Chapter 21 - A Feeble Hope

Remus left the infirmary the same evening already. Of course Madam Pomfrey protested vehemently against it, but Remus insisted that he couldn't remain lying there for as long as she would like him to - which would probably amount to a week at least. His main argument was that he would stay within the castle, anyway, within quick reach of the Hogwarts nurse should he be in need of her service. And in the end, she reluctantly agreed, though she kept on mumbling about ungrateful patients as Remus left the room. He didn't take it overly serious, though, he knew the nurse very well by now. She was not really angry at him, but saw it as a affront to her professional pride that he wanted to leave before she declared him completely healed.

Remus returned to his room in Gryffindor tower, but found that he could not just remain lying there for the entire day. So he returned to the library. If Dumbledore had found anything else he deemed worth being worked through by Remus, he'd surely have deposited it there. Not that Dumbledore would agree to having him work again so soon after his collapse, but Remus desperately needed a distraction. He didn't know if it had been the conversation with Dumbledore, the thoughts about Sirius and his nightmares this conversation had caused, or simply because they returned anyway, but he had barely slept last night. The nightmares had returned with a vengeance. Or rather, the nightmare had returned, because it was still the same nightmare that was haunting him. He dreamt again and again of the night when Sirius had nearly died during the first war, the night when he had desperately tried to keep his friend alive until help arrived. And after he had woken, he had not been able to stop the brooding that always followed the nightmares. His lacking night's rest might have been another reason why Madam Pomfrey had been so reluctant to let him leave the infirmary, but there was nothing she could have done against him leaving once he had set his mind to it.

He was still feeling slightly wobbly on his feet, Remus had to admit that. And he still had a headache, that was also true. But if he was a bit careful, that should not really worry him any further.

As he stepped into the infirmary, he found the drawer in Madam Pince's desk in which Dumbledore had deposited the previous letter for him empty. So either the headmaster had nothing for him to work on at the moment, or he'd deliver it personally later on. Well, as he was here already, he could as well see what Harry was up to. If he was in the library, that was.

As Remus went into the next room, he found his suspicion confirmed. Harry was sitting at one of the tables, some parchments spread around himself, his head leaned on his hand and his eyes dropping close. Remus smiled. He had imagined that Harry didn't find his homework particularly interesting, but he had not thought that it was this bad. He watched the teenager for another moment, then he stepped closer and sat down opposite of him.

"Can I help you with anything?"

Harry's eyes snapped open instantly and he straightened up in his chair, staring wildly around the room as he tried to find out where he was. Remus smiled at him and waited patiently until Harry had caught up with the situation and was looking at him.

"Had a nice nap?"

Harry blushed slightly and wiped his eyes.

"Well, I have to admit that the Transfiguration essay was not exactly all that captivating. I must have drifted off. But should you be up yet?"

"I've been able to convince Madam Pomfrey to let me go, if that's what you mean. Though she let me go only reluctantly. But I feel fine enough, and lying in the infirmary all day was not part of my plan. To come back to my initial question, can I help you with that essay?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I'm supposed to be writing two rolls of parchment on Vanishing Spells, and I'm nearly finished. I think so, at least. Maybe you could read it, there are a few passages I'm not so sure about."

"Sure", Remus answered and reached for the parchments with a slight grimace. "I've always proof-read your father's or Sirius' essays. They were very good students, but sometimes especially Sirius had a way of writing essays…you just couldn't hand them in. In one essay for Professor Binns Sirius actually wrote that the trolls didn't give a rat's ass about goblin rights in the sixteenth century, and he had the nerve to ask me what in Merlin's name was wrong with that sentence." Remus chuckled at the memory, but then quickly schooled his face into an impassive mask again. Harry thought he understood. Thinking about his godfather, even about the happy memories, always led to thinking about his death, and that always hurt. So he understood that Remus quickly focussed all his attention on the parchments in his hands. He spread them out on the desk in front of him and patted the pockets of his robes for his reading glasses. Once he had found them, he put them on his nose and started to read the text. Harry was watching him, trying to discern Remus' opinion of his essay from the expression on his face. But after a minute or two, Harry's attention was distracted. He had not been aware of it before, but now that he saw it, he knew that Remus had been doing this constantly during the past weeks. Was doing it again right now.

Absent-mindly, Remus was tracing the thin scar on the back of his hand again, a habit he had developed only lately as Harry thought. At least he could not remember that Remus had done that while he had still be teaching, or on any other occasion when he had seen his former teacher afterwards. But since this summer, he had seen him do it more than just occasionally. After a moment, Remus seemingly noticed that he was being closely scrutinized. He looked up, followed Harry's gaze and with a smile lowered his hands onto the tabletop again.

"Is anything wrong?"

Remus quickly shook his head.

"No, nothing's wrong. It's just an old scar, and lately it started itching. I don't know why, I don't even realize I'm scratching it anymore."

Harry looked at the thin silvery line that ran across the back of Remus' right hand. The skin around it was reddened from the rubbing, making the scar tissue stand out even more.

"Where does it come from?"

"The scar?"
Harry nodded. A sad look settled over Remus' features, but as Harry started to apologize for even asking he waved him off.

"No, it's all right. I…I told you about that night when Sirius and I got ambushed by Death Eaters?"

Harry nodded. "During the first war, yes. Why?"

Remus shrugged.

"I got hit with a cutting spell shortly before that Death Eater stabbed Sirius. But my wounds were nowhere near as bad as Sirius'. I had wounds on my upper arm and shoulder as well, but only the one on my hand scarred over later no matter what the doctors did. They simply could not erase it."

"He still has that scar, it strangely didn't vanish, no matter how much the doctors tried to erase it."

Harry didn't know why Remus' words from the day in the muggle hospital came to his mind, but suddenly he had the urgent feeling that there was an important meaning to Remus' scar. His heartbeat quickened as Harry thought back to what Dumbledore had said in the hospital wing. Could it be possible…could it be true?

"So you say you were bleeding while you were trying to help Sirius?"
Remus slowly nodded. "Yes. My hand was bleeding quite a bit while I was trying to restrict Sirius' bleeding that night…" His voice trailed off and he looked at Harry with wide eyes, obviously having the same sudden thought that Harry had. For a glorious moment Harry allowed himself to hope that he might be right with his assumption. But after a moment Remus shook his head defeatedly.

"No, no it can't be."
"But Professor Dumbledore said something about blood-oaths in the hospital wing!"

Again Remus shook his head and the raw pain Harry saw in his eyes shook him to the core. Remus didn't dare to give in to this hope, and already Harry felt a bit guilty for bringing it up. But he simply had to understand.

"Yes, he did. But Harry, a blood-oath is something completely different than a mere exchange of blood. It's not like in muggle movies that you just cut yourself, exchange blood and then live happily ever after as blood-brothers. A blood-oath is a commitment, a strong emotional bond between two people. It doesn't just simply happen like that, not accidentally."

Remus shook his head and his eyes became distant.

"Besides, that would not explain anything either. Even if there was a blood-connection between Sirius and me, he could not be the cause for my seizures, either. Sirius is dead, he cannot be the one drawing from my strength. It just cannot be."

Remus saw the disappointment in Harry's eyes and wished there was something he could do for the teenager. Yet something about what Harry had said had struck a chord in him. Maybe, just maybe…but no. No, it simply could not be. He could not allow himself to cling to that hope, he could not. He had not come to terms with Sirius' death yet, if he clung to that hope and it failed, it would smash him irreversibly.

Sirius had fallen through the archway, Sirius was dead. There had to be another explanation.

"Remus, can I ask you something?"

Quickly pulling himself out of his thoughts, Remus nodded.

"Sure."

"When…when Sirius fell through that archway, you immediately said he was dead. What…I mean, how did you know? Why were you so sure about it?"

Remus leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in front of his chest. He thought for a long moment before he answered.

"Because it's impossible to fall through that archway and survive. It's because of what that thing actually is."

Remus tried to think of everything he knew about the archway to explain Harry why there was no hope that Sirius had survived falling through it, but he just could not focus his thoughts. If he was honest with himself, he didn't really know all that much about blood-magic in general and blood-oaths in particular, so how could he be so sure that whatever was happening to him was not connected to Sirius? He simply could not give Harry an explanation without being sure about it himself first.

He looked up at Harry, a sudden determination in his eyes, a spark which Harry had not seen in the past couple of weeks.

"I promise I will tell you exactly how that archway works Harry, but first I need to make sure I am not wrong. Come with me, Harry."

He pulled Harry to his feet and out of the room into the corridor.

"Where are we going?"

Not turning around or slowing down Remus answered. "To the only person who can maybe shed some light on this whole affair."

He didn't need to say that they were going to Dumbledore, Harry could already guess as much. A year ago the thought of asking Albus Dumbledore for help would have given Harry a reassuring feeling, but right now he didn't think he was all that comfortable with the idea. He had avoided his headmaster ever since Sirius had died, as much because of what Dumbledore had said about Sirius as because he had realized that the wise old wizard was not infallible. But still he allowed Remus to drag him through the empty hallways, up the staircases and finally towards the stone gargoyle that marked the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Remus literally barked the password at it and the two of them climbed the stairs to Dumbledore's office as fast as possible, not waiting for the moving staircase to take them up.

Impatiently, Remus knocked on the wooden door and flung it open as soon as the voice from inside told them to come in.

Dumbledore got up from behind his desk and went over to greet the two newcomers.

"Remus, Harry, what gives me the honour of your visit? Take a seat, please."

Remus sat down on one of the chairs and Harry bonelessly sank down beside him. Remus tried to catch his breath and search for the right words to ask his mentor the one question he dreaded to hear answered.

"Albus, I know this must sound absolutely crazy right now, but I want you to listen to me and tell me what you think about it, all right? Because I'm afraid I might be going mad, but I just need to know."

Dumbledore nodded, a frown creasing his forehead.

"Of course, just go ahead."

Remus stretched out his hand, palm down, and pointed at his scar.

"You remember when I got this? That night, during the first war, when Sirius and I were trying to find that Death Eater hideout in London that might have led us to the Lestranges? When Sirius got stabbed by the Death Eater and I tried to keep him alive until help arrived, what was it - fifteen years ago?"

Dumbledore frowned, thinking back in an attempt to remember, then he nodded. "Yes, I do."

"The doctors said back then that I supported Sirius with my own strength because he'd have died otherwise."

Again, Dumbledore nodded.

"I had not thought about it before, actually Harry came up with the idea, but the more I think about it the more reasonable it sounds. You had been asking about blood-oaths this afternoon, and this is the only thing I can think of that comes close to such a bond."

Dumbledore took Remus' hand in his own and examined the back of it carefully.

"You were wounded as well, I remember. Why didn't the doctors erase that scar when they treated you?"

Remus bit his lip, trying to fight down his excitement. Not now, he could not know if he was thinking along the right lines.

"They tried to, but different from my other wounds that scar stayed, no matter what they tried to do."

He paused for a moment before he added, carefully as if he didn't dare to speak it out loud.

"The same happened with Sirius' wound. A scar remained which the doctors could not erase."

Not letting go off Remus' hand, Dumbledore looked at the scar that ran across the back of it and thought for a long moment. When he finally let go off Remus' hand and spoke, his voice was heavy and weary.
"Blood-magic is a very resourceful but uncontrollable branch of magic. Its strongest property is providing a basis for incredibly strong protective magic. But of course you know that Remus, and I'd dare say that you Harry know as well that this was the reason why it was important to let you live with your relatives for as long as it was possible."

Harry nodded, though he didn't particularly want to talk about this right now. But Dumbledore seemingly didn't want to discuss Harry's living arrangements.

"But as I said, it's an incredibly uncontrollable branch of magic. Some blood-magic is banned from usage due to the destructive power it enables, and what of this magic is possible to use is very hard to control. Blood-oaths don't just happen like that, Remus."

"I know that Albus. But maybe it worked exactly because we were not actively trying to close such a connection. Think about it, Albus. I wasn't even aware that I was bleeding at the time, all I could think of was how I could manage to keep Sirius alive. But I can't stop asking myself - if it was possible for me to support Sirius with my own strength back then, isn't it also possible that the connection we had that night remained?"

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and thought about that. Harry had remained silent so far and still he was watching the two adults with extreme fascination. Dumbledore seemed to think very thoroughly before he spoke again.

"A blood-oath is an emotional commitment, it's one of the strongest magical bonds that exist. Surely either you or Sirius would have noticed its existence over the years, I simply cannot imagine it going unnoticed for so long."

This time it was Remus' turn to think very hard before he answered.

"I don't know, Albus. We always were close, and after that night Sirius and I only got closer, before we began to drift apart during the weeks before Voldemort's fall. And then, when…when I thought he was responsible for killing James, Lily and Peter there was such a strong hatred for him that I don't think I'd have recognized a connection with Sirius as such. I forced myself not to think about him at all for over a decade, and even if I did, I was certainly not looking for such a strong bond as the reason for the emotions that flared up again in those cases. Albus, I simply don't know it, but I need to be sure it's not a possibility before I let go off the thought. I need to know, Albus."

Harry had never heard Remus plead like that before, and again he felt a stab of guilt for bringing him into this position. The last thing he wanted was hurt Remus even further.

"We would need to have a closer look into the matter, Remus. From what I know, it could be possible that you and Sirius closed an emotional bond the moment you tried to save his life. It could be possible. In theory. The both of you were bleeding, so there was the chance for an exchange of blood, and you were supporting his life with your own energy. But Remus, that still can't be the explanation we are searching for, not the explanation for your seizures. Sirius is dead, and with his death whatever bond might have existed between you perished."
Remus held Dumbledore's gaze unwavering.

"And what if he isn't dead?"

Instead of immediately pushing that thought aside, Dumbledore seemed to give it some consideration. It took a seeming eternity before he spoke again.

"Even if so, I'm afraid that it isn't a cause of hope. Even if Sirius should somehow be still alive - or in a state where he can still draw from your strength - there is no possible way for us to get him back from behind the veil. Instead, if there is a bond between the two of you, I'd believe it to be a cause of worry, especially for you, Remus."

"Why?"

"If somebody - it doesn't even necessarily need to be Sirius - but if somebody from out of our reach draws from you, we need to sever the connection before it causes you a damage that can't be undone."

"Sever it?"

Harry jumped up from his chair and broke his former silence. He simply could not believe what he had just heard.

"Sever it?", he repeated, disbelief etched clearly on his face. "Are you mad? You want to tell me that Remus might have a connection to Sirius - that Sirius might not be dead - and you want to cut off that connection and just let him die?"

"Sirius is dead, Harry."

Dumbledore's voice was warm and gentle, but this infuriated Harry even more.

"No, if he is connected to Remus then he might be still alive!"
"Whoever falls through this archway is dead, Harry. But even if we assume that he isn't, Harry, there is no way to bring him back. We need to cut off that connection before it costs Remus' life as well."

"How do you know that there is no way to bring Sirius back?"

It seemed to Harry that Dumbledore looked somewhat ruefully, but at the moment he didn't care. And neither did he care that his tone was anything but appropriate for talking to the old wizard. He had given up caring about those things weeks ago.

"Please sit down, Harry. I will try to explain it to you, but I'd rather have you sitting down while I do so, it could take a while."

Still fuming, Harry sat down in his chair and looked defiantly at Dumbledore. His headmaster better have some really good explanation for what he had just said, Harry didn't think he could stand it any longer to be left in the dark like this. Dumbledore should have finally learned not to keep everything from him.

"Do you know what that archway is, Harry? Where it comes from, what it does?"

Harry shook his head. "No. Remus wanted to tell me after we went to see you."

Dumbledore nodded and leaned back a bit in his chair. "What do you think it is, Harry? You have seen it, you have been close to the archway. What do you think it is and where it came from?"

Harry was confused by the question and not only a bit unnerved by the fact that Dumbledore seemed to turn this into a guessing game.

"It seemed very old. At first I thought it was merely a normal archway, somewhat strangely placed in that chamber, but nothing more than a place to pass through. At least I thought that until Sirius fell through it and did not come out on the other side." Harry's throat closed at the memory, but he swallowed against it and continued. "When I stood next to it, I thought I heard voices whispering behind the veil, but maybe I only imagined it."

Dumbledore nodded at him.

"You did not imagine those whispers, though it's unusual for somebody to hear anything from behind the veil. But then again, I should not be astonished that you were able to hear something."

"What does that mean?"

"Do not forget who you are, Harry. Or rather, do not forget what you have already seen. The chamber is not called Death Chamber without a reason. You have already realized that you were wrong in assuming that it is merely a 'normal' archway, though your description of it being 'a place to pass through' is not far from the truth. But you are also wrong in assuming that the archway is old. Yes, it has been in that chamber for quite some time even before you were born, but it is not as ancient as it might look like. Tell me, what do you know about Grindelwald?"

Strange as the question was, Harry did indeed not know very much about Grindelwald, nothing except from the obvious. He didn't like to look as if he had not learned his lessons at school in front of Dumbledore and Remus, but what could he say?

"Not very much. All I know is that he was a dark wizard and that you defeated him. Something like 1944, if I remember right."

"1945", Dumbledore corrected, "But I would not have expected you to know very much about him yet. If I'm not very much mistaken his story is on the 7th year's History of Magic curriculum. But if you really want to understand what that archway is and what it does, we need to go a bit into his life and story. Grindelwald was indeed a dark wizard as you pointed out, but the problem about it was that this wasn't obvious at first. On the contrary, he was a very popular politician in the early 1920s, a powerful wizard in whom many people trusted. He became Minister of Magic in 1929."

"Grindelwald was Minister of Magic?" Harry could not believe what he was just hearing. "How could that happen?"

Dumbledore spread his hands and shrugged. "As I said, his true intentions were not all that obvious. There are some who say that he manipulated the elections, though, but nobody could ever come forward with any proof. He could have certainly done it, he was powerful enough and had built up a certain influence in the Ministry over the years. But no matter how he did it, important is that he managed to become Minister of Magic.

And that was when things began to change rapidly. Grindelwald started to rule with an iron fist, only a small number of advisors even knew what he was intending with his policy, his plans for our world were completely opaque. The methods with which he tried to achieve his aims were getting more and more doubtful, as were his political goals. I won't go into details here because that has nothing to do with the archway, but you need to understand that by the time he was revealed for what he truly was, it was all too late. He had the country already in his hands. Political enemies of his simply vanished and never came back, whoever dared to oppose him did not only have to fear for his own life but also for the life of their loved ones. It were very insecure times, times that could be compared to Voldemort's reign. Grindelwald nearly tossed the whole of Europe into a violent and bloody war. He had so much political power that it took very long to defeat him. The reason why I tell you this is that Grindelwald was the one to build the archway in the Death Chamber."

Harry's eyebrows disappeared beneath his fringe. "He build that thing?"

Dumbledore nodded calmly. "Yes, he did. A truly powerful piece of magic, that was. Very powerful, and like most powerful things also very, very dangerous."

Harry's eyes strayed over to Remus and then back again as he realized that his former teacher would not interrupt Dumbledore's tale just yet. But Dumbledore was always a man for surprises, and his way to continue the conversation made no exception.

"Do you know what makes a ghost, Harry?"

That indeed took Harry aback for a moment.

"No. Well - not really. I talked a bit about it with Nearly Headless Nick when he explained to me why…", Harry had to swallow heavily against the lump that seemed to once more cut off his throat, "when he explained to me why Sirius would not become a ghost."

Harry felt a comfortable warmth on his back and as he turned around realized that Remus had put a hand on his back and was looking at him with a concerned gaze. Harry quickly tried to reassure him with a smile, but failed miserably. He turned back to Dumbledore, somewhat calmed by the fact that Remus let his hand remain where it was.

"Nick said that he had only become a ghost because he had been afraid to move on, something like that."

Dumbledore nodded. "And with that he is right, of course. Some wizards choose to leave their imprints in our world and not continue on into whatever lies beyond death. But what Nick told you is not everything there is to know about ghosts."

Harry frowned. "What else should there be?"

"Some souls, like Sir Nick, choose to stay behind, be it for fear like he told you or for some other reasons. But there are those who have no choice but to stay. Souls that are haunted, those who still have something to do here. Some are bound to our world by something that happened in the past. These are the souls that turn into ghosts and when they die their magic and energy remains in our world. That is what ghosts are made of. But they are rare. That Hogwarts seems filled with them shall not delude you, Harry. Only very few wizards who die do not pass on. Some because they choose to, and some because they have no choice but to stay here.

You said earlier that the archway seemed like 'a place to pass through', and I have to agree that this is quite a good description. You see, the room which was built around that archway is not called "Death Chamber" accidentally. When Grindelwald created that archway, he created a way to pass through into a void behind. Whoever falls through it physically dies, but the soul and magic get caught in the void behind. They get caught between the worlds and don't come to rest, just as if somebody forces them to become a ghost or a haunted soul."

Harry frowned, strangely fascinated by the tale and for the moment forgetting its connection to his own, harsh reality.

"But why should he do that? I mean, what is the use in building such an archway if that is its only purpose? If Grindelwald wanted to punish or torture his enemies, Cruciatus or the Killing Curse are far more effective, aren't they?"

Dumbledore nodded as if he had expected Harry to pose that question and was proud and content that he had indeed done it.

"Ah, that's where we come to the crucial point of it all. You surely have realized that the Death Chamber is built like an auditorium, haven't you? Rows of seats around the archway?"

Harry nodded.

"The archway was used to dispose of Grindelwald's political enemies. And whenever he did that, all his associates at the Ministry were forced to attend. Maybe you can imagine what kind of impression that left in them, what they felt when they were forced to watch what exactly would be the consequences for them if they started to act against him. It created fear, fear for their own lives as well as fear for the lives of their families and friends. Grindelwald didn't trust anybody, and if he only suspected somebody of working against him then it could very well be that those people found themselves watching how their brother, father or girlfriend was being thrown through that archway into certain death, a death which would not let their soul come to rest. Grindelwald was a dictator, his rule was based on the fear to oppose him, that's what made him so powerful.

And of course that archway also served another purpose. You have to see that the archway, like most other portals and doorways, works both ways. When Grindelwald used it to kill those who stood in his way, he fed their magic and energy into the void behind. And he could make use of that power, he could draw strength out of that archway. The strength of the wizards and witches he killed."

"So he could not only kill his enemies but also use their power for his own purpose?"

Dumbledore nodded again. "Exactly. Wizards and witches of all times have carried out similar things, have used various rites to draw strength from other wizards' and witches' souls and magical energy. The archway is merely an instrument for something that has been done for ages already. Did you notice the inscriptions on the archway?"

Harry frowned, trying to think back to his one and only visit to the Death Chamber. But as much as he tried to bring the image of the archway back into his mind, the only thing he really saw was Sirius being hit by Bellatrix' spell, falling through the archway as if in slow motion. He felt Remus' hand on his back move in small circles and realized that his breathing had become short and harsh. Quickly, he shook his head.
"No, I don't. It looked old and tattered to me, I was wondering what still kept it upright."

"Yes, years of usage did that to it, but if you look closely at it you realize that there are inscriptions all over the stone. Those are the instructions for the rite that needs to be carried out to draw from the archway's power.

After Grindelwald was defeated in 1945 and the Ministry was reformed, the decision was made to guard the archway closely in the future so that it would not be misused again. It is no coincidence that the Department of Mysteries was built around the Death Chamber. Everybody who knew about the archway then was convinced that it needed to be guarded closely."

"Why?", Harry wondered aloud.

"As I said, the archway does not only work one way. Grindelwald could draw from it, but during the height of his reign far more people went through that archway than the void could contain. Something had to come back out of the energy that Grindelwald could not use. Harry, the archway is where the Dementors came from."

"What?" Surely he was not hearing right.

Dumbledore continued calmly. "During the late 1930s and early 1940s, so many people were thrown behind the veil that the void could not contain all the energy anymore. The logical consequence was that some of it had to come back out. But as I said, the archway is a very powerful and dangerous piece of magic, and something happened to the magical energy that was thrown behind it. It was not the same when it came out anymore, it had turned…dark, to put it in simple terms. And in the times when too much was placed into the void, it accumulated, it formed shapes of combined dark energy of haunted souls that emerged from behind the veil. Dementors. That is why Dementors suck all the positive feelings out of you, they absorb all the positive to compensate the darkness within them. Only that they can never compensate it. They suck out souls to absorb them, to try and compensate for their own soullessness."

"The souls the Dementors suck out…what - what happens to them?" Harry wasn't all that sure that he even wanted to know.

"The same that happens to those who fall through the archway. They get trapped in the void behind. That is why you thought you heard whispers coming out from the archway. Not every witch or wizard would be able to hear the voices, but those who know death are sometimes able to hear the souls from behind. I have to say that you are probably more perceptive for those things than other wizards would be.

Many Dementors emerged in the years of Grindelwald's reign who immediately offered their services to him. And years later to Voldemort. And though the Ministry thought until not so long ago that the Dementors were working on our side now, they did not want to risk any more of them coming through the archway. Voldemort has always been very interested in gaining access to the archway and its powers. How much time and effort it has cost him to gain access to the prophecy has shown that the Department of Mysteries is still well-enough guarded. He has not gained access to the archway yet, and we all better hope that he never will. If Voldemort could use the power that lies within that construction…it would be horrible for our world, Harry. All the Ministers after Grindelwald have sworn to stop the archway from being used. From all we know, it can't be destroyed, so all we can do is stop it from being used ever again. So far, we have been successful. Nobody has fallen through that archway for nearly fifty years."

"Nobody except from Sirius", Harry said. Remus' hand suddenly felt like an uncomfortable burden on his back, spreading a warmth over his shoulders which was becoming unbearable. He wanted to get out of this room now, needed to get into the fresh air. Dumbledore's office seemed all to hot and the air was stale, Harry had difficulties drawing breath.

Harry's godfather was dead and his soul was trapped somewhere between the worlds. Sirius was lost, that was the bottom line of what Dumbledore wanted to tell him. And Remus didn't make any move to say otherwise, either, which he would surely have had he seen any chance to bring Sirius back. Harry didn't even realize that he was shaking his head, but Dumbledore seemed to notice.

"Harry, of all the people who have gone through that archway, nobody has ever come back. Those who fall through are dead, and from all that we know about it, it would not be wise to attempt to bring their souls back. Not that we know how to do that, either. I told you once before that there is no way to bring back the dead. And even if there was, nobody could be sure just what would come back from the void. I'm sorry Harry, but I think that even if Sirius is still bound to Remus, then it is rather a reason for concern about Remus than hope for Sirius. I'm sorry."

Harry was still shaking his head, but the air in the room seemed to become unbearable now. He was breathing hard and still had the feeling that he didn't get enough air. He needed to get out.

Quickly, Harry got up from his chair and stormed over towards the door, ripping it open and storming out of the office. Remus got up from his chair to go after him, but Dumbledore held him back.

"Leave him for a moment, Remus. He might need some time alone to get used to it, but he simply has to understand. It is painful, but sometimes pain like that is necessary to make us understand."