A/N: J.K. Rowling is the proud owner of everything you recognise.

Chapter 2 - Nostalgia

Sirius glanced proudly at his tie of red and gold before entering the common room. Nostalgia was doing a terribly good job of captivating him, for those two boldest of colours seemed to reverberate around his head. He had always loved his House. At first this love was fueled by excitement. The air of disobedience had been thrilling to him. The stark difference it presented when compared to the place he was forced to call his childhood home controlled his interest. However, this initial appeal had worn away, as it was always going to. But Sirius still loved his House. For Sirius had developed a true passion for the akin souls that resided within it. He had retained this compassion into his adult life, and therefore the chance to be a part of his House again was completely overwhelming.

Fortunately, the Common Room certainly did not disappoint him. It was indeed exactly as he had remembered it to be. Naturally warm, and comfortable. Every wall adorned with his favorite colours. It was indeed as if Sirius had designed the room himself - it was so perfect to him.

The wall of chatter slammed against him immediately, as expected, and as a result, the familiar sensation of one being immersed in one hundred different conversations returned to him. He had not felt that in a while, considering the nature of current times, and so he allowed himself time to appreciate it properly. However, he soon found even his nostalgia could not mask the poor quality of these discussions. Sirius had not recollected how uninteresting it was to listen in to students gossiping about homework, or of course other students - or in the worst of cases, fashion.

Today, Sirius found himself eavesdropping on mostly talk of the upcoming OWL examinations. Through this he found that they were to be tested in History of Magic in the morning, and Defense Against the Dark Arts in the afternoon. He had forgotten, for a moment about this aspect of what James had told him and the recollection of it prompted him to view more signs of it. For example, instead of every student laughing and joking, there were many sitting alone with a red, white or green face. Which of these colours their face chose to turn, depended solely on their disposition. Some had thought enough to use their time more productively, and so had glued their eyes to a History of Magic textbook.

This made it outrageously easy for Sirius to spot the teenager he most wanted to find. For James had always been an arrogant student. He consistently received good marks, and of course knew he always would. No test, no matter the degree of its importance could worry him in the way it did anyone else. It was one of the many ways in which he as Sirius were alike. He was therefore, laying in one of the common room's fantastically luxurious armchairs. His eyelids drifted between an open and closed position, as since his friends were all busy reacting to their concerns, he had nothing to stir his interest.

James's relaxed state caused Sirius to form ideas. Ideas he was confident stemmed from his teenage mindset, rather than his adult one.

He decided to only act on one of his milder plans - one which involved the unfortunate manner in which James had left his mouth. Sirius was duly disappointed, expecting his friend to know better than to leave it wide open. He must know he was truly inviting a prank.

"Orchideous!" Sirius whispered quietly, while pointing his wand at the rather large target before him.

Instantaneously, James spluttered. In contrast to his previous careless position, he now sprung from his seat. He shook, and hopped around in a circle while spitting the conjured flowers across the floor. He made a great deal of fuss, and a large amount of noise. But luckily for him, his classmates were too engrossed in their own matters to even notice. He performed only for Sirius, who laughed violently.

After removing as many blue petals from his mouth as this method could allow, James swung round to face Sirius. Sirius immediately stopped laughing and they stared at each other. Each expression was completely serious. Focused. Any lingering emotion had been disposed of.

Finally, James began to crack. He chuckled, and threw his hand up in the air. Sirius slapped it lightly.

"Good one, man!"

Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"Did you really expect anything less?"

"Not really," James agreed, "But to be honest, I think you were a bit soft. Flowers, Sirius? What are you?"

"Intelligence beyond your comprehension?"

James fell back into his chair and propped his feet on the table in front of him. When he was poised and ready, he spoke again.

"A girl, Sirius. You are a girl."

Sirius laughed at this idea, and attempted to find a witty response. He found this came surprisingly easily.

"If I were a girl, why would I waste flowers on you?"

Sirius laughed again, and he kept doing so. He doubted the extent of this was induced by purely amusement. No, Sirius was experiencing an unrivaled joy. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. Everything was right with the world, at least for him at that moment, and he felt like nothing could destroy it.

This gentle teasing continued for a time, with both friends enjoying it immensely. James then patted Sirius on the back and said, "Glad to see you're feeling better. I was worried about you earlier."

The transformation of his voice was swift and subtle, but it was now very amiable. Sirius could see that James was trying as much as he could to be comforting, however it had the adverse effect. Since James could not begin to suspect why Sirius had acted so strangely, he would not be able to know how to lift his spirit. As a result, Sirius's face fell with his emotions.

He hated having to lie to James. But the farfetched nature of the truth meant he was forced to.

"Oh, well. I was just messing around. Um...I think I am a little worried about the OWLs."

James nodded solemnly, and did not ask any further questions. Sirius was thankful that James was so willing to put his faith into his friends, as to not wish to pry.

"You shouldn't be mate. You are going to do great, you always do."

"So do you."

"Well, obviously I do," James beamed, "But, speaking of OWLs, we need to get down to the hall. Where are Moony and Wormtail?"

Sirius's heart snapped at the mention of the latter. He inhaled deeply, as if to prevent himself from reacting in a way that could be seen as inappropriate.

"We should just go without them. I'm sure they won't mind," he muttered.

He had stumbled over the words, so much so that even he was painfully aware of the mistakes he had made. Despite this, and despite the fact that James appeared distinctly confused again, Sirius persisted.

"Really, I'm sure Moony will want to study until the very last second, and Pettigrew - well, he's probably busy throwing up somewhere."

Sirius smirked at his own suggestion. He hoped Pettigrew was indeed throwing up - he would be if he in any way resembled him. It would at least be the tiniest, most insignificant fraction of a punishment for his despicable actions. Plus it would keep him busy, and hopefully out of Sirius's way. For Sirius knew if he saw him, he would not be able to stop himself from killing him. And killing him was such an unknown. Since Sirius did not know what was currently happening to him, he did not know how this world would be affected by a death. It was odd how this instinct had grown ever the more prominent since he had been in the company of James.

"Maybe you're right. Let's go then."

Sirius silently thanked his ingenuity, and they started the journey down to the Great Hall.

They did not speak as they walked. James had been distracted by a pretty sixth year who passed their left, and so was ruffling his hair frantically. Sirius on the other hand, was pondering a new problem that had just occured to him. He had already decided him and James must be dead. However, Moony and Pettigrew were most definitely not dead. Yet James had said they were here. The inconsistency confused Sirius hugely. The probability of him not actually being dead increased to him - as although he still admitted there was a chance that this was all a false reality - he could not bring himself to believe that the James in front of him, was not in fact James. Whether this was based in sentiment or in logic, Sirius did not know.

However, the possibility that he was now in the past of his true reality, became more probable to him. And as he headed into his OWL exams, he worried that any actions he did differently here, could affect his future. He also worried that he was about to fail these examinations, since he could not remember that which he had learnt. Especially not in History of Magic.

"What do you mean, you wish it was that simple? What is there that could possibly be worse than death?"

Harry sounded angry, but he was not truly angry at his headmaster. He was only behaving as a child does, at the death of a loved one. He was confused, scared and deeply, deeply upset. And now what he thought could be taken for granted, as always true - Dumbledore was now informing him was not at all this way.

"I am not saying he has experienced a fate worse than death. Not at all, in fact. It could be seen as better."

Harry gulped, and looked at the headmaster incredulously.

"But, you just said. You said you wished-"

"No. Do not put words into my mouth, Harry."

His voice was commanding, but not so much as to be intimidating in anyway. In fact, Harry felt more drawn to him because of it. Harry's complete confusion led him to seek the knowing air Dumbledore always held, with much more conviction than he would normally. His desperation made the search ever more urgent. Somehow, Harry was now aware that it was not his time to speak. He knew his headmaster was to continue.

"I said that I wished it was as simple as that. For what has befallen Sirius, Harry, is the opposite of simple. That veil works like a portkey, in that it transports people somewhere. However, unlike a portkey, it does not have a fixed destination. Instead of you telling it where to go, it decides itself where to take you."

Harry felt a second's relief, but unfortunately for him, it was not to last.

"So all we have to do is find where it took him?"

Dumbledore shook his head calmly. He was not patronising in his rejection of Harry's suggestion, even though it was one he knew to be wrong on numerous levels. He realised it was he who had made the mistake, in not explaining more thoroughly.

"No, unfortunately not. The veil can take you anywhere. Anywhere in time and space. And when you are there, you are trapped."

Harry clapped his hands to his forehead. The headmaster did not doubt he was hiding the tears that were now inevitably saturating his eyes.

"So we can't get him back. He might as well be dead," Harry whimpered.

The headmaster did not at this moment know how he was to go about comforting the boy. He proceeded with his explanation instead.

"There is a prerequisite for the destination."

Harry raised his head.

"The veil takes you directly to the time and place you committed the worst mistake of your life. The only way for Sirius to return, is for him to change his mistake. If not he will be forced to repeat the past for all eternity."

"So, how can we help him?" Harry cried.

Dumbledore sighed.

"If we help him, we could change the future. We do not know what mistake his was, therefore we do not know the possible outcomes of him changing it."

Harry's tears began to fall more heavily.

"Sirius knew a terrible fate could be the result of this fight, Harry. If he wanted you to help him, I'm sure he would have left you a way to do it."

There was a notable glimmer in Dumbledore's eyes as he spoke that last sentence, and Harry looked to the professor for an explanation.

He was sadly only given, "You better get a move on. Sirius probably believes he is dead by now."

The sight of the Great Hall dressed, instead of with its usual four long tables, with many smaller ones instilled Sirius's anxiety. It had been stripped of any decoration and character, and did not feel like the same place the Marauders had shared so many laughs in. The same place glory was found in the awarding of Quidditch and House Cups - no, it did not feel the same at all.

The emptiness of the place too made him feel uneasy. He and James appeared to be the first people present.

However, Sirius had been misled. Only James's eager eye was enough to see what he had been unable too.

"Hey, look who it is!"

James sounded significantly uplifted, and Sirius searched for the source of his attention. He did not find it, however, he did not have to. For James's flushed cheek and now intensely messy hair handed him all the information he could have wished for. There was only one girl who could possibly invoke such a reaction in him.

"Hey! Evans!"

James's voice was loud, and Sirius did not watch to see Lily roll her eyes, as she inevitably would.

"How are you?"

"All the worse for seeing you, thank you very much."

She threw her quill onto one of the many desks, and pointedly faced away from them.

"Aww, Evans. Won't you at least try to let me be nice to you?" James persisted.

Sirius tried to distance himself from the conversation, if it could be called that, and proceeded to take a desk. He then took refuge behind it, and forced himself to look away from Lily. It was the most he could do. He felt a little safer there.

Soon enough James slumped into the seat beside him, muttering to himself.

"I do not get that girl, Padfoot."

Against his better judgement, Sirius gazed over at Lily. The object of James's affections was indeed exactly as he remembered her. Possibly more beautiful than he remembered, Sirius thought. Although Sirius wished to say that he did 'get her', he decided this would not be the most welcome course of action.

"Nah, me neither mate."

James laughed, and both friends moved on to other, less stressful topics.

Thank you so much for reviewing my last chapter, I am glad you enjoyed it! I have updated, as promised, and would now appeciate any more reviews! Tends to motivate me to update faster...

Any thoughts on what Dumbledore wants Harry to do, anyone? Any thoughts on Sirius's mistakes either? Would love to hear any of your ideas!

xxxx