Author's Note: This chapter has been completely rewritten. Hope you like the changes. I warned you it might change. Never say I don't keep my word. ;)
Once again, JK Rowling is not mine. I'm not making any money on this, just love the sandbox and am grateful I'm getting a chance to play in it.
As this is my first attempt at a fanfic, I would love it if you left some reviews and let me know what you think so far? Thank you for reading!
What's life without a little risk?
-Sirius Black-
Chapter 6 Dealing with The Devil
A voice, this one rather terrifying, spoke into his nothing world, shaking him awake. Sirius opened his eyes. Once again, he was enshrouded in mists of gray. A dark shape swirled before him ominously.
"You seek to leave my realm and meddle with the strands of fate and time?" The voice accused.
Sirius couldn't see how he could deny it. "Yes." Confident that was exactly what he intended to do.
He felt as if the darkness was taking his full measure. Weighing him like a wand. "And if I forbid it?"
Suddenly the darkness morphed into the shape of a cloaked man. The dark shadow shape stood towering over him. In his hand a staff as big as an oak tree. Then the darkness morphed again into the shape of a massive dragon. It opened its jaw and black flame, issued from its shadowy maw!
Sirius dodged quickly out of the way. Being dead didn't seem a good enough reason to just stand there. A hot scorching wind that smelled like brimstone rushed through his ethereal body.
Sirius didn't know what he could do to this entity... Death? He shook his head, "Do you require a toll?" He shouted into the darkness. "Payment of some kind?"
The darkness considered him and he felt the ground rumble at 'His Darkness's' reply.
"Yessssss." The darkness shrank and morphed again into the shape of a massive three-headed snake-like creature. Each head tracking him and hissing in derision. The heads towered over him. "Puny human!" Said one head. "Let's eat it!" hissed one of the snakeheads and it struck out at him, forcing him to dodge aside again.
Being a spirit didn't make him feel even a little bit better about going up against a three-headed giant serpent thing. "Listen first, eat it later!" recommended the third snakehead.
Sirius kept his distance from considered it... "What do I have that you would want? And I'm sure I don't taste very good. Too puny to eat."
The darkness again seemed to attend to his question with deep thought. He could feel it breathing. "Your memories." The darkness morphed again, feeding off his fears like a boggart it seemed, this time taking the shape of a massive black dog. The Grim.
Sirius finally understood why some people were terrified of his animagus form. Of course Grim was three times as big as his own form. He slowly backed up as the giant black dog with glowing red eyes prowled toward him.
The ever-shifting darkness growled "I shall let you pass through the veil back into your own timeline for your memories of this place and all that you have witnessed here. I shall let you pass if you agree to be my hunter. My Grimm."
Sirius wanted to balk and remembered the tale of the Three Brothers. He needed those memories. The massive shadow Grim kept on and Sirius gave ground reluctantly until he stopped and the creature was right in his face breathing hot rancid breath in his ghostly face. "I need some of those memories to defeat one that has been cheating Death with vile magic," Sirius explained.
The shadow dog grew angry, his voice thundered around him. "Do you defy me? Are you not trying to cheat death?"
Sirius wanted to bow and scrape but held his ground. "There must be something else we can agree to? Perhaps if I keep a few memories and you take the rest?" Sirius proposed hopefully. "A middle ground?"
The darkness roiled and dwarfed him, losing its form for a moment as if in indecision. The disembodied voice boomed all around him. "A middle ground it shall be. You will remember only two days. Choose!"
Sirius grieved because he really wanted to remember all of it. Every moment of his time with his friends. From the first to the last. Finally, he said, "The first day and the last."
"Deal."
The darkness once again morphed into the shape of the giant cloaked man, only it wasn't a man beneath the cloak it was just darkness and more darkness. A black hand reached out towards him and a long skeletal shadow finger touched his forehead and Sirius felt the memory charm take hold. When it moved aside he took a large chunk of Sirius's memories with him. Sirius felt lighter and heavier at the same time. Diminished. Death snickered,
"You will get them back… when you return."
"Some final instructions and words of advice are in order." The shadow hissed, "You will not be able to stay in any one of your petty vessels for long, lest you damage your body or that which is destined to be. Until you reach the time of your…" it paused to suck in a laugh, sounding like a Dementor sucking out a soul, "stumble into my realm like a bumbling fool."
Sirius wanted to defend himself but the Shadow of Gloom was continuing, "You shall jump forward through time randomly. I have no control over this. That is up to Fate's whims." Death sounded amused which did not amuse the Marauder. Do you understand these conditions?" Sirius was confused and said so.
The shadow growled. "The more you change things, the more likely you are to anger Fate. She is not a goddess to be trifled with. Destiny is just as bad. I would caution you not to anger either of them. You are an anomaly, Black. Rules are meant to be broken. Isn't that your philosophy? again he morphed, back to the dragon which suddenly sprung up dwarfing him. "Some rules can not be broken without consequences." Then as if impatient with all of it he sighed and focused on the 'important things.' morphing into the cloaked figure again, giving Sirius a serious case of mental whiplash.
"You will be delivered within the same space as your younger self. If you do not possess yourself within the hour you shall remain a specter. Your younger self will be aware of the possession. You will be in control of how much you reveal to your younger self, or how much influence you exert. If you travel beyond one mile from your younger self you will remain as you are now. A specter. A disembodied wraith." The dark cloaked figure sounded almost bored now. As if simply reading the fine print of a business contract. Then he morphed into the massive inky tornado-like hurricane, blowing his spirit back violently, he tumbled and fell and skidded across an endless flat plain of gray. The dark wind boomed all around him, drilling in the point.
"There are things you will not be able to change. No matter how hard you try. Be prepared for failure Sirius Black. You are not to meddle with that which must be!"
The Dark tornado morphed again, back to the Grim. Sirius slowly stood and didn't look happy. "Well, that's just great. You're telling me that I'm just gonna spend a bunch of time jumping forward through time, having to repossess myself over and over until I get to the moment of my death?" He queried a bit irritably.
"That is correct." he hissed.
"That makes things a lot more complicated," Sirius muttered angrily before sighing. "Anything else I should know?" He didn't trust this entity to be honest with him.
"You should guard the knowledge of your nature. Telling anyone, even those you trust, the full truth, risks the future you are trying to change. You are not forbidden from sharing this knowledge but do so at your own peril. If fate decides you are risking her plans, you could be punished. Severely."
The warning sent shivers through his spirit. He nodded, "What's life without a little risk?" He glared at the darkness swirling chaotically before him.
The moment felt heavy with the decision before finally, it felt as if a magical contract had been struck, and the darkness whispered in his ear before he departed as it departed taking the shape of a beautiful woman, "One last command from your master." Death said in a distinctly seductive feminine voice, "Deliver to my hand, Tom Marvolo Riddle." He could feel hot breath against his ear and it smelled like sulfur.
Sirius saw the veil fluttering before him, beckoning him forward. He took a deep breath and whispered, "Once more into the breach dear friends... " Then without hesitation or a second thought, he plunged through the mist-like curtain and stepped through to the other side.