The Final Goodbye

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 in 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 form the arch.

Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his god-father'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.

The moment had gone for Harry, as he realised that never again would he see his beloved god-father. When Sirius had vanished, all hope had drained from Harry's being and he was overwhelmed with a nagging feeling of guild and unbearable grief.

But for Sirius, it was as if time had stood still. He heard the desperate pleading of Harry and longed to reach out for him, to soothe and protect him. But he was paralysed. His limbs felt heavy and hollow. Searing pain soared down his broken body and he found himself eager for death. When would this be over?

He screamed in agony, but there was silence. Panicking, he realised that he had no control over his voice. He was surely dying.

Squeezing his eyes shut tight, tears trickled down his face, but not just from the pain. He pondered over what he was leaving behind. His friends, especially Remus, Harry and ... Harry! Oh, Harry. They had known each other for just two short years. It was so cruel. In that short time, however, Harry had become like a son to him. It had made him so proud to see James and Lily's son, to become part of his life. He reminded him so much of James. Sirius tried to smile at the thought of his late best friend, but his muscles refused to work. He began to despair.

Knowing that his time was coming to an end, Sirius worried about what would happen to Harry. He just hoped that his sacrifice had been worth it and that he wasn't about to die in vain. If it meant that Harry would be safe, he could handle anything.

But what would Harry do now? He'd lost his mother and father and now he, Sirius, was dying. The pain in his chest got worse as he thought about his god-son.

Seconds later and Sirius could feel the end. Or had it been hours? Days? Sirius couldn't tell. All he knew was that eventually he would die and leave Harry alone, once again. His eyes started rolling and he struggled too see. He wasn't certain, but he was sure he could see a bright light in the near distance. He blinked a couple of times and the light faded slightly.

A strange thought occurred to him. He had never been in love! What was love? Sirius attempted to shake his head to get rid of the thought. Honestly, what on earth was he thinking? Perhaps, before he died, he was going to go crazy? What did it matter? But suddenly it did matter.

He had witnessed love. James and Lily. They had been so in love. But what about him? He had never experienced anything like that about any woman.

Then it hit him. Love wasn't necessarily between a man and a woman. Love was whatever you made it. So what if he hadn't been in love? He did know what love was after all. He had loved James and Lily. He loved Remus and Harry. He had even loved Peter Pettigrew at one point. How ironic was it that it had taken him until his death for him to finally realise how lucky he really was?

It was then that Sirius finally closed his eyes and begun to drift from the world of the living, secure in his mind that the best love of all was the love of friendship. His last moments where a blur of faces- red hair, emerald green eyes, a lightning bolt scar. But the one he most treasured was the face that he would see soon. James. His best friend. The one he would always love above all others. They would be together again, them and Lily. That was all that mattered now.

"Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!" ~ Madam Rosmerta

- this is why you're not in the Order - you don't understand - there are things worth dying for!"