Some clarification. That was indeed the real Veil, and Harry did indeed fall through it. According to us, no person can survive that. So, time to destroy the Order of the Phoenix one by one! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! This chapter is nicknamed Super Angst Extraordinaire, for obvious reasons. All we own are the plot and our oc's. Please review!

Chapter 41

Dark Aftermath

Heather had found her fiancé and godson just in time to see Harry fall through the Black Veil. For she knew that's what it was, she had learned about it in America. An ancient device used to kill anyone, or anything, for that matter, that came in contact with it. Whoever developed it had been as evil as Voldemort, if not more. Heather almost rushed to Sirius's side in an attempt to comfort him, but something was holding her back-the same force that kept her hiding in America. So she trusted it, whatever it was, even if she didn't want to, and returned with tears in her eyes to Remus and Nicole, who were waiting for her in the Great Hall.

"What happened?" Remus demanded at once. Heather couldn't bring herself to say it, so she fell into Remus's arms, sobbing.

"Er-Professor?" Nikki faltered timidly.

"They captured Sirius, there was nothing I could do…"

"Shh, it's alright," Remus consoled her. "We'll get him back, don't worry."

"But there was nothing I could do!"

"Professor, we can-"

"THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO!" Heather shrieked, sobbing even harder. "Remus, he's dead!"

"No, we'll get Sirius back, don't worry."

"Not Sirius…"

"He killed Harry," Nikki muttered, grim realization spreading over her face.

"Heather…?" whispered Remus.

"I promised James and Lily that I'd take care of him. I promised them!" Hermione and Ron, tears in his eyes at the death of two of his brothers, slowly wandered over to them.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked immediately.

"Voldemort killed Harry," Remus replied shakily as he tightened his hold on Heather, his breath coming out in short gasps. Ron's face got even paler, if possible, and he slowly sank onto the floor.

"I've already lost Percy and Fred…Harry was the best friend anyone could ask for…he can't be…are you sure?"

"The Veil…I've studied it, it's just like Avada Kedavra…he's gone."

"But…he can't be, he just can't! He's the only one who can kill Voldemort," Hermione whispered, searching for some way for Harry to miraculously return. But there was none.

"Hermione," Nicole began, "do you mind if I borrow Ron for a second?"

"Um…go ahead," she sniffed. Nikki and Ron looked at each other for a moment, then Nikki flung herself into Ron's arms, crying hysterically into his tux.

"I cared so much about him!" she yelled desperately. "He understood how it felt to lose your parents, he was always there when I just needed someone to listen to me! I loved him! DO YOU HEAR ME, VOLDEMORT? I LOVED HIM! YOU WILL PAY FOR EVERYONE YOU'VE HURT!"

"Please, Remus, tell me this is a nightmare and I'll wake up and everything will be okay…" Hermione whimpered.

"I wish I could. I wish I could…"


"As you all know, Voldemort has succeeded in doing what he's tried to do for sixteen years-kill Harry." What was left of the Order of the Phoenix, as well as Hermione, Ginny, Chris, Nikki, and Ron, had assembled in the Dumbledore's office. It was a week after the attack, and Dumbledore was informing the Order of everything he knew up to that point. "With the use of the Black Veil…" Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "Voldemort is now invincible, and he knows it-he is holding Sirius in Azkaban, and dares us to try and rescue him."

"We can't," Mrs. Weasley replied instantly.

"What do you mean, we can't?" Heather fumed. "We have to!"

"I have already lost three of my children, I refuse to let anyone else die for a hopeless cause!"

"Saving Sirius is not hopeless! He's being tortured, and all we're doing is sitting here!" she roared.

"Heather," Remus coaxed, "what she means is-well, with Harry…Sirius would die anyway…"

"Do you care about him at all? I lost him when he went to Azkaban and I lost him when he was captured at Halloween and I have no intention of losing him again without a fight!"

"There is no point!" Remus yelled back. "We're going to die with Harry gone! You know that!"

"So why not try to get Sirius back?" By this point, Remus and Heather were standing only inches apart, and looked ready to hex each other into next week.

"Calm down, both of you!" Bridget shouted, standing between them and splitting them apart. "There's no need to fight over this! Just relax and listen to what the other has to say!"

"If we're going to die as you say, Remus," Heather shot a glare at the werewolf, "then why not try to save Sirius?"

"What if the Prophecy was wrong?" Remus countered. "What if it meant someone else? What if we can still win?"

"Every single part of the Prophecy points to Harry," Dumbledore interrupted. "He was the only one capable of defeating Tom."

"What about you?" Bridget asked. "I saw you two dueling…"

"Tom and I are too evenly matched. Neither of us can win against the other."

"So, in other words," Chris paraphrased, "we're doomed."

"Yes," Dumbledore confirmed. "Yes, we are. And I am sorry Heather, but I cannot allow you to go after Sirius. If we stand any chance of pulling through this war, we need to launch a large-scale attack at the precise moment it would hurt Voldemort the most. Once again, I am sorry." Heather glowered furiously at the Headmaster and stormed out of the meeting.


Hermione and Ron sat in the abandoned Gryffindor common room, crying quietly. The meeting had gotten on to topics Mrs. Weasley believed would be too complicated for the children, and they had been invited to leave. At the moment, Hermione had her head resting on Ron's shoulder, both of them utterly lost.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Hermione moaned softly. "I know that this is a war, but…I never thought it would come to this."

"I know. Fred dieing and Percy turning dark is bad enough for me to handle, but…Harry's always the one make it through alright. The fact that he's dead just-doesn't seem right."

"I loved him Ron. As a brother," she added. "He might have been a bit temperamental at times, but…"

"He was always there when you needed him. He's the bravest person I've ever known."

"Why couldn't it have been me?"

"Hermione, sh, that's not going to help anything," Ron muttered, pulling her closer."We have to continue what he started."

"We can't Ron! We can't...only Harry could have..."

"Harry told me once that their was another person the Prophecy could have meant, maybe..."

"Ron," Hermione scolded, "we know it was him. Dumbledore said so."

"What if Dumbledore's wrong though?"

"Well...there is Remus and Heather fighting about Sirius; I guess I see both of their points, but…I don't see what's so wrong about Heather trying to rescue him.Maybe Dumbledore is wrong...oh, who am I kidding?"

"I betHeather doesn't trust Dumbledore as much, now that he's proven that even he has his faults," mentioned Ron.

"Sirius and Heather are the two people who need each other most…they're the two that saw Harry die, they're his godparents…" Hermione trailed off. "Oh, Ron, this is awful!"

"The wizarding world as we know it is actually coming to an end."


"Professor?" Ginny tapped lightly on Heather's door; she pushed it open to find her, Nikki, and Chris pouring over a chart on the table. They looked up as she entered, and told her to close the door. "Er-I just wanted to apologize for what my mum said to you before…she didn't really mean it. She cares a lot about her kids, and always thought of Harry as an seventh son-you heard how she said she lost three children-this was her worst fear come true."

"I know," Heather sighed, dropping into a chair. "I got a bit out of hand at the meeting as well. It's just that I can't stand the thought of Sirius being tortured, I got enough guilt from when he was in Azkaban to last me twelve life times."

"Guilt?" Chris raised his eyes from the parchment. "Why guilt?"

"I never stepped forward to say anything. Sirius never actually told me that they'd switched Secret Keepers, I was just speculating-and I was afraid of getting hurt all over again if they hadn't. If I had said something, who knows? Maybe Sirius would have been freed a long time ago, and we'd have gotten married and raised Harry. Maybe none of this would have even happened."

"Don't say that," Nikki reprimanded. "Everything happens for a reason-we just haven't figured this reason out yet."

"What are you doing in here, anyway?" Ginny asked, hoping to change the subject.

"This is a map of Azkaban," Chris replied, holding it up. "Heather and Nikki are going to go in and rescue Sirius."

"We're going to try," Heather corrected.

"No, you're going to get him out of there. And I'm going to cover for them."

"Then I'll help you," Ginny told him. "I know loads of excuses from the twins…George is actually closing Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He says he can't do it without Fred and Harry. Get the Great Padfoot back here, or George might never crack a joke again!"

"Will do, Ginny. Portus!" Heather waved her wand at the map, creating a Portkey. "The Minister is dead," she shrugged at the odd looks Ginny and Nicole gave her. "Who's going to stop me?" She and Nicole then took hold of the parchment and were gone in a jolt of color.

"Good luck," Chris whispered at the space they stood a moment ago. "And come back safely."


"Remus, you need to calm down," Bridget told him.

"But I can't get over what Heather said, when she asked if I cared about Sirius at all. Of course I care! It's just…"

"Just what, honey?"

"I don't even know anymore. I just don't. All of a sudden, Sirius is gone and Harry is dead-they were like a brother and a nephew for me…I failed Lily and James, Bridget. I failed them."

"So what are you sitting here for?"

"I don't know what to do, that's what," he snapped at her. She chose to ignore it.

"I think you do, Remus. Listen to your instincts." She left the room, leaving Remus to ponder her words.


Tonks was alone, pacing through the kitchens. She'd remained quiet during the meeting and slipped out early-no one had noticed. The summer she'd met Sirius both of her parents had died-the Animagus sort of took up her father's role. He always had a joke to cheer her up whenever she was down, and was the person Tonks confided in the most. And yet, no one had even bothered to ask how she felt about all of this.

And Harry. He was a bit like a little brother to her, through their connection in Sirius. When Sirius had gone through the Veil, she had vowed to take care of the boy, whether he wanted it or not. And look at how well she had done. She quietly asked the House Elves to find her a snack, knowing they'd raid a quarter of the kitchens for her. They came back with a tray of goodies, including-muffins.

Tonks's mind raced back to the previous summer, and the muffin war that had ensued. "Fear the mighty muffin…" she whispered to herself, fighting tears. Abandoning the food, she quickly raced out of the kitchens in search of Remus. She'd talk some sense into that man; she knew what they had to do.

And so ends our sad, sad chapter. THE STORY IS STILL NOT DONE, we haven't killed enough people yet. Please review, please please please!