The Doorway
Chapter 6: Perverse Perfection
Summary: Eighteen years to the day after Sirius fell through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries, Harry steps in after him. This story was inspired by the beginning of 'A Black Comedy' by nonjon and 'Making Faces' by Thanatos. Complete Cannon excluding the epilogue, AU and OOC … obviously.
Disclaimer: I own nothing; I just wanna play with 'em. I make no monetary gain from this romp through Rowling's World.
Harry once again shrunk and stowed the five Blanks, insuring their safety as he and Sirius, huddled behind a conjured wall, took aim at a section of the stone bubble inclosing them and fired blasting hexes together. The cavity created was encouraging so, after banishing the resultant debris, they fired again, at a bit of an angle so as to create an upward sloping tunnel. After several hours of blasting, banishing, and repeat, they broke through to a sky full of stars and a powerful need of bellies full of food. They unpacked the tent and a bountiful dinner and tucked in. They couldn't see much of anything, only enough to tell that they weren't in London. The lack of light pollution being a large contributing factor to that. They decided to kip in their tent and find out what became of this world once it was light out.
The following morning they awoke to a world that was completely unrecognizable. Far from the bustling metropolis they knew, and nothing like the forested wasteland they'd just left, this place was one of dry cracked dessert. Far different from the marshes, mountains, valleys, and grasslands England was supposed to be. Still, they packed the tent and mounted their brooms, soaring up into the increasing heat of the day. After several hundred feet they leveled off, staring around at more and more dessert. It was Sirius who spotted the shape on the horizon and they, having no other option, headed out to investigate. The two wizards could not believe their eyes. A massive crater, so large they couldn't even begin to guess at its size, carved a scar out of the earth. With mountainous ridges encircling the wound. This was no man made thing; whatever had done this must have been from beyond the scope of humanity. Harry vaguely remembered, from his muggle schooling, an event in the early millennia of the planet that was said to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. It was postulated that a massive asteroid or comet had slammed into the planet and caused such an extreme climate shift that most of the creatures of the earth had perished. In this world it seemed that something similar had occurred once more and decimated at least this portion of the globe. There was a slim possibility of life surviving on the far side of the planet, but getting there would be a huge challenge. It was obvious that the whole of England, and possibly all of Great Britain, was a loss; there was no life here. They were unwilling to traverse the entire planet on broomsticks on the off chance of finding the remnants of whatever human existence remained here. They had no way of knowing exactly when this cataclysm had occurred and what life, if any, had survived. So it was, with heavy hearts, they returned to their tunnel and down to the Doorway. They resized the Blanks and passed them through before following swiftly after.
*~ {PoE} ~*
Sirius and Harry dropped to the ground once more, their eyes again attempting to adjust to the brightness of the travel. This time, however, Sirius noticed that they had landed on something. There were dried flowers and small candles surrounding the doorway and a plush mat at the base of it, looking up Sirius realize that, in this world, the doorway was an altar of sorts. The room they were in was richly appointed with cushioned seating, draping fabric, and gilded torches. It was also, thankfully, empty. Harry made quick work of shrinking and stowing the five Blanks as Sirius peeked out the only doorway. Harry had pulled his invisibility cloak from the trunk, reshrunk the trunk, and was stuffing it back into his bag as Sirius gave the all clear. The cloak was far too small to fit over the both of them; however, Harry had an ace in his sleeve. Shifting into his animagus form, he wound himself around Sirius' forearm as his godfather flung the cloak over his shoulders. When Harry had first discovered his animagus form he hadn't been too thrilled (Sirius wasn't either, once Harry told him). Now, it seemed perfect for him. His sleek iron grey scales, buttery yellow underbelly, and emerald green eyes, hid the fact that the needle sharp fangs in his soot black mouth were full of deadly poison. Harry was 2.5 meters of solid muscle, he was among the longest and most venomous snakes in Africa and second longest in the world, he was a Black Mamba.
*~ {PoE} ~*
Sirius made his way slowly through the semi-familiar, yet vastly changed, rooms of the Department of Mysteries. The Department that he remembered from their world was built of dark stone and had an overall air of foreboding and ambiguity. These rooms were brightly lit and the stone was brushed and polished to an almost Gringotts white shine. As he came to the rotunda that allowed access to the other sections of the department, as well as the exit, he and Harry received a startling surprise; all the doors were open and a young wizard in an odd uniform sat at a podium that had been erected in the center of the round room. The side of the podium bore a sign proclaiming the scheduled times of guided tours, below the heading: Department of Research and Development.
Sirius (and Harry from his position on his godfathers arm) was astounded. The Ministry of this world was obviously much more open about things than the one they knew. Sirius knew this bore thinking about. He stepped out the exit and over to the side of the long hall leading to the elevators. He didn't want to risk triggering any possible alarms with active magic, so he lifted Harry to eye level under the cloak.
"Alright Pup," Sirius whispered, "one tail tap for yes, two for no; should we have a look around this Department of - er - Research and Development?"
Harry amusedly tapped his tail once, he was perfectly capable of nodding or shaking his head, but this was harmless fun, and he could tease Sirius for it later.
"Should I stay under the cloak?" one tap.
Anything you want to say before I go?" A pause and then two taps.
Sirius nodded and removed the ward before heading back into the rotunda. On the other side of the podium was a stack of parchments stuffed into a small cubby that they hadn't noticed before. Sirius stealthily plucked one up while the wizard wasn't looking and discovered they were department maps. Locations such as the Brain room, where thoughts were studied. The Planet room, learning about probability. The Time room, investigating the past, the future, and the multitude of possibilities therein. The Prophesy room, researching … prophesies. So many rooms exploring so many esoteric things.
The room they'd come from had been dubbed the death room, where the view between life and death was studied, Harry hissed a laugh; they'd have to rename that room if they ever discovered what he and Sirius had. The Dimension room or some such rot.
Sirius made his way through each room, he and Harry noting the differences, and similarities, they had from the world they knew. The brain, planet, and prophesy rooms were largely unchanged, though they were all cleaner and more brightly lit; signs in each warning visitors not to touch anything. The time room had everything behind spell proof glass, an obvious 'look but don't touch' left unsaid, and they'd already seen the changes in the 'death' room. The room that Dumbledore had claimed was full of love was the only room that remained shut. It bore a sign that claimed that the contents were too dangerous for the public and the door was to stay sealed indefinitely.
After their quite thorough exploration of the Department of Research and Development the pair moved up to the Ministry proper and discovered a change drastically different from the world they knew. A change greater even than the Department below them. This world held such a shocking revelation that Sirius could only stand and stare in astonishment. In this world where so much was not what they knew or expected, this difference was beyond the pale. Because, displayed on a bright banner to the whole of the Ministry of Magic, proclaiming for all to see, were the words; 'Tom Riddle: Your Beloved Minister 20 Years Running'.
A/N: How's that for a twist ending, huh?! Hope you enjoyed it, please let me know how much you liked it, hated it, want me to shut up and get to the next chapter already in a much anticipated comment. Tootles!