Hello! I think it's a good idea to post a new chapter of this story every weekend, don't you? I think that's what I'll do. Fridays through Sunday are my post days. ^^ Well, hope you enjoy this action packed chapter!

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Remus said that the easiest way to do this would be if Hermione went in by herself. Because she was so much smaller than the boys, she could maneuver more easily, and because she was nearly as strong as them, she could pull out Sirius just as well as if either of the boys went down.

Hermione made sure the magically strengthened rope was tied tightly to her belt, which she had made sure would not come loose or tear, and she turned to her best friends. She gave them a smile and took a deep breath.

"Well," she said brightly. "Wish me luck!"

Harry grinned. "Good luck."

Ron gave her a solemn nod. "We'll keep you safe, 'Mione."

Hermione returned the nod and turned around to face the Veil. Then, she stepped right through.

A strange sensation of falling came over Hermione's entire body. It was like that feeling you get when you're falling in a dream, and you convulse in your sleep as you "land" on your mattress, bolting upright in the dark. It was a constant feeling. After a moment or two, Hermione got herself under control and stopped her constant spasms in order to assess her current situation. She really was falling. To where, she had no idea. She couldn't see anything up or down. Would she continue falling forever and ever? She hoped not. Maybe she'd have to fall for several years to reach Sirius, since he'd fallen for that long?

Her suspicions, though, were correct, and she landed lightly on her bottom after several more moments of falling. Things seemed to move only in slow motion around here. It took an obnoxious amount of time for her to finally get to her feet, and struggling to walk was killing her. She decided to call and see if anyone was there. There was only the response of a few scratching sounds.

Hermione fumbled for her wand in the dark as quickly as she possibly could. It was like trying to run through water. The struggle was futile and frustrating.

Once she found it, Hermione held out her wand in front of her and spoke. "Lumos!" It sounded as though there was cotton in her mouth, but the command worked just fine. The tip of her wand ignited, and the light spread, however slowly, throughout the room. Hermione then saw something quite horrifying. Skeletons.

She wished to scream, but the sound came so slowly that it was completely pointless to even attempt. So she clamped her mouth shut tightly and placed her hand over her lips. Her eyebrows scrunched up. There it was…those were the clothes Sirius was wearing when he'd fallen through.

She shook her head. No. This couldn't be right. Remus said that his friend had told him Sirius would still be alive, that he had been aging backwards. Not…this.

Hermione shook her head and moved towards the skeleton. Maybe…she sighed and sat down next to the skeleton. It moved.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ron had found themselves in quite a bit of a predicament. They had been followed.

"What do you think you're doing here?" a strong woman voice demanded. "You need to leave at once! I don't care if you are Harry Potter! You can't simply go wherever you please!"

Harry whipped around, looking away from the curtain that Hermione had jumped into a few minutes ago and found himself staring into the eyes of the most evil woman ever.

Delores Umbridge.

Her eyes narrowed on her toad-like face, her squat little arms holding the others hand in front of her squat little body.

Harry glared back. "This doesn't concern you, Professor. This is Order work. The Order is welcome to do whatever they wish at the Ministry of Magic, and you know it."

"Then why is it that you had to sneak your way down here like the little snake you are?"

"Because we needed to get away from the spies like you."

"Spy? For whom would I be a spy for?"

"The Lestranges, perhaps? Or the Malfoys? Or one of the many other Death Eaters who have returned to continue the Dark Lord's work?" Umbridge's eyes turned towards Ron, who had spoken this last statement.

"Perhaps you are correct," Umbridge replied. "Or perhaps you are wrong." Her back straightened perceptibly. "But either way, you have to leave. Now."

Harry turned away from her. "I don't think so."

"Harry…"

"Just ignore her, Ron. Maybe she'll go away."

"But Harry…"

"What is it, Ron?"

Ron pointed towards the door, which at least fifty Death Eaters had just flooded through.

Harry swore. "Ron, call the Order. I'll try and hold them off."

"Don't you want my help?"

"You have to watch for any signs of Hermione! Just call them, now!"

While Ron was working on conjuring his patronus, Harry was in a battle-ready stance, thousands of spells filtering through his mind as he waited for the Death Eaters to make their first move. He recognised most of them. None of the more evil ones were there. It was mostly the lower ranked guys, but they were still dangerous no matter what.

A Death Eater towards the front made the first move. Harry defended himself, and the battle began.

Hermione crouched next to the skeleton, watching in horror as it moved, under normal speed, and slowly began to sprout skin and hair. Eyes, familiar, grey eyes, grew in the sockets, and the cracked and deteriorating bone cleaned to a shiny white and strengthened like steel. The hair continued to grow on the head and face. The hair reached just past the skeleton's shoulders, the beard and moustache reaching well down his chest, merging into one, tangled mass of jet black hair. There wasn't a single wrinkle or strand of grey. It was a brand new Sirius. Fingernails grew, teeth straightened, and finally, the grey eyes blinked and Sirius looked around, stuck in this strange slow motion just as Hermione was.

He turned to Hermione, finally, wincing at the harsh light of her wand. His voice was rather raspy, but Hermione caught what he said. "H…er…mi…o…ne…?"

Hermione's mouth formed a wide, excited smile, and she threw herself at Sirius. "S…i…ri…us!"

"Wh…at…s…go…in…g…on?"

"La…ter…we…have…t…o…go…"

He nodded and Hermione helped him to his feet. He was a little wobbly, but soon got used to walking again. Hermione aimed her wand straight up and fired red fireworks, hoping they made it out.

Outside of the Veil, the fight was raging strong. Random Order members were popping up out of nowhere. It was just like what was going on when Sirius had originally fallen, except this time the fight was in the favour of the Order members. Umbridge was watching on angrily as the majority of the Death Eaters keeled over. Harry couldn't help a quick smirk.

"Harry!" Ron called.

Harry turned to see what Ron needed, and was promptly hit with a spell that sent him stumbling backwards.

Ron caught him and pointed out the sparkling red lights coming from the Veil. "D'you think it's her?"

"What else would it be?" Harry said, standing up. "Come on, let's get them out of there!"

Remus called the Order members to surround Harry and Ron and the Veil to make sure nothing happened while they were extracting Sirius.

Harry and Ron began cranking on the pulley that would lift Hermione out and, if she was holding on to him, Harry's godfather as well.

The pulley was making an awful squeaking sound as they pulled, but the rope was coming up, and Hermione should have been emerging from behind that curtain any moment now…

There was a horrifying snap! And the pulley fell from the ceiling with a clutter. Harry jumped at the rope and pulled hard, but he was slipping. His hands were burning and he wasn't so sure he'd be able to hold them until someone helped him, let alone pull them up by himself.

Suddenly, he felt someone helping him. Assuming it was Ron, Harry didn't turn. Instead, he concentrated hard on getting two of his favourite people out of such a dangerous situation.

Hermione's head came through first. She took a deep breath, as if she were coming up from beneath the surface of water. She pushed Sirius up and through the Veil, and then she pulled herself along as well. The two laid there, gasping for air, like they'd been drowning and, promptly, rescued.

"Thanks, Ron, I - " He stopped his speech the moment he realised that it wasn't Ron who had helped him pull Hermione and Sirius from the Veil.

"Malfoy?" Harry whispered, his voice barely audible above the loud sounds of fighting.

Without replying or explaining his actions, Draco turned on his heel and fled the room altogether, without a single look back.

Harry, panting from his hard work, turned to Hermione, who was now kneeling beside his godfather, sobbing tears of joy as she tried to help him up. Something swelled inside of Harry and he couldn't resist the urge to pounce on his godfather, giving him the biggest hug he could muster.

"What happened?" Sirius asked, looking in between them. "How long have I been out?"

He must have presumed that this was the same fight he had fallen during.

"I thought I was dead."

"So did we, Sirius," Harry said, grinning. "But you're not. Come on, Hermione." He looked at Ron. "Ron. We need to get Sirius home. We have a lot of explaining to do."

Hermione and Ron nodded, getting to their feet. Hermione fumbled with her belt, letting the rope and the belt clutter to the floor. She unleashed an extreme spell, knocking over several of the Death Eaters surrounding them.

"We're getting Sirius out of here, Remus," Hermione said, casting a look over her shoulder. "Be safe and get home quick."

Remus grinned. "No problem. I'll see you in a little bit. You can count on it."

Hermione returned his grin. Everyone was just so happy, despite the fact that they were in a battle. Hermione turned and fled the room with Harry and Ron, who were helping Sirius run between the two of them.

Umbridge, the toad, tried to block their way, but all it took was a small Expelliarmus! To knock her out of their path.

And then they were gone, running Sirius through the streets, until they were finally at a proper apparition point, and they were soaring through the night.

…

How was that for a return of Sirius scene?

I was listening to Pink Floyd's Delicate Sound of Thunder Live tape(s) while I wrote this. It was bound to turn out awesomely. I mean, the crux of the battle went down during the end of Comfortably Numb and the beginning of Run Like Hell. Duh. ^^

If you like what you see, feel free to drop me a review! I really appreciate them, and they help me to become a better writer. Every single one of them help me along, so thanks to you who are reviewing and favouriting and alert setting…I love you all! Even the people I don't know are here… I'm glad you enjoy it enough to come back.

Well, aloha! I'm thinking about updating several of my other stories todays, so to my wonderfully loyal readers, keep an eyes out~! ;)