Chapter 3: Dreaming of Death

Harry turned to look where Neville was staring. Directly above them, framed in the doorway from the Brain Room, stood Albus Dumbledore, his wand aloft, his face white and furious. Harry felt a kind of electric charge surge through every particle of his body - they were saved. Dumbledore sped down the steps past Neville and Harry, who had no more thoughts of leaving. Dumbledore was already at the foot of the steps when the Death Eaters nearest realized he was there and yelled to the others. One of the Death Eaters ran for it, scrabbling like a monkey up the stone steps opposite. Dumbledore's spell pulled him back as easily and effortlessly as though he had hooked him with an invisible line.

Only one pair was still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: he was laughing at her.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.

The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest. The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock. Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore, too, turned towards the dais.

It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch. Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind, then fell back into place. Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrange's triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing - Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second…

But Sirius did not reappear.

"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled. "SIRIUS!"

He had reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. Sirius must be just behind the curtain, he, Harry, would pull him back out… But as he reached the ground and sprinted towards the dais, Lupin grabbed Harry around the chest, holding him back.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry -"

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

"- it's too late, Harry."

"We can still reach him -" Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let go…

"There's nothing you can do, Harry… nothing… he's gone."

Sirius remained motionless in the chair beside his godson's bed, watching the weak rise and fall of his chest. Harry's breathing suddenly quickened and he began to mutter unintelligible phrases.

"Poppy!" He called uneasily.

The matron was his side in a moment. Wordlessly, she took in Harry's sweaty face and delirious ramblings.

"No… NO!" The boy moaned, gasping for breath as if he had run a mile. "Sirius! SIRIUS!"

His godfather leapt out of the chair to grasp Harry's hand. "Harry, it's okay. I'm right here."

Harry began to thrash violently on the bed as if fighting some unknown assailant. "Get him, save him!" he cried out in a desperate voice. Most of his words were lost as he struggled for breath. "…only just gone through… still reach him!"

Sirius lifted his free hand to push Harry's sweaty fringe out his eyes. "Harry, wake up." He pleaded, scared for his godson. For the first time, he noticed the other people in the room. Dumbledore was standing beside Sirius gazing at Harry and appeared to be deep in thought. "What's wrong with him?" Sirius asked in distress as his godson gave another anguished cry.

"SIRIUS!"

Dumbledore looked at him grimly. "I have a theory."

The heavy manner in which he said those four words filled Sirius with dread.

"He hasn't gone!" Harry yelled.

He did not believe it; he would not believe it; still he fought Lupin with every bit of strength he had. Lupin did not understand; people hid behind that curtain; Harry had heard them whispering the first time he had entered the room. Sirius was hiding, simply lurking out of sight.

"SIRIUS!" he bellowed. "SIRIUS!"

"He can't come back, Harry," said Lupin, his voice breaking as he struggled to contain Harry. "He can't come back, because he's d-"

"HE - IS - NOT - DEAD!" roared Harry. "SIRIUS!"

There was movement going on around them, pointless bustling, the flashes of more spells. To Harry it was meaningless noise, the deflected curses flying past them did not matter, nothing mattered except that Lupin should stop pretending that Sirius - who was standing feet from them behind that old curtain - was not going to emerge at any moment, shaking back his dark hair and eager to re-enter the battle.

Lupin dragged Harry away from the dais. Harry, still staring at the archway, was angry at Sirius now for keeping him waiting. But some part of him realized, even as he fought to break free from Lupin, that Sirius had never kept him waiting before… Sirius had risked everything, always, to see Harry, to help him… if Sirius was not reappearing out of that archway when Harry was yelling for him as though his life depended on it, the only possible explanation was that he could not come back… that he really was…

Sirius continued to stare at Dumbledore apprehensively, flinching as Harry gave a dry sob. "He hasn't gone!" He wailed miserably.

"Tell me! What did my filthy cousin do to him?" Sirius growled.

Dumbledore gave a weary sigh. "I believe that Voldemort created a spell to help him possess Harry, to weaken his defenses so he could infiltrate his mind. He had Bellatrix perform it so he did not have to enter the ministry himself."

"What sort of spell are we talking about?"

"This is merely a guess – "

"Just tell me!"

"It would seem that Voldemort has planted false images in Harry's mind; much like previous times, these images appear to be reality to Harry. He is trapped in this dreamlike state living a nightmare of Voldemort's own creation. By putting Harry through deep emotional pain in this alternate reality, he hopes to make him react in anger, where he will be able to gain entry into his mind."

Sirius was shocked. "Can… can it be reversed?"

Dumbledore's eyes had lost their characteristic twinkle; he now looked old and tired. Sirius was filled with a sense of foreboding. He had never seen his former headmaster look so grave.

"Not by us," Dumbledore said dejectedly. "Harry has to pull out of it on his own. However, hearing the voices of his family and friends will remind him what he has to come back to; it will give him reason to fight." He patted Sirius on the shoulder. "I'll seal off the hospital wing so you can stay with him uninterrupted." With one last sad look at Harry who was still writhing on the bed, his body shaken by heart-rending sobs, he began to walk toward the door.

Sirius turned his full attention back to Harry; during his conversation with the headmaster, Remus, Tonks, Ginny and Neville had moved to stand by Harry's side.

Ginny reached for Harry's other hand as the boy drew in a shaky breath. "What do you think he's –?"

"SIRIUS!" Harry suddenly cried out, sounding as though his heart would break. "NO! HE – IS – NOT – DEAD!"

"Oh, Harry." Sirius choked out. He looked up at Remus and Tonks. "He must think I'm dead. It's a part of the vision."