A/N: I'm back! What no cheer? That's hurts… anyways, here's chapter 3 (or 4 if you count the prologue). I apologise in advance for any stupid mistakes. It's really late and… that's the only excuse I got, and it's not even a very good one. Oh well…

Disclaimer I forgot this on the other chapters): the characters aren't mine, life is harsh that way but that's how it is. Don't sue me, I am skint (donations are welcome).

Chapter 3

Walking around in the dark gets very tedious after a while. For the first few minutes it's quite funny but that wears a bit thin by the time an hour has passed.

Sirius had been walking in the dark for 6 years.

He had lost count of the days. There were no days behind the veil, just nights, empty nights with no moon, no stars, no breeze, nothing.

He was pretty sure he was dead, the fact that he hadn't eaten or slept for 6 years and still didn't feel like he needed to told him that but there was no one there to tell him what was happening. He was all alone in the dark and it looked like he was going to stay that way, maybe forever.

Forever… the thought sent a shudder down his back. He would go mad, he was sure of that much. The dark, silence would drive him to insanity.

At first he had talked to himself, just to hear a human voice, and watched the people on the other side of the veil in the Department of Mysteries, just because it was the only thing to see, but he had long since forgotten the sound of his voice and the people on the other side seemed more like illusion than reality.

He lay down on the floor and watched the rippling veil and thought about his life- something he had been doing a lot recently. He went over all the things that had gone wrong and all the things that had been so right and missed all of them. Even in the worst moments of his life, at least he had felt real, now he couldn't feel that anymore. He was just a shadow.

Hermione wasn't sure why she had come here, she had wanted to help Harry but she didn't know why she thought the answer would be here.

She gazed around her.

'Something better come out of this. I did not just break into the Ministry of Magic for nothing' she thought furiously.

The Department of Mysteries was even colder and greyer than it was in her memory. It was covered in dust and looked as if nobody had been there for years. She looked at the huge archway at the other end of the room, swore under her breath and walked over to it.

It wasn't until she got there that she realised that the archway covered with a black veil. So that was what Harry meant by the veil. She wondered briefly why it was that she could see it now but quickly dismissed it as something to do with the war and went back to examining it.

Sirius opened his eyes to watch the veil again and what he saw made him jump up.

Hermione was on the other side.

He yelled to her "Hermione! Help me! Hermione!" but he knew it was hopeless, she couldn't hear him. He sank to the ground in despair.

Hermione jumped back from the veil. Writing had appeared on the side of the arch. She went back cautiously to read it.

"Hermione! Help me! Hermione!" she read aloud. She looked around in panic, who was writing, someone could see her.

"Who are you? Show yourself"

Sirius heard what Hermione said and looked around the room on the other side puzzled. Who was she talking to? There was no one there.

"She's nuts" he said to himself. "She's completely lost it!"

On the other side of the veil Hermione jumped back again.

A crazy idea occurred to Sirius. Could she hear him? It seemed stupid, nobody else ever had but… well it wouldn't hurt.

"Hermione. Can you hear me?"

"Who are you? What are you doing in here?" Hermione's voice was squeaky and panicked.

"Can you hear me?" Sirius was getting more and more worked up.

"Why do you keep saying that? It can see the writing!"

Sirius went right up to the veil and so he could see more clearly. There was definitely no one else on the other side. She had to be talking to him.

"Hermione its Sirius. Help me! I can't get out of here."

Hermione watched the writing on the arch appear again and spoke uncertainly in reply

"How can I be sure its you?"

The writing disappeared and came back

"Urm… well you can't really but… I don't know, how can I prove it to you?"

Hermione thought and replied slowly

"Ok, I will ask questions and if you answer them right I will believe you"

"These questions won't be too hard will they 'cos I think my general knowledge is a little rusty…"

"If you are really Sirius you will know the answers"

"Oki-doki fire away then."

"Right, question 1… Who is Moony?"

"That's easy, Remus. I thought this was going to be challenging"

"Ok, ok. Why is he called Moony?"

"'Cos he likes the clangers"

"Huh?"

"And the werewolf thing." On the other side of the veil Sirius was grinning.

"That's really sad"

"Yeah I know, next question"

"As we are on the subject of Remus… Who is he presently going out with?"

"That's not fair! How am I supposed to know that?"

"You're not I just thought it was good to drop into conversation…"

"Oh god who is it?"

"Guess."

"I give up. Tell me"

"Snape"

"What? I think I must have heard that wrong. What did you say?"

"Snape"

"NO!Did Moony lose his mind! Snivellus! But he.is.the.ENEMY! stupid slimeball No way is that greasy git good enough for Moony!"

"Yup, you passed. Definitely Sirius"

"So you were lying about the Snape thing?"

"No. Sorry"

"Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"

"You can talk about that another time. Right now we have to get you out of there"

"Ummm… That's great but how are you gonna do that?"

"I have no idea… But I will be back"

With that Hermione turned and fled out of the door leaving Sirius sitting in the veil feeling sick at the bad judgement of his best friend.

"Just wait until I get out of here" he said to himself. Then he smiled.

"When I get out of here"

A/N: and that's the end of that chapter. Please review!