Guys, I am so sorry it took me this long to update. It's been what, 5 weeks now. All I can say is that I started college and now work at the weekend. It doesn't leave me much time to write this. I do some when I can. Hopefully the next update will be sooner rather than later.
"If this book is right, which I'm sure it is because those Unspeakables were bloody bright, then your godfather isn't dead."
Harry stared at Sirius, unmoving. Sirius frowned and took a step towards Harry. He waved his hand in front of Harry's face.
"Woohoo," he called.
There was no response from Harry. Ron, who was sitting next to Harry, hit his friend round the head.
Harry dropped the book he hadn't realised he was holding. It hit the floor making a noise that can only be imagined because it is not actually a word. Imagine a full glass jar of pasta sauce. Now imagine it falling and hitting a pillow. That is exactly the kind of noise that the book made. Dust flew into the air and up into Harry's face. He immediately started coughing and spluttering. When he had finally calmed himself down and stared silently up at Sirius.
"W-what?" he finally stuttered. Harry continued to stare at the man who looked like his godfather. Harry looked very unstable, as if he was about to fall off of his chair.
Sirius laughed at Harry's expression.
"I said, your godfather isn't dead."
"How can he not be dead? H-he fell and didn't come out again."
Sirius nodded.
"Yup, he fell but you can get him back."
Harry wobbled and fell of his chair in shock. Sirius leapt forwards and hauled him to his feet, plonking him back on the chair.
"Hermione turn to um...page fifteen I think and read it to Harry. Hermione?"
Hermione jumped. She had forgotten anybody else was in the room. Hermione had spaced out as soon as Sirius had said 'You godfather isn't dead.' If Sirius was still alive then they had to get him back. Having Sirius back would change Harry and Remus. She hadn't seen Remus during the holidays but from what she could discern from his letters, he was as depressed and upset as Harry, although he hid it much better. It would make them both happy again. Hermione wanted to see Harry smile again. Sure, he had been smiling lately but it was forced. She wanted to see him genuinely happy again. He already had too much to deal with already, Sirius needed to be there for him.
Hermione gently opened the book to the page Sirius requested. The pages looked like they would tear or crumble at any moment. She questioned Sirius and he assured her that that was the reason there were so many spells on the book to protect it. It was an introduction, a simplified version of the information in the book so that a reader would know if the book held the information that they wanted.
"The Veil" she began, "is one of the Wizardings Worlds greatest mysteries. There are few witches or wizards who know the true origins or purpose or the Veil. Even we, who have spent many years studying the Veil, are still not privy to all of its secrets.
When first discovered in AD 69,3 the Veil was believed to be a means of communicating with the spirit world. This was a reasonable explanation as many witches and wizards claimed that when they stood close to the Veil they heard whispering voices."
Hermione stopped and looked at Harry. He moved his head slightly indicating this to be true. She continued.
"In AD 1205 it was common knowledge that the Veil was the passage to the spirit world and if a person were to enter then they would join the spirits, never to return. In AD 1206, William Fudge." Harry snorted when he heard the name Fudge. Hermione glared at him and continued. "William Fudge claimed that he had entered the Veil. He disappeared from his village for three weeks, giving no explanation as to where he was going. When he returned William was full of stories about where he had been, stories that, even to the villagers, seemed outrageous.
William claimed that he had stepped through the Veil he came out into a world that was very similar to our world yet also very different..."
"Sirius, does this have a point?" asked Ron impatiently.
"Yeah. It's just a bit of background information. It will help you to understand, to see it's possible."
Harry was staring blankly at Hermione, willing her to continue. He didn't look like he was paying attention, but he was. The truth was though; he was trying to get his head around the fact that he might be able to see his Sirius again. Harry blinked. No. It wasn't possible. Sirius couldn't still be alive. He was dead and there was nothing anybody could do about it. Everybody said he was dead, even Remus and Dumbledore. It was too much to hope for. It was stupid and he wasn't going to listen to anymore.
Harry stood up abruptly.
"'scuse me. I can't sit here and listen to this," he said.
Harry spun on his heel and stalked out of the room; glad his friends couldn't see him blinking back tears.
"Harry! Wait! Come back!" called Hermione to her friend. She made as if to stand up but Sirius placed a restraining hand on her shoulder.
"Leave him. Let him realise I'm telling the truth for himself otherwise he won't believe what is written in the book."
Hermione nodded, putting the book onto the table.
Ron rolled his eyes. He knew from experience that if somebody was upset they needed a friend to talk to. Ron jumped to his feet and ran out the door after his friend.
"Ron! Come back! Leave him!" shouted Hermione.
Ron ignored her.
Sirius sighed.
"Since they've both gone you had better read that book and tell your friends as I don't think they are coming back. They're probably more likely to believe you anyway."
Hermione felt terrible. She knew she should go after Ron and Harry but she also wanted to see if they truly could bring back Sirius. If he were back, everything would be all right again.
"Sirius," said Hermione suddenly. "What did you do with Sca–er, Pettigrew?"
Sirius looked at her oddly for a moment before answering.
"You know, we knew there was a traitor inside but we didn't know who it was. Never, in a million years would I have expected Peter. He was our friend. He never seemed the type to betray his friends. We interrogated him with Veritaserum, or the only form of it that we can brew–"
"You can't brew Veritaserum?" interrupted Hermione. "I thought that Sn..." she trailed off. She hadn't seen Snape around and she had seen a fair few people. Wouldn't they have known, she thought, that Pettigrew was a traitor if Snape was as spy? She'd have to ask Sirius later. This was too important now. But still, where was he?
"That who?" asked Sirius. Hermione shook he head and told him to carry on with what he had been saying. "We interrogated him and found the mark on his arm. That was all the proof we needed. Merlin knows how he hid it for all these years. We locked Peter up in one of the lower levels and I think Dumbledore snapped his wand."
Hermione's eyes widened.
"I thought it was a great crime to snap a wand and was only done in extreme cases."
Sirius nodded.
"Yes, that's true, but Peter could escape if he had his wand or he could carry on being a threat."
Hermione nodded knowingly. It made sense. Something nagged her though. It was right there on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't remember. She gritted her teeth angrily. She hated knowing something and not being able to remember what it was.
"Grrr, what is it?"
"What's up Hermione?"
Hermione sighed in frustration.
"There's something about what you just said but...oh, I can't remember."
Hermione tilted her chair back and covered her face with her hands.
"Hermione if it's that important, don't think about it. It will come to you."
"Hermione took her hands away from her face and let her chair fall forwards. It hit the floor with a thump. She smiled up at, or rather across at, Sirius who had taken Rons' empty seat."
"That's a good idea. That'll work. Now, where's that book?"
She rummaged carefully through the books, looking for The Veil and all its Mysteries.
"Here."
Hermione looked up. Sirius was holding the book out. Hermione took the book and slowly opened it up to the page she was reading,
"Thanks," she said smiling. Hermione looked down to the page the book was open to.
"William was curious about the Veil and decided that, as nobody else had, he was going to step through. William saw the world as he had left it except for the fact that he had stepped through the Veil. He entered the village and was suddenly terrified. Instead of seeing the people he had seen recently, he saw people who had died, most of whom he had seen die for he was not a young man, William fainted and when he woke up he nearly screamed in terror. His nurse, the woman looking after him was his younger sister. His sister had died over twenty years ago; she had fallen off a horse and got trampled.
William didn't understand. He was afraid. He stepped through the Veil not knowing what to expect and now here he was faced with a new reality. He was surrounded by people who William himself knew where dead.
William claimed that he was told by his sister that yes indeed, everyone around him were the spirits of the dead, but he himself was still alive because his body hadn't actually died in reality.
William left after several days. He couldn't bare being around all of these people who he had seen die. Time, it seemed, was different between the Veil and reality. He was only gone for three days but everyone on the village told him he had been gone fore three weeks.
He told no one nor left no written detail of how he left the Veil.
"Oh how is that supposed to help? If he didn't leave any information..." cried Hermione.
"Hermione!" interrupted Sirius. "Calm down. You have to read on. That isn't the end.
"Oh right," said Hermione sheepishly. "Sorry. Um, where was I?" Hermione scanned the page quickly and found what she was looking for.
"However he did leave behind a few words with his old doctor. What William said had never been truly understood, but it encouraged the Unspeakables in the new Department at the Ministry of Magic to find out what the Veil actually was.
William said to a Dr. Findus Verun, 'I found my feet and listened to the land."
Hermione frowned.
"I found my feet and listened...?"
Hermione had no idea what it meant. It didn't make any sense.
Seeing Hermione's puzzled face, Sirius quickly spoke up.
"Don't worry. No one had actually figured out what it meant because all of the test subjects have been attached to a rope so they could be pulled back. It was the safest way. Although if you read on then it explains more about their experiments. You can miss out this bit," said Sirius indicating about half of the page.
Hermione looked down at the book and was about to continue reading when a loud screeching noise filled the air. It echoed off the walls and seemed to fill every crack and empty space in the room. Hermione dropped the book and put her hands over her ears.
"SIRIUS!" she screamed over the din. "WHAT'S THAT?"
Sirius had paled.
Hermione couldn't hear him but she saw his lips move so she knew he had said something.
"WHAT?" she yelled.
Sirius ignored her. Hermione took her hands away from her ears and cringed in pain. The noise had now changed into a high pitched squeal.
"SIRIUS!" she screamed. "WHAT IS THAT?"
Hermione pulled on Sirius' robes to get his attention.
"..." The colour had completely drained out of Sirius' face.
Hermione couldn't hear him. She shrugged and pointed to her ears before covering them up again.
Sirius rummaged around the table and quickly produced a quill and parchment. He hurriedly scribbled something and passed it to Hermione.
Breached wards–alarm
Apparition in or out
Death Eaters?
Hermione gaped at him. She suddenly remembered what she needed to say. She took the quill and scribbled her own message onto the parchment.
Pettigrew's an animagus
No wand/steal someone else's
Sirius stared at her
"Harry!" shouted Ron. "Wait up Harry!"
Harry sped up. He didn't particularly want to talk to anybody right now. He hoped Ron would get the point. He didn't.
"Wait up mate!" called Ron again.
Harry sighed in resignation and stopped. He wiped his eyes quickly. He didn't want Ron to see. Harry gazed around him. He didn't recognise the passage. Down here the passage was roughly hewn stone. It was uneven and a lighter grey than in some of the other parts of the cave system. It was once again lit by an unknown source of light. He'd really have to ask somebody where it came from.
"Harry," gasped Ron. He was out of breath from running to catch up with Harry.
"What is it Ron?" snapped Harry. He immediately felt guilty for snapping at his friend.
"Sorry Ron. Don't take it personally. I just don't want to talk to anybody right now."
Ron waved his hand dismissively, still trying to catch his breath.
"Mate...gasp... you need to talk...gasp...to someone. You're my best mate...gasp."
Harry shook his head.
"No Ron. It's not worth trying. It won't work."
"Harry," said Ron exasperatedly, now in full control of his breathing. "You miss Sirius. We all do. I know how you feel..."
"No you don't!" cried Harry, leaning against the stone wall. "You couldn't." Harry slid to he floor, his head in his hands.
Ron was silent. He looked at his distraught friend sitting in the floor. Ron decided to tell Harry something, something that only one other person knew the truth about.
"I do," Ron whispered. "I do know what it's like."
Harry looked up at his friend, his face bright red.
"What?" asked Harry in amazement.
Harry's eyes followed Ron's as he slid down to the floor.
"I've never told anyone before but I know what you're going through. I lost my godfather when I was ten." Ron leaned his head against the wall.
"I didn't know you had a godfather."
"I did. He behaved like Sirius did towards you. His name was Jonathan. I grew up with him practically living at The Burrow. He was one of mum's best friends. He was like a second father to me."
"What happened to him?"
"We were...er...this is hard."
Harry crawled over to the other side of the stone corridor and sat next to his friend.
"What happened Ron?"
"We were in the woods by our house. You know the ones."
Harry nodded. He remembered which ones Ron meant.
"We being him, me, and Ginny. He was always doing stuff and taking me and Ginny places."
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-FLASHBACK-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XGinny was lagging behind. She was trying hard to keep up. This was only the second time Jonathan (A/N Hime to Werewolf's idea. She made me put it in. My life was at stake ) had taken her into the forest. She was determined not to let it be her last. Molly Weasley had only just allowed her to go with Ron and Jonathan. Ron had been in the forest many times over the past year.
Jonathan taught Ron everything there was to know about the forest: how to live off of the forest, how to find the way if you are lost, how to tell which plants were poisonous, which plants treated different ailments and injuries, things like that. Ron loved it. He had the confidence of a typical ten-year-old. He knew that he was prepared for anything that could happen in the forest.
Ginny kept losing sight of Ron and Jonathan. They moved in and out of the trees and past large green plants that were twice as tall as Ginny herself. She didn't want to lose them. If she did then she knew she would be lost in the forest forever.
"Jonathan, Ron," whined nine-year-old Ginny. "Wait. Please."
Jonathan stopped and walked back to Ginny, Ron beside him.
"Well little missie. You're slowing us down. We'll have to do something about that won't we Ron?"
"Yessir. What?" said ten-year-old Ron, nodding vigorously.
"Go stand over there." Jonathan pointed about five steps behind him. Ron scurried backwards.
Jonathan looked down at Ginny.
"Well missie, what should we do with you?" He grinned mischievously. Ginny caught the look and suddenly knew what to expect.
"Don't you dare," she said dangerously.
Jonathan looked as if she were about to step back towards Ron but, quick as lightning, he leapt forwards and picked Ginny up, throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.
"Arrrggghhh!" she squealed. "Let me down."
"Uh Uh little missie. You're too slow," said Jonathan, shaking his head. He grinned.
"Let me down," squealed Ginny again, pounding his back with her small fists.
Ron was laughing at the antics of his sister and godfather. Even though Jonathan was his godfather, he was Ginny's as well. The three of them got on really well and were very close friends.
Ron looked up at his godfather, his face shining.
"No fair. If you carry Ginny then you..." Ron stopped, Jonathan suddenly became very tense and alert.
"What is it Jonathan?" asked Ron nervously.
"Ssh Ron."
Jonathan put Ginny down and put a hand over her mouth, as she was about to protest.
"Be quiet, both of you," said Jonathan sharply. Both children shut up; they could hear the urgency in his voice.
Jonathan took out his wand and peered into the gloomy foliage around them.
Crack. Jonathan spun around. The noise had come from behind him.
Crack. Jonathan spun back around.
Crack. Crack. Now it was coming from both left and right.
Ginny whimpered. She was terrified and trying hard not to cry. Ron moved silently over to her and gripped her hand. He squeezed it reassuringly. Ron knew Jonathan would be able to handle anything.
"Ron!" hissed Jonathan. "Keep hold of your sister. Run and don't look back." Jonathan took up a fighting stance, looking wildly around him.
"What? Why?" asked Ron, nervously gripping Ginny's hand tightly.
Jonathan turned and glared at Ron and Ginny.
"Go, Ron, Ginny. You have to run. It's... Crap. Too late." Jonathan groaned in frustration.
The trees rustled even though there was no wind. Branches cracked. Evil maniacal laughter filled the air. Jonathan paled. Ron and Ginny took a step closer to Jonathon, their eyes wide with fear.
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" said a cold voice behind them.
Jonathan spun round, wand pointed at the person who spoke.
Ginny looked at the figure and screamed. The tall figure wore a long black cloak and long black robes. The hood was pulled up and the face masked.
"Malfoy," snarled Jonathan, pulling his two godchildren close to him. "What do you want?"
"Now, now Cauldwell," drawled Malfoy. "You should have know you wouldn't get away with it."
Lucius Malfoy snapped his fingers and ten more robed figured figures appeared from the trees.
"Don't think I'm gonna give up that easily Malfoy. I'll fight."
Malfoy nodded slowly.
"I know," he said. "But what about the children?" Malfoy pointed at Ron and Ginny. The two children shrank back into Jonathan's robes.
Jonathan's expression changed from that of anger to that of fear.
"Don't you dare hurt them. You're fight is with me. I did it, not them."
Malfoy smiled viciously.
"Aah, I see. You do actually care about somebody."
Malfoy snapped his fingers.
"Wingardium Leviosa," two voices shouted.
Ron and Ginny screamed. Their feet were slowly leaving the ground and their floating bodies got higher and higher. Jonathan turned back to the speakers.
"Leave them alone," said Jonathan, gritting his teeth.
"Why?" asked one.
"You're in no position to give orders," said the other.
Lestrange," he growled. "Macnair."
One cackled. It was the woman, Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Well done Jonathan. You do remember us."
"How could I not, Lestrange?" After everything that happened."
Lestrange shook her head slowly. She clicked her tongue.
"Jonathan, I'm hurt," she said. "When did we stop being on first name terms?"
Jonathan didn't answer. He was staring up at his godchildren floating twenty feet above him. Ginny was crying and Ron was biting his lip trying not to follow suit.
"Let those two go and I'll come. Let them go and don't hurt them," begged Jonathan, looking upwards.
Malfoy laughed. It was not a pleasant sound,
"Why should we believe you, Cauldwell? You betrayed us to that muggle-loving fool Dumbledore."
Jonathan looked back down and locked eyes with Malfoy. He smiled slightly.
"Bloody Hell. You think you're so smart? Are you telling me that even after all this time you didn't figure it out? I didn't betray you..."
"You told our plans to Dumbledore and had the Aurors try to arrest us when we arrived."
"Yes, I know I did that, but how could I betray you if I was never a servant of Him in the first place?" Jonathan stopped. All of the Death Eaters were staring at him. At least, that's what it looked like, it was hard to tell when they were wearing masks.
"I worked for Dumbledore and the Light. I was a spy." Jonathan chuckled.
One of the Death Eaters pointed their wand at Jonathon.
"We were just going to torture you but I think you should die now."
"Nott," spat Jonathan. "Typical."
Malfoy walked over to Jonathan.
"Now Mr. Cauldwell," he said icily. "It is time for you to die."
He nodded and two robed figures stepped forwards and took hold of Jonathan's arms. Jonathan could tell it was Crabbe and Goyle by the way they held him. The only thing they were good for was muscle. His wand was forced out of his hand and onto the floor.
Malfoy pointed his wand at Jonathan's heart.
Jonathan held his head high. If he was going to die he was going to do it with dignity.
"Fine. If you are going to kill me leave the kids alone. They won't tell anyone what happened.
Malfoy smiled coldly. Jonathan inwardly cringed.
No Jonathan." Malfoy looked up at the two floating children. "No. I think we are going to have fun with them. We'll return their lifeless bodies to their parents. It will serve as a lesson to..."
"NO!" Jonathan shouted. He was struggling against his captors. He wasn't going to let anything happen to Ginny and Ron. He couldn't bear to think about his godchildren getting hurt..
Ron and Ginny couldn't look at their godfather. They had their eyes screwed shut and were praying for somebody to come and help soon. They were terrified and didn't understand what was happening.
Malfoy put his wand onto Jonathan's chest.
"You are going to die," he hissed. "Avada Kedavra."
There was a bright flash of brilliant green light. Jonathan slumped to the floor but as he did so, a bright golden light left his body and shot up into the air encircling Ron and Ginny. They were now floating inside a glowing gold sphere.
Avery and Lestrange tried but were unable to bring the two children to the ground. The glowing sphere protected them. They didn't know what to do.
Malfoy pointed his wand to the sky.
"MORSMORDRE!" he bellowed.
Something vast, green and glittering erupted from the wand.
Ron and Ginny looked up above them. Ron was terrified but he pulled his sister close, covering up her eyes. Above them was a colossal skull, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue.
Immediately a series of popping noises announced the arrival of several wizards.
"Leave them!" snapped Malfoy. "Let's go!"
The Death Eaters quickly disapparated as several voices roared, "STUPEFY!"
Jets of fiery red light shot through the clearing. There was a loud rustling and six people appeared in the clearing. Mr. Weasley, Bill and Charlie Weasley, Molly Weasley and two people Ron didn't know.
"Jonathan!" cried Molly as she saw the figure slumped on the floor. She rushed over and fell down next to her fallen friend; she shook him, trying to wake him. One of the unknown people knelt down next to Molly. He waved his wand over Jonathan's prone form. A pale blue light covered Jonathan and turned a very dark scarlet.
"I'm sorry Molly," he said.
"NOOO!" wailed Molly. She broke down into racking sobs. Arthur knelt down next to her and held her shaking form. He looked up at the unknown wizard.
"Have you see Ron or Ginny, Sturgis?"
"No. Sorry Arthur," said the wizard, Sturgis, shaking his head.
Ron looked down.
"MUM!" he screamed. "DAD! We're up here!"
Molly and Arthur looked around wildly, trying to find the source of the noise.
"Up there," shouted Charlie, pointing up to the sky.
Molly and Arthur looked up and saw Ron and Ginny floating inside the golden sphere.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-END FLASHBACK-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XRon's eyes were watery.
"I'm so sorry Ron," said Harry sympathetically. "I didn't know."
"Me and Ginny never told anybody what really happened. We lied and said we didn't know. We didn't understand why it happened."
"What was that light that came from him?" asked Harry curiously.
Ron shrugged.
"I don't know what that was but it saved Ginny and me. I still don't know the whole story about why it happened. I don't know what Jonathan was doing with the Death Eaters or what he did and I don't know why they wanted to kill him. If I could, if there was even a small chance of getting Jonathan back I'd take that chance."
Harry smiled at his friend. Ron was totally right. He would do anything to get back Sirius back. Harry opened his mouth to say so when a loud, screeching noise interrupted, filling the air and echoing off the walls.
Ron and Harry leapt to their feet, wands drawn. Somebody ran past the, back the way the boys had come.
"Wait!" shouted Harry.
The person stopped and turned around. It was Kingsley Shaklebolt.
"What is that?" screamed Harry, pointing to the ceiling.
"Someone's breached the wards!" yelled Kingsley.
Thanks for all of the reviews. It means a lot that people like this fic.
Thanks for all of your opinions on what Voldemort should look like. It helped a lot. I haven't started writing that bit yet but I know what I have planned now.
Wow, I didn't think that there were so many die-hard Sirius fans as well.
Okay, in response to a couple of reviews, I just want to make this very clear, there are going to be no ships in this story. I am a R/Hr fan personally, that's why I'm hinting at it, but I have no idea where to start when doing ships so I'm not even going to bother. I tried to put it in but it turned out to be rather pathetic and my sister thought it was so funny.
I'm putting this in as an afterthought. If you think the flashback is silly, I just thought I'd tell you that it does have significance later in the story. There is a reason that it's there.
Linsey: You presume too much. I know, and I'm sure all of the other authors know, that Sirius is dead and is not coming back. I know that J K Rowling killed off Sirius for a reason, but this is fanfiction so I can write whatever I choose and whatever fits in with my fic. Just because I know he's dead doesn't mean that I don't want him alive again. If you don't like the fact that Sirius might not be dead, don't read this fic. Anyway, Sirius not being dead isn't a main point in this fic so what does it really matter.
