A/N: I'm back in action! I'm sorry for my "hiatus," but the school year had to end somehow – and that meant that I had a lot of work to do. My summer schedule is updated on my profile page, but, hopefully, my updates will be far more regular for the next couple months. I'll make every effort to update once more this week before leaving for vacation on Thursday!

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, and especially for your patience! I hope you enjoy this chapter…despite its content.

Some material in the final scene of the chapter is taken from pages 806 – 808 of the American hardback edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling. I have no ownership of these words, and do not attempt to claim them as my own. I do not have ownership of any part of the Harry Potter universe.

Heart Stopping

Sirius gave an exclamation of frustration as he threw yet another balled up piece of parchment on the floor. He looked down to see the fruit of several hours' work surrounding his desk in the library.

"Why is this so bloody hard?" he groaned. He reached up to clutch his hair, then smiled a bittersweet smile as he realized where he had picked up that gesture.

"James, I could really use your help now," he muttered. "I was never any good with this sort of thing. How can I write a letter of apology to Olivia without your help?"

He closed his eyes, trying to visualize his fallen best friend. He could see James laughing at Sirius as he ran his hand through his hair.

"It's not so hard," James would have said. "Just tell her that it's all your fault and that you love her. Oh, and add something about how you're not sure how she puts up with you, because, personally, I've never quite figured that one out."

Sirius smiled as he opened his eyes. The one thing that he knew was true from his daydream was that he loved Olivia. He just needed to find a way to tell her. He sighed, thinking that he probably was making this far harder than it needed to be.

He picked up another piece of parchment and loaded his quill with ink. It was time to do some serious writing.

He had no sooner touched his quill to the parchment than the door clicked open. Expecting to see Remus, he didn't even lift his head.

"At least let me write the greeting before we start talking," he said.

"If that's what you want."

Sirius's head jerked up at the sound of a voice that was decidedly not Remus's. "Liv," he whispered.

"Sirius," she said, her own voice just above a whisper.

They stared at one another for what felt like years. Olivia opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. Like Sirius, she couldn't find the words to apologize. Then, thinking of her conversation with Dana, she crossed the room in quick strides. Sirius looked up at her questioningly as she put a hand on each of his shoulders. Then, she leaned down slowly, and pressed her lips against his.

Sirius responded immediately, kissing her back, winding his arms around her waist, pulling her down into his lap. After several moments of heated kissing, Sirius pulled back to look into her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I never should have said the things I did."

"Oh, Sirius, I'm so sorry," she said, tears forming in her eyes. "After all the years we lost, I can't believe I wasted a moment of our time together with a stupid argument."

"You're right," Sirius sighed. "We should know better."

"Yeah," she smiled, kissing his jaw, "we should, shouldn't we?"

"But this part is nice, isn't it?" he said, gently touching her.

"It's almost reason enough to fight again."

"Well, we can, if you'd like."

She pulled back to smile at him. "I don't think we've properly made up yet after our last fight, do you?"

Remus was sitting at his desk writing a letter to Laura when an owl flew into the room. He immediately recognized it as a Hogwarts owl, and frowned slightly as he took the letter it carried.

"Thank you," he said as the owl took flight again.

He opened the parchment in his hands to find a brief missive from Dumbledore requesting a meeting at Remus's earliest convenience. He smiled slightly, wondering if the Headmaster had any idea how few commitments Remus truly had. Anytime was convenient for him.

Despite the fact that he had plenty of time to meet with him, Remus was a bit worried about the summons. Dumbledore was hiding most successfully from the Ministry. Would Remus in any way jeopardize his safety by going to meet with him?

Surely not. Dumbledore was wiser than to endanger his own well being just to have a conversation with an Order member. Remus read the letter through for a second time, his eyes lingering on Dumbledore's instructions about Apparition. He asked Remus to Apparate to Dumbledore Manor, but did not give any further information about the location.

"That must be where he's been hiding," Remus murmured. Despite his concern over being summoned the side of a man who was in hiding from the government, he couldn't help a feeling of excitement. The Order had been quietly questioning where Dumbledore was ever since the day he had left Hogwarts. At last, it seemed, Remus was going to uncover some answers.

Deciding that it would be better to talk to Dumbledore as soon as possible, Remus Disapparated almost immediately. When he reached his destination, he opened his eyes to see Dumbledore's home away from Hogwarts. The house was small, but richly appointed. It was obvious that Dumbledore had created a very comfortable nest for himself far away from prying eyes. After looking at the house for a moment, Remus walked up to the front door, and knocked. He only waited a moment before it was opened by a house-elf.

"Good evening, sir," the elf said uncertainly.

"Hello," Remus answered. "I'm Remus Lupin. Professor Dumbledore asked me to come to see him."

"Ah, yes, sir," the elf replied. "Please, sir, come in."

The elf opened the door wider, and Remus stepped into the entrance hall.

"I will get Professor Dumbledore. You wait here, sir."

"Thank you," Remus said, watching as the elf scurried off.

Left alone in the hall, he looked around. The room contained a multitude of pictures. Remus looked at those closest to him. He was unsurprised to see many pictures of Hogwarts decorating the walls. There were pictures of the outside of the castle, of the Great Hall, of the Transfiguration classroom and of the students. Picture after picture showed smiling Hogwarts students. Some clearly had posed for their pictures, but many were caught unawares. Remus looked at the mostly-unknown students with a vague smile. He walked along examining them until one made him stop and catch his breath.

It was a picture of him. Not only of him, but of him with his friends. He was in the Great Hall, sitting between Sirius and Dana. Olivia was on Sirius's other side, her hand held firmly in his. James and Lily sat across from them, next to Peter and Kathleen. Head Boy and Girl badges gleamed on James's and Lily's chests; the picture was clearly from seventh year. They were all laughing over something. Remus stared at the picture almost hungrily, wishing there was a way to make it all real again. They had been so happy. Why had it all been torn apart?

"Found someone you know?"

Remus nearly jumped out of his skin as Dumbledore appeared beside him. "Hello, Professor," he said.

Dumbledore smiled at him. "I have pictures of every student I've taught at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm glad you found yours."

Remus sighed. "We were all so happy."

Dumbledore nodded. "The young always are. They are completely innocent – ignorant of life's horrors. I like to think that we can help them remain that way while they are at Hogwarts. I like the idea that their most horrifying problem is having homework left to do on a Sunday night when they'd far rather sneak food from the kitchens with their friends."

"We were like that then," he said, indicating the picture. "Things didn't start to unravel until later, when Kathleen died."

"Yes, that was tragic," Dumbledore said sadly. "She was a sweet girl – an excellent student. Her life should never have ended as it did."

Remus nodded silently.

Dumbledore moved further down the hall. "This picture might interest you, as well."

Remus followed him, and looked at the picture he indicated. He found himself staring at Harry, Hermione and Ron, who were also in the Great Hall. Harry and Ron were sitting next to each other, across from Hermione. They were laughing, too – Hermione a bit more reluctantly than the boys – but stopped to wave up at Remus and Dumbledore.

"When was this taken?" Remus asked, grinning at the teenagers.

"At the beginning of last year," Dumbledore replied. "Before the champions were chosen."

Remus nodded, thinking of all that Harry had endured since that picture had been taken. "Harry hasn't exactly remained innocent, has he?" he said without thinking.

"Harry's innocence was stripped from him the night that his parents were killed," Dumbledore said sadly. "I tried so hard for so long to recapture it for him, but that has proven to be an impossible task." He paused. "He has borne up beautifully, though. Lily and James would be so proud of him. I know that I am."

Remus nodded. "We all are."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, then smiled at Remus. "I didn't expect to see you here so soon."

Remus smiled slightly. "Your letter said at my earliest convenience; this is it."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said. "We do have important matters to discuss. Shall we sit down to do that?"

"Of course," Remus replied, following Dumbledore into the library.

Dumbledore's library was what Remus had always expected it to be. It was a massive room; the walls were all covered by floor to ceiling bookshelves. For some reason, Remus thought of Hermione. He was sure that the young girl's head would explode if she could see the sheer volume of books in this room.

"Please, sit down," Dumbledore said, indicating several squashy chairs in the center of the room. "Can I get you a drink?"

"No, I'm fine."

Dumbledore nodded, and conjured himself a glass of mead. "Remus, I've asked you here to discuss your work for the Order."

Remus nodded.

"For quite some time now, you have proven yourself an invaluable resource to us. You have gone into werewolf colonies and brought us information that we could never have otherwise attained. Now, today, I must ask you to take your work to the next level."

"You want me to go in openly, don't you?" Remus said with a bit of dread.

"Yes," Dumbledore said. He looked away for a moment, then looked back at Remus. "You know I would never ask this of you if it wasn't of the utmost importance. I wish there was another way."

"No, I understand," Remus said. "It has to be done, and I am the only one who can do it." He sighed. "Maybe I'll be able to convince them to work with us. Even if I can bring just a few to our way of thinking, it will help."

"I'm sorry, Remus," Dumbledore said.

"No, don't be," Remus replied. "I think the most important thing in all of this is that I can do something to help. It may not be my first choice of a mission, but I can't deny its importance. And, truly, there is no one else to send into this sort of situation."

"A fine attitude," Dumbledore smiled. "I will leave sorting the details to you. You can decide the dates you are there and for how long you remain. I only ask that you report back any information in the most timely manner possible."

"Of course."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "Do you believe you have enough background information at this point to enter into the colony openly?"

"I have a trip scheduled for later this week," Remus said. "I had only intended to be there for a day, gathering some last details. I'll keep those plans, and then consider when I can begin true infiltration."

"Thank you, Remus." He paused. "You know, I said before that I was proud of Harry."

"Yes?"

Dumbledore smiled gently. "I want you to know that I have always been proud of you, too."

Sirius walked into Remus's room to find his friend tossing parchment and quills into a bag.

"Off into the unknown wilds again?" he asked lightly.

Remus looked at him darkly. "You're in an awfully good mood."

"Ah, what is there to be upset about? All is right with the world," Sirius said as he sat down on Remus's bed.

"Translation: Olivia has been here every day for the past two weeks, shagging you senseless."

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?"

Remus looked at him in horror. "I would never shag Olivia!"

"I don't think she'd take it all that well to hear you say something like that."

Remus laughed. "I didn't mean it like that. She's gorgeous and she knows it. I just meant – Liv is like a sister to me. The idea of even considering shagging her is stomach-turning."

Sirius laughed. "You really know how to sweet-talk a woman, don't you?"

Remus smiled. "That was always your area of expertise, not mine."

"I think you did all right for yourself."

"Even without the ability to sweet-talk?" Remus smiled.

Sirius gave him a mischievous grin. "I don't think Tonks finds anything wrong with your ability to sweet-talk."

"Come off it," Remus said, closing his bag with a snap.

"You've decided not to tell her how you feel?" Sirius asked in surprise.

"No."

"So you will tell her?"

"I didn't say that."

Sirius sighed. "So we're still analyzing."

"Yes."

"You do realize how maddening you are, don't you?"

Remus sighed. "I just don't want to make the wrong decision, Padfoot. I can't afford to screw this up."

"I don't see how starting a relationship with someone for whom you have very strong feelings – and, I might add, who has very strong feelings for you – can be considered screwing up."

"I just don't want to lose a friend over this," he sighed.

Sirius made a face at him. "I'm not going to be your friend for much longer if you don't just tell her how you feel."

"Threaten all you like, but you're stuck with me as a friend," Remus said lightly. "It's been too many years, and we've been through too much together to give up this friendship now."

"Yeah, you're right on that one," Sirius grinned.

Remus looked at him for a moment, thinking of all the years he had spent hating Sirius, thinking that Peter was dead, wishing that Sirius had died with Peter. "I'm sorry," he blurted out.

Sirius looked at him in confusion. "Come again?"

"If I had just used my head all those years ago, we might not have lost any time in this friendship. I should have known that you would never do anything to hurt Harry or Lily – or especially James. I should have stood up for you. I should have realized that Peter …" He sighed. "I'm sorry for ever doubting you."

"I'm just as guilty of doubting you," Sirius sighed. "If I had used my head, I would have realized that you would never do anything to hurt your friends. I would have realized that Peter was the one who couldn't resist the allure of powerful friends, not you. I would have seen that making him their Secret Keeper would sentence James and Lily to death." He paused. "We wronged one another, Moony. Neither of us is a 'worse friend' than the other. We're even, and, more importantly, we've forgiven one another."

Remus nodded. "Thank you."

"And thank you." Sirius sighed. "I don't know if I would have made it through these last couple years without you, Moony."

Remus smiled sadly. "Neither would I."

Left alone once again in the house, Sirius found himself in a rather introspective mood. For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about all that Harry had seen in the penseive, and Snape's reaction to it. He knew how horrible their relationship had been as teenagers, but he couldn't understand Snape's complete inability to let go of the past. Aside from all that had happened between Snape and Harry after Harry had witnessed the memory of the scene by the lake, Sirius kept thinking of his own brief encounters with the man. He knew that he was letting Snape get to him and that he shouldn't lose his temper as easily as he did, but he couldn't understand why Snape would constantly provoke him. Remus never let himself lose his temper with Snape, nor did he insult him into anger. Why couldn't he and Snape take their cue from Lupin?

Acknowledging that he would never be able to understand how Snape's mind worked, Sirius considered the other person who had been profoundly affected by the experience with the penseive. He was finally beginning to think of the toll that seeing his father's younger days had taken on Harry. He replayed that moment by the lake all those years ago over and over again, trying to see it from Harry's perspective. Harry did not see it as a game as he and James had at the time. Harry didn't seem to understand – but, then, he couldn't possibly understand. He hadn't been there. He didn't know all the history that existed between James and Snape. He didn't know of James's all-consuming desire to impress Lily. He didn't know how much people changed after the age of fifteen. He didn't know that, even though the fifteen-year-old James did need to calm down and deflate his ego, he was a wonderful person. He didn't know how James had devoted his life to all those around him: to his parents, to his wife, to his son, to his friends . . . to Sirius.

Sirius felt his throat tighten as he thought of all that James had done for him during their years of friendship. He had demanded so little in return, really – just that Sirius keep him, Lily and Harry safe. After all James had done for him, how could Sirius have failed him?

"I won't fail you this time, James," he swore. "I'll keep Harry safe if it's the last thing I do."

He closed his eyes, and he was sure that he could see James smiling at him, confident that Sirius would take care of Harry as he had promised to do. He smiled back, wishing more than anything that his vision of his friend were a reality.

"Master, the animal is injured."

Sirius's eyes flew open. He looked at Kreacher with unveiled contempt. "What did you say?"

"The animal is hurt," Kreacher said again.

"What happened to him?" Sirius asked. "Is he hurt badly?

Without waiting for a reply, he jumped up out of his chair and ran upstairs. How could Buckbeak possibly have hurt himself in the attic? Aside from his obvious concern for Buckbeak himself, Sirius hated the idea of telling Hagrid that something had happened to his hippogriff. He had to find a way to help him.

He opened the attic door slowly, not wanting to frighten Buckbeak. He peeked his head around the door, and saw the hippogriff lying against the wall, one of his wings at an odd angle.

"Hey, Beaky," he said softly, bowing to the hippogriff. "Are you hurt?"

The animal bowed back, and made a rather pathetic cooing sound. Sirius walked into the room fully, his face etched with concern.

"How could this have happened?" he asked. "You weren't trying to fly away, were you?"

He crouched down next to Buckbeak and pulled out his wand, trying to heal the wing. While he didn't make it worse, he didn't manage to make it all that much better. After several attempts, he rocked back on his heels.

"Well, maybe we need someone with a bit more expertise," he said. "Remus should be home soon; I'm sure he'll be able to fix this wing for you quite easily."

He was about to try to mend the wing again when a silvery Patronus entered the room. He immediately recognized the fox form as a messenger from Snape; but was rather surprised to find the message asking where he was.

"Where do you think?" he muttered to himself. He sent a message back with his location, wondering why Snape would bother to send such a ridiculous question.

"Right, Buckbeak, I don't think I can fix this," he said. "I'll send Remus up as soon as he gets home, all right?"

Buckbeak nudged his cheek with his beak as if to tell him not to worry. Sirius smiled and patted his beak.

"You'll be fine," he assured him. "I'm sure Remus can make everything right again."

With a parting smile, Sirius descended the stairs. He was surprised to see a rather large group in the kitchen when he entered the room. Remus was home, along with Tonks, Kingsley and Moody.

"Well, I didn't expect to have so much company this afternoon," he said.

"Moody wanted us to come over to discuss some schedule changes," Tonks said. "He has some idea that the Death Eaters are going to try a run on the school."

"What?" Sirius exclaimed. "I thought we were using all our manpower to guard the Ministry! Isn't that where Voldemort is supposed to be concentrating his efforts?"

"Yes," Moody said gruffly, "but I'm concerned about the Potter boy."

"Of course you are!" Sirius cried. "He's Voldemort's number one target!"

"We're all worried about Harry, Moody," Remus said in an attempt to smooth over the situation. "What is it you want us to do to protect him?"

"With all that's happened recently, Snape is the only Order member left at Hogwarts," Moody said. "Dumbledore and Hagrid were both run out, and McGonagall is in St. Mungo's, recovering. We need someone other than Snape there."

"Do you want Tonks and I on-site?" Kingsley asked.

"I can make myself look like a student, if that's what you're going for," Tonks offered.

Moody looked at them appraisingly. "That might be what we need, actually. Shacklebolt, any chance you could pose as a teacher?"

"I don't know that Umbridge would go for that," Kingsley said slowly.

The fireplace jumped to life, and Snape's face appeared in the grate.

"Well, speak of the devil," Moody said. "Our lone connection within the hallowed walls of Hogwarts."

"Is Black there?" Snape asked tensely.

"I'm right here," Sirius said, stepping forward. He frowned. "What's with the dire messages asking where I am?"

"Potter thinks you're in the Department of Mysteries," Snape said, his voice nearly cracking with tension. "I can only guess why, but I assume he had another 'dream' – I believe that this one was a vision placed in his mind by the Dark Lord to lure him there."

"He hasn't gone, has he?" Remus asked, his own voice tense. "He's still at Hogwarts, isn't he?"

Snape frowned. "I don't know."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sirius asked.

"The last time I saw him, he was headed into the forest with Granger and Umbridge." He paused. "I haven't seen any one of them come out."

"Oh, that can't be good," Tonks said.

"How long ago was that?" Remus asked.

"Long enough to be worried," Snape said.

"Do you think they met something in the forest?" Kingsley asked, obviously making an effort to remain calm.

"I think it more likely that they found a way to get to the Ministry," Snape said. "Potter is quite convinced that Black is there, being tortured by the Dark Lord or the Death Eaters. You all know as well as I do that Potter never misses a chance to play the hero."

"He's gone to the Ministry," Sirius said, his lips cold. "He's trying to save me."

"We need to get over there," Moody said at once. "Potter and Granger are putting themselves into a ridiculous amount of danger."

"Let's go, then," Tonks said, already reaching for her wand.

"The Department of Mysteries, right?" Kingsley said, preparing to Disapparate.

"Wait," Moody said. "Before we go, we need to make sure we have everything covered. Does Dumbledore know what's happened?"

"I've alerted him that we need him at Headquarters," Snape said. "He should be here any moment." He paused. "Black, you should stay there to tell him what's happened."

"You want me to stay here while the rest of you go to save Harry?" he asked incredulously. "There is no way in hell that I'm letting that happen!"

"Sirius, be reasonable," Remus said. "You can't go the Ministry of all places, you know that …"

"No, Remus, you be reasonable!" Sirius shouted. "This is Harry we're talking about! Harry! Harry, James's Harry, who has walked into a horrible trap all because he thinks that I'm in danger! How can you expect me to just sit here and wait to hear what's happened to him?"

"Sirius …"

"You know where I stand on this, Remus," Sirius said in a low voice. "I've told you before how I feel. You know what I have to do."

Every conversation they had had about Harry ran through Remus's mind in the moments before he responded. And, although the conversations were many, only one image truly clear to him: the image of Sirius's tear-filled eyes as he told Remus of the unspeakable guilt he felt over James's death, of the immense obligation he felt to keep Harry safe. Sirius had promised James that he would defend his son to the death. There was no way Remus could have stepped between Sirius and James when they were classmates at Hogwarts; there was even less of a possibility that he could do so now.

"All right," he said quietly. "You're right. I know what this means to you. I know that you … I know what James would want."

"Thank you," Sirius said quietly. "Thank you, Moony."

"The best way you can thank me is by coming out of this alive, ready to fight for Harry another day."

Sirius grinned. "I can't give up on him now."

"Who's going to tell Dumbledore what's going on?" Tonks asked. She had no idea what her cousin and friend were talking about, but felt that someone had to be the voice of reason in this group.

"That's easy enough," Sirius said. "Kreacher! I need you to do something for me!"

The small group made its way into the Department of Mysteries. Tonks looked at Remus and Sirius, whose faces were set, prepared for battle.

"What do you think are the chances that only Harry and Hermione are here?" she asked.

"Slim to none," Remus said. "Harry and Hermione would never have come without Ron."

"I hope it's just the three of them," Sirius said stiffly. "You don't think they would have brought any others, do you?"

The sounds of battle reached them, telling them where the teenagers were struggling with the Death Eaters. They all exchanged a dark look as they realized what room they were in.

"This is it," Moody said. "You've all done this before. You know what to do." He gave Sirius and Remus a jagged smile. "Let's see if the two of you remember all Frank and I taught you."

With those words, he threw the door open, and they ran into the room that was home to the study of death.

It was as though the past fourteen years had never happened. Sirius immediately slipped back into the battle tactics he had learned as an Auror so many years before. He felt all emotion – except the desire to fight, to win – leave his body. He felt his expressionless "Auror mask," as James would have said, fall over his face.

He ran through the room, dueling, stunning, fighting, but never, never killing. Moody had taught him better than that. He knew that the proper thing to do was to incapacitate the Death Eaters, and, later, to take them to the Ministry for a trial.

He nearly laughed at that thought. With the current state of the Ministry, would there ever be a trial for any of them?

As quickly as it had come, the amusement was gone – the battle entered into again.

Sirius only slipped when he saw Harry. For some reason, it was impossible to maintain his emotionless Auror mask with his godson. He shouted words of encouragement, warnings to get out of the room. Then, he returned to the fight before him. Save Harry. It was the mantra that ran through his head over and over, his sole motivation for fighting. Save Harry.

I won't let you down, James. Not this time.

Tonks couldn't help but recognize the irony of this situation. For years, her mother had warned her against associating with the Black family. She had told her time and again that they believed in purity of blood and the dark arts. She had always said that the smartest thing she had done in her life was marrying and getting away from her family. Now, Tonks was doing that which her mother had always said not to do: associating with her family.

Yet, as she dueled with her Aunt Bella, she wondered if her mother would mind.

Bellatrix Lestrange was a skilled fighter; Tonks had to call upon every last trick learned during her Auror training to battle against her. As she hurled curses at the woman she knew to be her mother's sister, she wondered if Bellatrix recognized her.

"Tell me, do you know who I am?" she yelled as she shot a jet of purple light at Bellatrix.

"One of them," Bella said casually, firing a curse back at her.

Tonks smiled, and let her hair fade back to its natural mousy brown and her features melt back into their normal appearance. "Oh, Aunt Bella, I'm sure you can be more specific than that."

"You!" Bellatrix roared in shock. "You're one of them!"

"Oh, yes."

Her face twisted into a scowl. "I'm sure my dear sister is ever so proud of her daughter."

"She is," Tonks replied, feeling a surge of pride in her mother for leaving these people and this life behind.

"Let's see how she likes you now!"

Bellatrix hurled a rapid succession of curses at Tonks. While she managed to dodge the first several, two struck her at once. Tonks careened off her feet and fell forward. She began to topple over herself, falling down the hard, stone steps. She finally reached the bottom, and merciful blackness took over.

Sirius watched in horror as Tonks fell.

"You bitch!" he yelled. He lunged forward to fight Bellatrix, wanting to tear her apart with his bare hands.

"Ah, my dear cousin!" she exclaimed. "How lovely to see you outside of Azkaban!"

"How could you do that to your own niece?" he yelled.

"The same way I can do it to you," she hissed, sending a curse flying at him.

And so began the duel that represented Sirius's life – his constant battle against his family.

Remus fought against the Death Eaters as hard as he could, shocked at how quickly he fell back into the rhythm of battle. It had been over a decade since he had lifted his wand against another person, yet his reactions were as though he had just finished his Order training the week before. He knew that Moody would be pleased to see how well he had retained those long-ago lessons.

He saw Harry and Neville motionless on the steps and felt a surge of frustration. Why wouldn't they just leave? They needed to get out of the Ministry. Couldn't they see how dangerous this was? Didn't they understand the magnitude of the situation?

Then he realized what they were watching. Dumbledore had arrived at last. Remus felt a surge of hope. There was no way they could fail – not with Dumbledore on the scene.

All the duelers stopped, with the exception of Sirius and Bellatrix, who danced around the dais holding the veil as they fought. Looking at them, Remus realized exactly how personal their duel was. They weren't battling over a prophecy or Harry or the war. They were truly fighting one another. They were each trying to prove their superiority – in battle skills, in life decisions.

Sirius yelled something to Bellatrix and laughed at her. She looked enraged at the idea of Sirius laughing at her, and hurled another curse at him. Remus wanted to scream for him to duck, but there just wasn't time.

The curse struck Sirius's chest and his eyes widened his surprise. He fell backwards, straight into the veil. Remus's eyes and mouth opened wide. He wanted to scream, but couldn't find his voice.

As Sirius disappeared, Remus heard thunderous steps coming from behind him. He turned in time to see Harry sprinting forward, desperate to save his godfather. Knowing what Harry was about to do, Remus lunged forward and grabbed him around the chest.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry –" he said desperately.

"Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!" Harry begged.

"It's too late, Harry –"

""We can still reach him –" Harry begged, struggling against Remus's grip of iron.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry … nothing …" Remus knew that his next words would rip Harry's heart apart as much as they would his own, "He's gone."

"He hasn't gone!" Harry yelled. "SIRIUS! SIRIUS!"

"He can't come back, Harry," Remus said, his voice catching. "He can't come back, because he's d-"

"HE IS NOT DEAD! SIRIUS!"

Remus wanted to say the words, to make him understand the truth, but he couldn't say them. He couldn't bring himself to tell Harry again what had happened.

Remus's silence made more of an impression on Harry than any words could have. Some of the fight began to leave Harry as he realized the truth. By the time Neville came over to speak to him, he had stopped struggling against Remus's grip. Unwilling to let go of Harry, Remus held on to his arm as he muttered the spell to free Neville of the curse that forced him to do an endless tap dance.

"Let's find the others," he said to the boys. He needed – desperately – to focus on something other than the fact that his one of his last surviving childhood friends had just died. "Where are they all, Neville?"

Neville began to describe what had happened to the other teenagers when a commotion alerted them to the fact that Bellatrix was again on the run. Harry wrenched his arm free of Remus's grip.

"Harry – no!" Remus yelled.

"SHE KILLED SIRIUS! SHE KILLED HIM – I'LL KILL HER!"

"Harry! Wait – stop!" Remus yelled.

It was too late. Harry was gone, running after Bellatrix, desperate to avenge his godfather's death. Remus jumped up to sprint after him, but Dumbledore stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"I'll take care of him," he said. "You get the others – send the students back to Hogwarts."

Remus nodded shakily. He had promised Sirius … he was supposed to do his best to defend Harry … he couldn't break his promise to Sirius … not now …

But, Remus knew that no one could defend Harry the way that Dumbledore could … he would be fine … James and Lily's little boy would be fine …

Remus began to shake uncontrollably.

"Professor?" Neville asked, touching his arm. "Are you all right?"

Remus looked around him. He saw Moody, barely able to sit up, trying to help Tonks. He saw Kingsley bringing Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Luna into the room. He saw all the Death Eaters immobilized on the floor. He saw the veil swaying gently as though caught in a slight breeze.

The veil.

Sirius had passed through the veil.

Sirius was gone.

Remus sank down to the nearest step and buried his face in his hands.