A/N: (2/2/21)

Here I am, back at the beginning, redoing some chapters. Not much in the way of changes, just mainly rewording some things and trying to make it sound and flow better than it did when I wrote the first version so long ago.

To all of you reading, thank you!

Previously:

Harry yelled, "SIRIUS! SIRIUS!"

But there was no answer. Harry ran forward, dodging Lupin, and pulled back the curtain.

"HARRY, NO!" He heard Hermione shout, but he didn't care. He would find his godfather. He jumped through.

As his senses faded, he heard Bellatrix yelling about how her master would reward her for killing not only Black "but Potter too!" The last thing he saw was Hermione jumping through after him. She grabbed his hand as his vision faded to black.

Chapter 1: Arrival

Harry groaned as he returned to consciousness. As his senses came into focus, he discovered he was on the hard ground.

Shite, Harry thought, Why was I sleeping on the ground? I'm going to be sore for days…

Then, the events of the previous hour or so flooded back to him.

SIRIUS! With that, he wrenched his eyes open and sat up with a sharp intake of breath.

When he looked around, he was surprised. He was still on the dais which housed the veil, the only thing was that the room was quite empty except for Hermione and Sirius. Sirius! He was okay! Sirius was fine.

Harry rushed over to the limp form of his godfather and checked for a pulse, hoping beyond hope. He sighed in relief upon finding a pulse. What he found wasn't a dead Sirius Black, it was just a thoroughly unconscious Sirius Black. He decided to leave him there for the moment and look around, doubting that he could wake him anyways.

As Harry walked around the room, he noticed that there were no signs of the battle that had recently occurred.

Maybe we time traveled, Harry thought, internally laughing at the absurdity of his theory. He concluded that he probably wouldn't be able to come up with the answer himself, so he'd probably have to wake Hermione or Sirius to hear some good ideas.

Hermione. Harry thought crossly. I can't believe she jumped in after me. He couldn't help but notice the fluttering sensation in his stomach when he thought about her loyalty recently.

Hmm… that's new… Harry mused, considering the new feeling. He decided that he would contemplate it later and contented himself with pondering their interactions over the past years.

The first pleasant memory he had of her was after Halloween in first year, the day after he and Ron had saved her from the troll. They had become fast friends after that, and by the end of the year, he had gotten to know her somewhat well, but sitting on the dais, he came to a startling realization. He had always put Ron first when Ron hadn't deserved it.

He frowned. It seemed so much clearer now. After the troll incident, Ron had continued his mocking, albeit at a milder level, but had not stopped, and he, Harry, had never once stepped in to defend her. In fact, he had often nodded in agreement, not really paying attention to Ron's words.

That must have hurt, Harry realized, for even the people who saved your life and rescued you from a troll to mock and ridicule you.

Then, in their third year, there was that whole blowup over Sirius' Firebolt gift. He had just agreed with Ron without thinking, and left Hermione all alone, and avoided her, even though what she did made complete sense, and he now realized that he would've done the same thing in her position, though she should have probably asked him first - no, scratch that. Considering his reaction, he thought it made sense that she didn't ask him. He would've overreacted and denied the possibility that the ex-con was sending him a gift. The worst part was that she had been right, even if Sirius hadn't been malicious in his intentions, and he had ignored her. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't even apologized. What was wrong with him?

He decided that he would rectify that as soon as Hermione woke up.

And then, just today, (Or was it yesterday, Harry mused) he had dismissed her concerns about the vision of Sirius being a trap. Then, he had led them all on some half-cocked mission to "rescue" Sirius, who wasn't even at risk in the first place. Then, after Sirius had fallen through the veil, Harry had followed, like an idiot, despite knowing on some level that it was dangerous. And, for some reason, Hermione was somehow still loyal enough to him to jump through after him. How? After everything he did, how was she still loyal to him? It made no sense. He pinched the bridge of his nose, considering the question.

There was no answer he could think of.

A groan from behind him drew him from his thoughts.

As he turned around, he saw Hermione rubbing her eyes sleepily with her fists. He walked to her side and knelt next to her.

He cautiously put a hand on her shoulder and her eyes shot open and she gasped, obviously remembering falling through the veil.

"How are we alive?" she whispered. "That was the Veil of Death. I've read about it. It's been used for criminal executions. If we're alive, are all of those criminals alive too?"

"Hermione… Breathe," Harry whispered back as comfortingly as he could, squeezing her shoulder. That was when she noticed that he was there.

"You great, big, utter, PRAT!" she exclaimed loudly, "You just had to jump into the veil of bloody death! J-just what is your problem? Did you want to d-die?" At the end, she broke down into sobs and her body shook, tears leaking out of her eyes and running down her cheeks in rivers. "I-I can't—"

At that moment, Harry realized what it must have done to her, seeing him voluntarily run to what she thought he considered was his death. Even if he hadn't been the best friend, she somehow seemed to think he had been, and therefore, thinking he was dead...

"I'm sorry," Harry said, unprompted. "Not only because of that, but yes, partially because I went through. Mainly because of how I've treated you. You're the only one who has constantly stood by me. Not even Ron can hold that title, but you... you're the best. In our third year with the Firebolt, I shouldn't have listened to Ron. I don't know what I was thinking, but I was wrong, so wrong, and I can't believe I never apologized to you for that. What you did... it was to protect me when I was being irrational. I know there should be an issue for you not coming to me first, but I can't be mad about that because I know how it would have gone. I'd have dug my heels in. I know what position that put you in, being scared to lose your only friends, but as you saw it, there were two choices. The first was to have me possibly die yet be my friend, and the second one was to risk the friendship but keep me safe. You never should have had to choose, and I'm ashamed of myself. I know I'm rambling a bit at this point, but I think I needed to say this. It seems like you forgave me, but I haven't forgiven myself for what I did."

He took in a deep breath and chanced a glance at Hermione, who looked absolutely dumbfounded. He decided to continue. "Why are you so loyal, Hermione Granger? Why are you so bloody amazing?"

At this, Harry heard a clear hitch in her breath and noticed a blush blossom across her cheeks. He regarded her carefully. "I didn't know that the veil supposedly led to death, Hermione, I just saw my godfather fall through a creepy veil that was whispering to me earlier, that I was sure was something dangerous. I thought that there was something behind it like maybe it was a gateway of sorts, and all I could think was that I wanted my godfather back here. But my point is, you did know that it was apparently a death sentence, and you voluntarily jumped through it. How, after how bad of a friend I've been, how could you possibly still be loyal enough to me to jump to your death just to follow me? You are just so bloody amazing, Hermione Granger, and I can't believe I've never appreciated that out loud before."

He glanced over at her and saw that her tears had stopped, but her eyes were still red and puffy. Her cheeks had a decidedly pink tint to them and she was holding her bottom lip with her teeth. A few strands of frizzy brown hair framed her face. He noticed right then and there, that she was startlingly beautiful. For the second time in as long as he'd known her, he realized that she was a girl. Shite, Harry thought. I'm an idiot. I've known her for years and only noticed how good she looked once before, and that was when she put on a bucketful of makeup.

Suddenly, she rolled over onto her stomach and pushed herself up so that she was kneeling, and then glomped Harry, squeezing him tightly.

She sniffled into his neck. "I've never heard someone say something so nice to me before. You're right, though. I have already forgiven you. I know you well enough to know that you would never intentionally force me to make a choice such as that. Still, it means so much that you would say all of this, Harry, and you should know that you're my best and first friend, and I doubt you could do anything to change that, knowing you. I know you will probably continue to feel guilty, but I don't think you need to. I forgave you a long time ago."

"You're my best friend too, Hermione. I'm sorry, I'm going to have to remedy that lack of complements. I'm going to shower you with them for as long as I live. I've been a bad friend, at least I think I have, and I want to make up for that. I'm sorry. I really should have corrected Ron's behavior when he was insulting and mocking you. I mean, Ron's a great friend most of the time, but sometimes, he just doesn't really get it... he doesn't understand the consequences of his words. You know, he has the emotional range of a teaspoon."

Hermione leaned back and gave him a radiant smile, and then hugged him again. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, just enjoying the feel of being in each others' arms.

Suddenly, a deliberate cough from behind them had them separating quickly and blushing furiously. Sirius was looking at them confusedly.

"As much fun as it is seeing you two lovebirds hug it out, I really must inquire, where the sodding hell are we? I mean, the last thing I remember is getting stunned by dear old Bella, and now I feel like I've been trampled by a horde of hippogriffs," Sirius said dryly.

Harry and Hermione, having recovered from their embarrassment, glanced at each other. "No idea," they said. Sirius blinked.

"You guys are worse than those Weasley twins!" Sirius shook his head and cast a quick Tempus with his wand that was lying next to him.

In the air, a few figures appeared:

4:27 A.M.

Sirius peered at the numbers. "It seems like we've been asleep for a few hours." He looked around and took in their location. "Why does it look like there wasn't a major battle here? And, why would the Order—" or Voldemort, he added mentally, "—leave us here?" Then, he gestured to the veil. "Also, why am I not dead? Isn't that thing supposed to kill people?" He turned and saw the gears turning in Hermione's head as she soaked up the questions.

"Hmm… I'm not sure, Sirius, but maybe the veil doesn't actually kill people, seeing as we went through it as well-" Hermione was cut off by Sirius.

"You did WHAT?"

They shifted nervously.

Hermione spoke up again, defending herself and Harry. "Well, Harry jumped through after you in his grief and I followed him because I'll always follow Harry."

Sirius nodded reluctantly, apparently accepting of their explanation, but clearly not happy about it.

An uncomfortable silence descended on the trio as Hermione looked down at her hands and Harry looked back to the veil, while Sirius stared blankly at the ground in front of him.

After a time, Harry spoke up, breaking the tension. "The whispers, they're louder. In fact, much of it sounds distinctly of Bellatrix's laughter." At this, Sirius frowned and Hermione creased her brow in thought. When nothing came of it, he offered his hand to Hermione, who took it and used it to stand as well. Hermione groaned as she stood and stretched in various ways, causing many of her joints to make cracking noises as they adjusted from resting in an awkward position. Harry gave her a look.

"I did not need to hear that," he complained. Hermione smirked, and Sirius laughed before replying.

"It feels good," Hermione retorted.

"It feels good, Harry," Sirius parroted. Harry blushed and looked away. "Alright, alright. But kids, we need to start thinking about getting out of here. God knows what would happen if someone found us down here."

Harry laughed. "I can picture it now, knowing the press, someone would write something like Mass Murderer Sirius Black Kidnaps Harry Potter and Innocent Muggleborn and Holds Them Hostage." Sirius chortled, knowing that the press certainly would've published something like that, even if the joke itself wasn't the funniest.

Sirius sobered quickly. "Alright, I know you're hurt, so we'll get out of here and head back to Grimmauld and ask what the hell's going on. Maybe we can get Poppy to fix you guys up. Merlin knows I'm on track for a tongue-lashing from Molly for "dragging the innocent little babies out into the war." Let's go." Harry smirked at the thought of Mrs. Weasley giving Sirius a severe talking to.

The trio carefully made their way out of the Ministry, having a much easier time getting out with Sirius's help then they had getting in. As they entered the muggle part of town, Sirius clapped both of them on the shoulder and said, "Please don't spill your dinners on me," before promptly disapparating with the two kids coming along for the ride.

As they twisted into existence in the middle of the street of Grimmauld Place, Sirius looked confused at the absence of a Number Twelve while Harry and Hermione struggled not to lose their dinners on the sidewalk. Sirius decided that they would go to Hogwarts and see if they could find Albus.

He turned back to the teens with a glint in his eyes that made them gulp and said: "Hold on to your lunches, kiddos." Then, he grabbed them by the shoulders and apparated to Hogsmeade.

This time, they did lose their meals. Sirius grimaced and vanished the mess. "Sorry, guys. Let's go!" He said lightly. The couple glared at him and started to follow him.

Behind Sirius, Harry had taken Hermione's hand and was looking around. "You know," Harry whispered, "I don't think that I remember tonight being anywhere close to a full moon." Hermione looked at him oddly, but then looked baffled when he pointed out that it was a full moon.

"Sirius," Hermione called, "Was it supposed to be a full moon tonight?" Sirius looked up at the sky and saw the full moon.

"No, most certainly not, at least I don't think so," Sirius said over his shoulder. "Remus is always very tired and achy when the full moon comes around, and he wasn't yesterday, so I'm not sure what to say." As he finished speaking, they neared the Shrieking Shack. Sirius eyed it critically. "That looks a little less worn than it usually is," he mused.

As they stepped inside, Sirius frowned. "That couch," he gestured at a couch that was in relatively good condition compared to the rest of the furniture, "was torn up by Remus during our seventh year. I remember this because of how disappointed I was—That was my favorite couch in this place."

Hermione looked pensive. "Couldn't someone have used a Reparo?" She asked.

Sirius shrugged. "I don't think so. It would look a lot less worn than it does now."

Harry frowned. "Could we have time traveled?" he asked, surprised that his ridiculous theory might actually have merit.

Sirius looked overwhelmed. "I don't know. Nobody really knows what the veil does, but it was always assumed that it could be used for executions. Since we're not dead, we're well and truly in the dark."

They made their way through the passage that led to the base of the Whomping Willow. On the way out, Sirius transformed into Padfoot and pressed the knot, rendering the violent tree temporarily harmless. Once a safe distance from the tree, Padfoot shifted back to Sirius and he turned to them.

"I'm going to disillusion us so that we can make our way up to the school unnoticed. If Harry's theory is right, and we have no reason to assume it isn't, then it would be a good idea to stay concealed until we get to the headmaster's office. Hopefully Albus is the headmaster here. Anyway, remember that just because they can't see you, doesn't mean they can't hear you." The kids nodded, and Sirius tapped them on the top of the head with his wand, and they disappeared from sight.

Just as Sirius was raising his wand to his own head, a howl came from the direction of the forbidden forest.

When Sirius snapped his head in that direction, his jaw slackened and his eyes bulged. Harry snorted at his expression, but when he turned, he adopted the same expression.

Rushing towards the Whomping Willow passage that they had exited minutes before, was a stag, grim, rat, and werewolf. Harry felt an invisible hand grab his own in a death grip.

Suddenly, the werewolf stopped abruptly and turned his head towards Sirius, who was still slack-jawed, the rest of the animals following his example.

Harry punched Sirius on the arm. "Dispel our charms," he hissed, "the werewolf at least can smell us. It wouldn't be good to appear to be deceiving them." Sirius gulped, and then complied.

The instant Sirius dispelled their charms, the stag stumbled backward and fell, landing with a thump on the ground. The grim seemed to realize that something important was happening and directed the werewolf into the passage, though it looked reluctant to do so.

As the werewolf and grim vanished from sight, the stag and the rat shifted into two teenage boys. One looking decidedly rat-like, and the other had unkempt black hair, glasses, and hazel eyes.

The bespectacled boy hesitantly stepped forward towards Harry, noting that his appearance looked almost identical to his own, aside from a strange scar and his startling green eyes.

Hermione and Harry exchanged a glance, the latter giving the former a slight nod. Hermione stepped forward and stuck out her hand. "I'm Hermione Granger," she gestured to Harry, "and this is Harry Potter. We're transfer students from America. If you don't mind, we're a little lost, could you help us get to the headmaster's office?" At this, Sirius looked startled and then schooled his features into a vague expression of approval.

The other bespectacled boy carefully took Hermione's hand and shook it, eyeing them suspiciously. "Umm… My name's James Potter. I'm a fifth-year here, and my friend behind me is Peter Pettigrew. Um… Alright… I guess I can take you to the headmaster's office if you don't know the way. Is he expecting you?"

Hermione managed to force herself to look passably sheepish, "We might be a bit early, I think he was expecting us tomorrow…" she trailed off.

James looked uncertain. "Well…" he turned to face Peter, "you should probably go and help Moony," he said cryptically. Peter nodded frantically and hurriedly shifted to Wormtail and went to the shack. James turned back to the trio, who were looking incredibly awkward. He glanced at Hermione, and then Sirius.

"Who's the other guy?" he asked.

Sirius looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He looked to Hermione, who looked resigned, and Harry, who looked a mix of worried and ecstatic at seeing his father. "Uh… My name is Sirius Black… You might have heard of me?" he finished lamely.

At this, James whipped out his wand and pointed it at Sirius. "You can't be serious, Sirius just left!" he exclaimed.

Sirius looked affronted but then grinned, sensing the perfect opportunity for his favorite kind of pun. "I'm always Sirius, Prongs! You wound me!"

James pinched the bridge of his nose while Harry and Hermione groaned. "Terrible pun, though that's exactly what Sirius would've said," he muttered. "Fine. I'll take you to the headmaster, but I want an explanation." James walked past them, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the ground.

As he passed by Harry he heard him mutter, "Merlin, I hope we didn't time travel, and this is some alternative dimension, otherwise, the timeline is royally fucked."

Hermione paled, fear making her forget to chastise Harry for his language.

James sighed, gestured for them to follow, and led them to the castle, the air between James and Sirius thick with tension. Harry and Hermione, however, seemed not to notice as they whispered furiously to each other, debating their situation while holding hands.

Dumbledore's office was just like Harry remembered. Trinkets abound, portraits glaring, and an obscenely large bowl of lemon drops on his desk.

Silence had the office in a death grip while Dumbledore looked at Harry, Hermione, and Sirius over his half-moon glasses, while James stood off to the side.

Sirius shifted uneasily in his seat, feeling like a first-year caught copying somebody else's homework, while Hermione was seemingly cutting off the circulation in Harry's hand by squeezing too hard.

Suddenly, the silence was broken as Dumbledore opened his mouth. "Sirius Black, you say? How can you prove it?"

Sirius stood abruptly, startling everyone present, and walked away from his chair.

"Watch."

He shifted into Padfoot and James gasped. Dumbledore made a hmm sort of noise and cast a quick dispelling spell to check for illusions. Dumbledore nodded, and Padfoot was Sirius once again.

"Fascinating," Dumbledore mumbled. "How did you get here from your own... time… or dimension… whichever one is accurate?"

"Ahh… well… we might have fallen through that veil in the death chamber…"

Dumbledore blinked in shock. "You were executed?" he asked suspiciously.

"NO!" Sirius loudly insisted. "Um… sorry. No, we weren't. There was a fight going on between the Death Eaters and us, and my crazy cousin Bellatrix stunned me and I fell backward through. These two idiots followed me through." Harry and Hermione looked indignant at being labeled 'idiots'.

Death Eaters? Dumbledore mouthed.

"Hey!" Harry protested, "I didn't know that it was supposed to lead to death! I just wanted to reach my godfather!"

James was startled. "Godfather? Who were your parents?" he demanded.

Dumbledore waved dismissively. "Now isn't the time for that, my boy. I do believe that can be addressed later. However, I do not believe that you will have to worry about damaging your timeline because it is highly likely that you are in an entirely different dimension. If my guess is accurate, then the veil was and is a gateway between dimensions. I do not understand why you ended up here, but perhaps it was a subconscious desire of Sirius here to relive his glory days, and Harry and Hermione may have wanted to follow Sirius."

"As a temporary solution, I can accept you two as transfer students from America, though you will have to retake part of your fifth year, seeing as it is only October," he looked at Hermione's startled expression and decided to explain, "I heard Miss Granger muttering about OWL results as she came in." Hermione looked mollified. "And Sirius, I will hire you as our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, as our current one is only here on a favor to me, and is quite eager to leave."

Sirius nodded and the two teens grinned. Dumbledore picked up the Sorting Hat, "Gideon, would you mind terribly if I asked you to sort these two for me please?"

Harry pulled on the Sorting Hat. "Albus," it said, "this one has already been sorted, he belongs in Gryffindor, though I can't remember ever sorting him."

Dumbledore frowned. "Of course. How silly of me. Sirius, would you take these two to Diagon Alley to purchase some supplies?"

"But I haven't any money," Sirius protested. Dumbledore pulled open a drawer to his desk and pulled out a key.

"Use my vault. Consider it a favor." Sirius thanked Dumbledore and took the key.

"We won't be long," he insisted, "I'm a quick shopper. Never liked it much."

Dumbledore smiled. "You may use my Floo," he offered, gesturing to the fireplace.

An hour later, a happy Sirius, a frazzled Hermione, and a dazed Harry came out of Dumbledore's floo, Harry ending up sprawled out on the ground, as was the norm for his experiences with magical travel.

Hermione laughed before helping him up.

"Sirius, I will take you to your quarters," Dumbledore suggested, "and the two of you can make your way to the Gryffindor Common Room. I trust that you know the way?" Harry and Hermione nodded.

Sirius walked over and knelt in front of Harry. "I know that you almost lost me yesterday, pup, but I promise I'll try to stay with you in the future, okay? I'll see you in class today. Now go talk to your parents!"

Harry smiled and nodded. Hermione grabbed his hand as they left the office.

As they walked down the hallway, Hermione squeezed his hand. "Are you okay with this? What's happening, I mean," Hermione asked carefully.

Harry sighed. "I'm not sure it's fully hit me yet. I mean, I'm still processing everything. Seriously, yesterday we were fighting for our lives after breaking into the Department of Mysteries, then fell through a veil that was supposed to lead to instant death, and now we're in a dimension with my parents alive, in school, and who probably hate each other right now. How am I supposed to feel? And that doesn't even cover the all-encompassing guilt that I'll probably feel tomorrow for dragging you with me."

Hermione moved closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. "I wanted to come with you. I couldn't bear the thought of not staying with you, so don't apologize or feel guilty for that. I would've been worse off thinking you were dead. I think we'll find a way back. If you think about it, if Dumbledore's right, then all we'd have to do is to think that we want to get back to where we came from and jump through, and it would take us there."

Harry nodded, still feeling guilty, but less so now. "I want to stay here for a little though. Here, Voldemort probably isn't specifically targeting me, and I get to meet my parents and get to know them, even if they aren't the exact same versions of my parents back home."

They turned onto the hallway housing the portrait of the Fat Lady. "I'm staying with you, Harry," Hermione whispered, "always." Harry shivered as her words registered.

"Thank you, Hermione. I'll always stay with you too," he said softly, and Hermione's heart skipped a beat.

Did he say what I think he said? she thought. She didn't get any time to ponder it though, as they had reached the Fat Lady.

"Bugger," Harry swore, "we don't have the password." Hermione whacked him on the arm for his language.

"That's alright, dears," the portrait said. "I heard that you two are the transfer students that we're getting?" Harry nodded.

"The password is 'Lion's Pride' for the rest of the month," the portrait informed them as it swung open.

What Harry saw as he and Hermione walked into the almost empty common room would scar him for life.

"Harry," Hermione whispered, "Is that... is that Professor Snape in Gryffindor robes, having a civil, not condescending conversation with your mum?"