able to send you back," he said, still looking at Sirius. "However, it will be more likely to work if we know about your universe. Obviously, it is quite different from our own," Dumbledore said, taking in Sirius' somewhat battered and hardened appearance.

Sirius nodded. "So, after I tell you about my world, will you be able to send me back?"

"Not quite," Dumbledore said, leaning forward slightly in his seat. "You see, in order for my version of the spell to work properly, we will have to bring someone you are closely connected to in your world here. That will strength the connection to your universe, and allow the both of you to return."

Sirius wasn't quite sure he understood, and he could tell from the others' expressions that they were confused as well. However, he decided that more explanations could wait. "All right, then," he said, leaning back in his seat and trying to get comfortable. "What do you want to know?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Perhaps it would be best if you started off in your youth."

Sirius snorted. "What youth? I was raised by a bunch of prejudiced gits who hated my guts. I got beat every time I said something someone in my precious family didn't like, and even the house-elf was treated better than I was. My brother, Regulus, was nothing but a self-serving little coward who lived to do our parents' bidding. The first time I was ever really happy was when I went to Hogwarts and got sorted into Gryffindor," he said bitterly.

Padfoot nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Let me guess, you got a Howler from Mum the next morning, cursing you for being such a disgrace to the House of Black," he said with equal bitterness.

"Of course," Sirius said. "But I didn't give a shit. I was no longer surrounded by people who hated me, and that was all that mattered."

It took quite a while, but it was eventually determined that the differences between Sirius' universe and the one he was currently in had occurred after Hogwarts, during the First War with Voldemort. In fact, as far as Sirius could tell, their universes had been the same until about a month before James and Lily's deaths in his world.

"In this universe," James said, "we discovered that Peter was the traitor about two or three weeks before we performed the Fidelious Charm."

"He was sleeping over at my flat, because his house was being renovated," Moony said, revulsion written all over his pale face. "Sirius and I had just broken up, and so after Sirius moved out, there was plenty of room for Peter to stay there. I came home from work late one night, and found him passed out drunk on the couch. He'd said earlier that he was going out with a few friends of his from work, so I thought nothing of it. Until I caught sight of his left arm, which was hanging off the side of the couch, that is. I saw what looked like some sort of tattoo there, which I thought odd, because I couldn't remember Peter ever getting a tattoo. So naturally, I took a look at the arm. I was shocked to say the least when I realized it was the Dark Mark. Immediately, I pulled out my wand and put a sleeping spell on Peter so he wouldn't wake up while I alerted Dumbledore. A few days later, he was put on trial and sentenced to life in Azkaban for being a Death Eater, and for taking part in the torture and murder of the Prewett brothers."

"Remus and I got back together after that and became life-mates not long after," Padfoot said, looking at his mate with love in his eyes. "And I became James and Lily's Secret Keeper. Not long after, Dumbledore found another way to defeat Voldemort. We still had to use Harry, but he wasn't in any danger. I take it," he said, seeing the sad look on his counterpart's face, "that never happened in your universe."

Sirius sighed. "No, it didn't. Remus and I did break up, and Peter did move in with him for a while, but we didn't find out that he was the traitor until it was too late."

Seeing the puzzled looks on the others' faces, Sirius continued. "The original plan, once we learned that Voldemort was after James and Lily, was for me to be the Secret Keeper. Unfortunately, I came up with what I thought was a brilliant bluff. I convinced James and Lily to switch to Peter, believing that Voldemort would come after me, and never suspect that they would use a talentless thing like Wormtail. I was even so certain that the plan would work that I also convinced them not to tell anyone we'd switched Secret Keepers, not even Remus or Dumbledore." Everyone looked at Sirius with sympathy, knowing what was probably coming next.

"About a week later, on Halloween, I went to check on Peter. By this time, he'd gone into hiding, so he no longer lived with Remus. When I got to his house, it was completely empty," Sirius said, guilt written all over his face. "There was no sign of a struggle, and I could tell that something wasn't right. So, I set off for Godric's Hollow, hoping that I was wrong about him. I wasn't. When I got there, the house was destroyed. I found James and Lily's bodies-" At this point, Sirius broke off, tears streaming down his face. "They – they didn't even look dead. But I knew – knew they were. Their eyes- god, their eyes were completely lifeless. It was terrible. I didn't - I didn't know what to do. Hagrid had gotten there a few minutes before me, he'd been sent by Dumbledore to fetch Harry."

"Harry?" James asked, surprise evident in his voice. "How did Harry survive an attack by Voldemort? He was only a baby, he – he should have been - " He broke off, unable to say that his own son should have been killed by that monster.

"Lily," Sirius said tonelessly. "She sacrificed herself for Harry. Because she died to protect him, Lily left a magical shield against Voldemort in Harry's blood. When Voldemort tried to curse Harry, the spell backfired, destroying Voldemort's body, and leaving Harry with nothing but a scar."

"So Harry destroyed Voldemort as a baby, when no one else could?" James asked in awe.

"Voldemort wasn't destroyed," Sirius said shaking his head. "His body destroyed, along with most of his powers, but he was still around. From what I've been told, he was turned into a ghost of sorts, except that he wasn't dead. He was sort of like a consciousness without a body. It's difficult to explain. Anyway, I tried to get Hagrid to give Harry to me, as I was his godfather, but he wouldn't. He'd been sent by Dumbledore to take Harry to the Dursleys."

At this, James and Padfoot yelled in outrage. "What?" James shouted. "Dumbledore sent my son to live with them? But they hate wizards, and especially me and Lily! How could he do that to Harry?"

"He did it to protect him," Sirius said. He was beginning to get irritated with all the interruptions. "Dumbledore knew, or at least he suspected, that Voldemort would try to return. He also knew that if Voldemort ever did regain his powers, he would want to kill Harry. Therefore, he sent Harry to live with Lily's only living blood relatives, because the protection that Harry got from Lily's blood would extend to that house. While he still lives with Petunia, Harry can't be touched by Voldemort."

Before James and Padfoot could say anything else in protest, Moony asked, "So what happened after that? Did you go to Dumbledore and tell him the truth?"

Sirius laughed bitterly at that. "No, I did the third, or maybe fourth, stupidest thing I've ever done. Instead of telling anyone what really happened, I went after Peter. And I caught up to him, too. I found him in a street full of Muggles the next morning. Wormtail shouted for all the street to hear that I'd betrayed James and Lily, before cutting off his own finger, and using his wand to blow half the street apart. Then he transformed into a rat and ran down the sewers with the others of his kind. The Ministry officials showed up not long after, to find me holding my wand, surrounded by blood and bodies. Dear old Wormtail," Sirius said bitterly, "had not only framed me for betraying you and being a spy for Voldemort, but he'd also made it look as though I'd killed him and twelve innocent Muggles. Barty Crouch, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, saw to it that I was sent straight to Azkaban without a trial."

Sirius looked up to see that the others, even Dumbledore, had stricken expressions on their faces. "After that, a group of Death Eaters, my cousin Bellatrix included, went to the Longbottoms' house. They seemed to believe that Frank and Alice had information about Voldemort's whereabouts. So, they tortured them. Into insanity. According to Remus, Frank and Alice are now permanent residents in St. Mungo's, where their son Neville and Frank's mother visit them every holiday."

After several more long and difficult hours, Sirius finally finished his explanation. He hated the looks of sympathy he was getting, even from his own counterpart. Trying to avoid the faces of himself, his mate, and his dead best friend, Sirius looked at Dumbledore.

The aged Headmaster was, inexplicably, smiling once again. "Well, now that that is finished, we should be able to send you back soon enough, Sirius. Of course, we still have to bring someone over from your universe. Who would you like that to be?"

Sirius considered that for a moment. "Well, I'm closest to Remus and Harry. Remus would probably be best, though. After all, I'm bonded to him," he said.

Dumbledore nodded. "Remus it is, then. It will take a few hours, but I'll begin the process to get him here immediately. Now, why don't I send for a house-elf to show you where you'll be staying while you're here?"

Sirius nodded his agreement, but the others said they all needed to return home. However, they all promised to come back in the morning, in time to meet the Remus of Sirius' world. James even promised to bring Lily.

As Sirius followed the house-elf Dumbledore had summoned to the room he would be staying in, he could hardly resist running through the halls and jumping for joy. Not only would he be going back to his own world in a few days, but he'd also be able to see his Remus soon! He couldn't wait to be able to hold his beautiful mate in his arms once again.