Hi everyone! A new chapter!

Good news. I'm practically done writing the Epilogue so I decided to update and give you the next chapter! Only four more chapters after this one!

Enjoy!

The Bond

Chapter 18

To Save A Soul

Remus found him outside Hogwarts gates, staring into the distance, his eyes focused on the horizon. James' hair blew slightly in the wind, and the downing sun shone on his face. Remus moved forward, nervous, unsure of what to say or do. Finally he settled with a safe: "Shall we apparate?"

James shook his head. "No. We're not going to apparate yet."

Confused, Remus stayed silent, waiting for an exclamation that was sure to come.

It didn't.

James remained standing perfectly still, no sound came from him. Remus moved round to face James, and found his eyes shut, a look of heavy concentration echoing over his features.

This is getting spooky…

Fighting his feelings, Remus forced himself to stand still. He could not interrupt James, not when he had that look on his face.

James had never physically tested the bond out, he didn't know what would happen if he forced himself to become part of the flow. There was a part in him that was linked with Harry, he had known for ages that one day this would come in useful, but he had never expected for it to happen like this.

He reached out his mind, using the minimal feeling of Harry inside him, to locate his son. A mind reached out to his as they connected. He sent a thought out, hoping for a reply.

Where are you, Harry?

The voice startled Harry who had been walking down the pathway, heading towards the road that led away from the Cliffside. He halted, and Neville bumped into him, tumbling over.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, wary.

"Shh."

Silence.

The voice invaded his consciousness, but this time he recognised it.

Dad?

Yes, it's me. Where are you? I need to find you.

The White cliffs of Dover, on the path downwards from the house of the founders. Harry replied.

Right. Remus and I are on our way. We'll meet you at the bottom.

Harry did not reply as he felt the connection between him and his father falter as James pulled away.

"Harry?" Hermione tentatively asked again.

"I just spoke with my dad. He and Remus are meeting us at the bottom."

"How did you speak to your father?" Ron asked. He looked perplexed.

Harry grinned. "I have a connection with him. It's something to do with my mother. She cast a spell on dad before she died bonding me with him, which is one of the reasons dad came back when I wished for someone two years ago. He was always alive, I just needed to want him badly enough to make it happen."

"The power of love." Hermione murmured. "Lily was a very powerful witch to accomplish that!"

"I know. Dad's told me."

"Harry's waiting for us as the bottom of the White Cliffs of Dover." James said. "We can apparate now."

Remus dared not to ask James how he had communicated with Harry. His friend was changing right before his eyes, and that was worrisome. He bit his lip, hesitated, but closed his eyes focusing on the beach, and gave a twirl.

Nothing happened.

"Something's wrong." Muttered James, as he swivelled to glare at Remus. "Apparation wards!"

"Then we apparate to the top of the White Cliffs and run down the path, preying we are not too late."

Nodding James closed his eyes, twirled and then with a crack, he disapparated. Remus followed suit and he too disappeared, appearing atop the White Cliffs of Dover. James was already running down the path, his wand out. Remus followed.

Draco Malfoy sat alone in the quarters he and his mother had been assigned by Dumbledore. It felt odd now that he was one of the 'good' guys, he wondered what his father would think. He'd probably hate him…but his opinion no longer mattered. His father was dead, murdered in the confines of Azkaban.

Lucius Malfoy had paid the ultimate price in failing his master for the last time. Draco sighed. From a young age he had admired his father, always hoping he would one day be like him. Yet his fate had taken a sudden twist he had never expected.

He was being shielded.

By Dumbledore.

The man Draco had spent his life growing up hating, and now, he respected him, in a sense, to risk everything to help him.

Draco raised his eyes as his mother walked in. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, her cheeks powdered white. "How are you, Draco?"

"Coping." He replied.

"Good." She settled down on a chair facing her son, hands in her lap. "What are you planning on doing?"

Draco shrugged. In fact the only thing he had thought was seeing he avenged his father's death but the only way to do that was to fight beside Harry Potter, and even now, that thought was distasteful in his mouth. But he did know that if he had to, he would, just to get what he wanted.

"I dunno." Draco stood up and left the room.

They reached the beach in good time, their laughter echoing out, and their hair slightly flying in the wind. Neither of them noticed the man waiting for them, until Hermione shrieked, stumbling backwards. Immediately five wands came out, all pointed at the stranger.

"You're not dad." Harry's face went white, but his eyes shone intensely as he stared at the red eyes coming from beneath the hood. His scar was not twinging which meant this was not Voldemort. Whoever it was, was a manifestation of the evil devil himself.

"Come with me, Potter and I will not harm your friends." The man said, his voice hard and cold.

"Ha!" barked Harry, throwing his head back and laughing. "You must be joking! I don't trust anyone in league with Voldemort!"

The figure said eyes flashed grey-blue that were so familiar that Harry took a step back. The man stepped forward, raising a wand familiar to the one Sirius had used. "I know everything about you Potter. All your secrets….everything. Do you really think I am just a normal death eater?"

Harry swallowed, struggling to comprehend what he was hearing. He did not trust this person no matter what he said. "I've never met you before in my life, how can you claim such atrocities as knowing everything about me?"

The question seemed to throw the man, but he replied with a simple bow of his head. He placed his left hand on the hood, and before pulling it down he said: "With this."

"No…"

Shock filled Harry's face. Shining red eyes met his green ones, but the face he recognised.

His godfather, the one he had seen dead on the ground, now stood before him, red eyes fixated.

"He's possessed," Hermione whispered.

"I kind of figured. Voldemort's controlling him but I can't feel his presence in him. It has to be a spell." Harry replied, keeping his eyes on Sirius.

"I would gladly kill you if my master did not need you." The man grinned.

"Try me." Harry's eyes twinkled, and he held his wand up. He could feel his father coming closer and knew that if he could keep Sirius busy, James would be able to arrive and aid him. He hoped his father already knew about Sirius.

"Then I will just have to take you to my master in pieces!" Sirius lunged, shouting off a curse.

"Stupefy!" screamed Harry. A burst of red light erupted yet he missed, hitting the cliff side. Damn it! I don't want to harm him!

However he felt that he would have no choice in that matter if he could not detain Sirius the simplest way. Harry ducked as green light shot over him, he turned his head to see Ron throwing himself to the side. Suddenly Neville rushed forward, his wand held high, he yelled: "Expelliarmus!" The man's wand flew from his grasp, landing in Neville's outstretched palm. He stared at it, awed by the prospect he had managed to succeed.

His distraction cost him.

Sirius just laughed. "Do you really think that mere spell like that can stop me?"

Neville was speechless.

Hermione ran forward. "Wand-less magic! Move Neville!"

Green light rushed from the man's fingertips, speeding towards Neville. Throwing his wand about in lightening speed, Harry shouted Impedimenta!. The spell sent Neville crashing backwards into the wall, the killing curse missing him. Neville sank to the ground, unconscious.

"Accio!" Harry said, pointing his wand at Sirius', as the other man muttered the same spell. A force of light seemed to appear and then vanish as Harry's magic overrode the darkness that emanated from Sirius. Taking the wand, Harry pocketed it, quickly muttering a spell that zipped his pocket shut. He stared defiantly at the Wizard, who's red eyes of anger bore into him.

And he realised it would take more then magic to save Sirius.

Sprinting down the path at full speed, James came to the bottom, holding his wand directly in front of him and cast 'stupefy' silently. A burst of red erupted, speeding towards Sirius, who stood, staring angrily at Harry. Yet he moved, ducking before the stunning spell could hit him. Rolling, Sirius came to a halt, scrambled to his feet, and focused his glowing eyes upon James.

He stumbled as Remus collided into his back. This allowed Sirius to raise his hands and use wandless magic that sped towards the two of them so fast that they hardly had time to move.

"Protego!" Hermione waved her wand at the two forms; a glittering shield stood in front of them. A bang and the shield crumpled.

"CRUCIO!" yelled Sirius.

Hermione fell as the Unforgivable Curse struck, sending her to the ground, writhing in agony. She barely registered Ron running past, his eyes blazed with fire, his wand rising.

The curse lifted; Hermione moaned as she attempted to turn her head. It hurt too much. Seconds later she heard a shout and Ron's body landed next to hers. His eyes were closed and for a second Hermione thought he was dead, but his chest continued to rise and fall. She breathed a sigh of relief, yet her mind realised that only Harry was still standing.

And with that, the pain overwhelmed her, and she fell into the blissfulness of unconsciousness.

Pulling himself to his feet, James whipped his wand round, clutching it tightly, so that it's end was held pointing directly at Sirius. "Enough of this Sirius!" he demanded. "Drop it!"

Sirius just laughed. "You think you can threaten me with pointless talk? You are nothing Potter." He spat. "You are merely an enemy that has no meaning in my world. You must die for the better part of this war. Do not challenge me!" his voice lowered, that it was barely more then a whisper. "You cannot win."

"He wants me, dad, let me fight him." Harry stepped forward, determination sealed in his eyes.

"NO!" James threw a hand out, pushing his son, all the while keeping his wand trained on Sirius. "Please Harry, you have to trust me. I know what I'm doing. Please, if I fail then, then you can, but let me fail first."

James' begging tone got to Harry and his face softened, so that his eyes watered, he stepped back allowing his father to come forward. Remus joined him, both their eyes searching for any hint of Sirius within the red.

There was nothing.

Yet James could not give up hope so easily.

He gritted his teeth. "I won't kill you, but I can't help it if you leave me no choice."

Siriusthrew back his head andlaughed. "Liar!"

"I'm not." James lowered his wand, chucking it to the ground. He motioned for Remus to do the same. "Look, we're unarmed. Let's be civil. I don't want to hurt you. Please can we talk."

Sirius' red eyes began to fade, but remained. Something was happening. "One wrong move and you will die." He whispered.

Taking a deep breath, James began. "Do you remember when we were kids? At Hogwarts with all the pranks we did? How I got angry at you when you endangered Remus by informing Snape of his whereabouts? How I let you into my home when you ran away? How my parents left you money? Why would we do that if we didn't love you as a son or brother? Because I do, Sirius, I do love you as a brother. We're so close, that I can bear the thought of taking your life. You deserve happiness, you spent twelve years in Azkaban because of Peter. In reality it's my fault: I shouldn't have trusted the traitor but I did. I care about you. Please, hear my word. Come back." He was almost begging.

"That doesn't change the fact that you tortured me!"

"I didn't!" his voice rose in anger. "I never did! I may have teased you occasionally but that's what friends do! You did the same!"

"I would never do that!"

James was feeling desperate. How could he make his friend understand?

"You know I'm right James." A soft voice responded from behind.

Whirling, he was surprised to find Dumbledore standing patiently beside Harry. "Stay out of this!" he ordered.

Dumbledore did not such thing, striding forward, raising his wand at the same time. "Surely you can see James that this is a hopeless situation. Sirius is gone. In its place is the devil. You cannot save him."

"YES, I CAN!" he no longer cared. James had to save Sirius; he couldn't let the headmaster take his life. In a flash of a second, James had grabbed his wand from the ground and held it at Dumbledore. "I won't let you do this. He's my friend…my brother!"

Anger seeped though him, controlling his mind, his words, his actions.

Nothing was more important then proving the old man wrong. Sirius' life depended on it.

Dumbledore's sad eyes focused upon him. He swallowed. "I'm sorry, James. I've got to do this. It's the only way."

"IT'S NOT!" shouted James. "HE'S MY FRIEND, MY BROTHER! I LOVE HIM. I TRUST HIM, WHY ON EARTH DO YOU THINK I WOULD DEFEND HIM LIKE THIS WHEN I DON'T BELIEVE IT? HE IS MY SON'S GODFATHER, MY BROTHER, AND NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS HE ALWAYS WILL BE!"

Dumbledore stood patiently. He kept his wand trained on Sirius but did not reply instead he nodded in Sirius' direction. James swivelled.

His friend was clutching his head as if he was in pain, pulling at the strands of hair. His face was clenched up, his eyes shut, but when his head shot back and he let out a scream of pain, Sirius' eyes shot open, and James glimpsed the war going on. In those eyes, was Voldemort, but Sirius was fighting back, the words he had just used must have triggered the old Sirius to fight.

Then Sirius fell to his knees, and he shouted: "GET OUT MY HEAD!" Fists banged the ground.

James ran forward, but a strong hand stopped him. "Don't."

A flash of yellow light erupted blinding them momentarily; a dark screech of fury: "This is not the end!" and then nothing.

Carefully James scrambled to his feet, (he must have fallen though could not remember) and ran to Sirius's prone form. "Sirius!" He gently shook him.

"No!" Weakly Sirius mumbled. "No, you can't make me, I won't do it!"

"Woah, it's me, mate. It's James." Slowly Sirius' eyes opened. They were the colour of grey blue, no longer infiltrated by red. "James?" Then he fell unconscious, and James crouched beside him, staring, unsure of what to do.

Darkness had clouded his mind for months, his own self trapped within, never fighting, always dormant.

Slowly, ever since he had seen James again, he had been fighting back, trying to take command, but the presence of darkness had kept him under his control. Until today. Until James Potter had risked everything, by turning his back, on Dumbledore and defending Sirius, the man who had attempted to murder him. And that had proven enough for the old Sirius, to fight and win.

Nothing could tear friends apart.

No……they weren't friends, they were more then friends.

Brothers.

He could feel Voldemort's power threatening to increase, and he pushed back. In the distance he could hear James' voice, rising in anger at Dumbledore, yet there was a voice inside his own head that did not belong there.

You're too weak to fight.

It was Voldemort.

He shuddered as darkness clouded his senses, but he kept pushing back. His consciousness slowly invading, pushing forward and for the first time in months he felt a release. He breathed taking a deep breath, before making one last effort.

He slid back into consciousness, now peering out of his own eyes, and not trapped in the dark. Knees felt weak, redundant, as if he hadn't used them. No, he hadn't had he? The dark personality that Voldemort had installed in him had been in control, and Sirius - the real Sirius - had lain dormant, more or less in a coma until seeing James again had awoken him, made him remember begin to fight back. His other self had fought back, and Sirius had stopped fighting to make the darkness believe it had won, yet he had bid his time, and in this traumatic time, Sirius had used it to his advantage.

The dark personality controlled by Voldemort was losing its grip and Sirius Black was making his way forward.

With a burst of combined strength and power, Sirius pushed forward breaking Voldemort's hold on him as he declared: "GET OUT MY HEAD!" He was dimly aware of the dark presence leaving and Voldemort's anger at being beaten.

Sirius sank to his side, lying exhausted on the cold earth. Barely aware, he felt someone shake him and he squirmed, his words slurredas darkness overcame him.

"You knew this was going to happen?"

Dumbledore stood beside James, watching Sirius' sleeping form. They had returned to Hogwarts, accompanied by Harry and his friends. James lowered his head, Dumbledore's words reverberated throughout his mind; he couldn't believe that he headmaster had manipulated him so, and yet - strangely - he did not care.

Sirius was saved.

Dumbledore's deception had come at a good price. Without him, Sirius would not have been where he was now, instead, it would've been likely he would have been back with Voldemort. Biting his bottom lip, James focused on the headmaster. "I believe you. I cannot stay mad at someone who helped me."

"It was necessary to deceive you, make you think I was the enemy. We had to make Sirius believe that you meant every word, and only through protecting him could you bring him back. I could not tell you, neither could Remus, otherwise the emotion would not have been real. We would not be standing here today if we had not followed this. Acting fake can always be seen through. Real emotions cannot."

Swallowing James turned his hazel eyes back to Sirius. He was laying in the hospital wing, covers pulled up right to his shoulders. Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey had run diagnostic spells upon him, which had revealed that there were no lasting effects.

Relieved James had begged the matron to allow him to watch over Sirius; reluctantly she had agreed.

"I must take leave now. Get some rest. You need it." Suggested Dumbledore and then he left.

"I think you need to go to bed, mate."

Jerking, James scrambled up, shaking his head. He had - without meaning to, of course - fallen asleep, leaning on Sirius' bed. A huge smile broke his face as Sirius features grinned back at him, though it was strained.

"How long have I been out?"

Sirius shrugged. "How do I know? I've been out myself!"

"True." Smiling, James hugged his friend. "I'm glad you're alright. You know, we're going to have to take down that memorial for you now."

"You mean you can't leave it?" Sirius joked, a faint sparkle evident in his eyes.

Laughing, the other shook his head. "Sorry mate, no can do."

Sirius glanced away, a heavy darkness seemed to cascade over him.

"Are you all right?" Worried, James peered into his friends eyes.

"I'm fine."

All though it was a forceful reply, Sirius realised James was not convinced.

"Tell me. Please."

Sighing, he forced himself to look at James. "I've been in the dark for so long, not fighting because didn't know any better. I let him take my mind, I let him deceive you. That was me you saw on the ground in front of the house. He had slowed my heart to a mere beat per minute, and used a potion to make me completely still, forcing me to look like I was dead. And you fell for it. If it were not for me, being so bloody flippant and so sure of myself, I wouldn't have had to go through that."

"You didn't know."

"Still, it could've been prevented. I let myself be drawn in thinking I had deceived Voldemort, I was stupid to think so."

"He's a good actor."

"Don't give that bastard excuses."

"Sorry." James lowered his eyes. "It can't have been that bad, can it?"

"Ha!" there was a certain bitterness in his friend's voice. "I can barely remember anything. All I know is that I caused all this suffering by not fighting."

"You didn't know." James focused, forcing Sirius to look at him. "How can you fight when you expected death? You didn't realise that was what Voldemort was going to do. If you did, I know you would've fault. By the time you knew, it was too late to fight back. Do not blame yourself!"

"Too late Prongs. I already have." Sirius turned on his side. "Leave me alone."

James was about to respond but thought better of it. Reluctantly he left, leaving his brother alone with his conflicted thoughts.

Within a few days Sirius was well enough to leave the hospital wing. He had rejected all visitors, including his godson and Dumbledore. However the first thing he did was speak to James and apologise to him for his abruptness. It had been hard for him to accept the truth of what had occurred, yet he knew he shouldn't have been harsh to his friend.

They were living in a time that needed friends and closeness. It was the only thing to live for.

He sat with his cousin Narcissa. Surprised to learn that she was in hiding, he had set out to discover the reason behind her sudden change of heart. When he heard what Voldemort had required of Draco, he had supported her all the way. For someone who had been brought up to serve the Dark Lord, Sirius was exceptionally surprised that Narcissa had even chosen to betray him. He agreed with her assessment that Draco was more important than obeying a monster.

Her faith in the Dark Arts had been shaken, and with Lucius murder, her turn to Dumbledore's side was complete. Now all she wanted was a life for her son, where he could lead it whatever way he wanted. Though they still held distaste for Muggle-borns and half-bloods, they had accepted the fact that they were proper people and were willing to work with them.

What surprised him most was that Draco Malfoy intended to follow Harry to Voldemort, so he could exact his revenge. Like Harry and Sirius, Draco had a reason to want to kill the Dark Lord himself.

But what Sirius wondered, did the world want from Draco Malfoy in return?

The boy's future was uncertain, and it would - certainly - be interesting to see where he ended up, if he survived.

People change in war, everyone does, even if they don't realise it. Draco is a very fortunate lad to discover that.

TBC

A bet you realised I would never kill my dear Sirius?

So, what do you think? Hope you liked it! Please review!

Next chapter is entitled: The Final Horcrux in which Harry makes plans; Draco makes Harry a surprising offer; Bellatrix meets her match; and Nagini takes Harry on a run! Look for that chapter in the next couple of days! I will now update every three to four days as the Epilogue is practically done!

Bye for now!

MissBlackPotter