The Feather or the Heart?

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Sirius slipped through the arch, falling backwards. His earthly burdens and shackles were gone - nothing left to hold him there but his body, and he was currently separated from his body.

"Come with me," said a tall hooded figure. Sirius jumped and leapt for his wand, thinking it was a dementor...but his wand wasn't there. The figure swept the hood back from their face, revealing long, dark red locks and almond cat-green eyes. "Sirius, you utter idiot, you needn't look so worried. You expected me and James to trust you on your own?"

"And, love, if you expected me to trust you alone with Sirius..." James, equally hooded, came into being behind Lily.

"Hmm," was all Lily had to say.

"Come on, Sirius, stand up, mate, we're going to see Them!" James said cheerily, bending down and clapping his friend on the shoulder.

Sirius still hadn't spoken.

"When he says Them, just nod and smile," Lily said politely.

Sirius nodded and smiled, still finding himself without the use of his voice. Climbing to his feet, he found himself dressed in the selfsame robe ensemble Lily and James wore, only his were gray, not black.

"Marks you as someone who hasn't Testified yet," James told him.

"Testified?" Sirius finally found his voice.

"Basically," Lily cut in, "you're someone who only just got here and hasn't had their heart weighed."

"I'm quite attached to my heart," Sirius quipped.

"Not like that, you idiot..." Lily snapped, hauling him up by the right arm. James took the left.

"Now, Sir Black, we shall escort thee to thy Fate," James joked. At least, Sirius hoped that was humor in his voice...

"Sirius Black, of the house of Black, dead this day. Whom do you serve?" Sirius blinked. The tall bronze man was perfectly proportioned. Save his head. He had the head of a bird.

Taking a deep breath, Sirius ignored his heart upon the scales, ignored the dog-headed man holding the scales, and bowed deeply.

"I serve no man save a worthy man."

The bird-head guy nodded, writing down his answer. Sirius turned pleading eyes toward the man on the throne. Lily had said, before she left, that he was Osiris, the bird headed man was Thoth, or Djeheuty, and the guy with the dog-head was Anubis.

"Don't worry, Sirius," she had added, squeezing his arm. "It will all turn out fine."

"Step forward for the weighing of the heart," Anubis intoned. Sirius walked forward, his pulse pounding in his ears.

Anubis brought forth a feather, laying it on the other side, and held it up. Sirius straightened his posture.

The feather tipped down violently. Anubis smiled, which looked odd enough for a dog.

"Sirius Black, of the house of Black," he began.

Osiris stretched forth his stick thing, as Sirius thought of it. "Wait!" he boomed. "I demand we sit in private counsel about this - this is no ordinary soul we bring judgment to."

Thoth and Anubis bowed. Lily and James came forward again, their hoods up, and escorted him from the magnificent courtroom. Sirius imagined they were a bit rougher with him this time.

"Don't worry, Padfoot, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Prongs asked. Sirius could tell James was worried.

"Relax, you two. Sirius, you'll be fine. The heart was lighter than the feather. You'll be with us."

"...Um."

All too soon, the judgment came. Sirius was ushered into the room again, Osiris on his throne, Thoth in a chair, and Anubis holding the now-empty scales.

Osiris spoke again. "Sirius Black, of the House of Black, we find you a righteous soul, who shall be granted a blessed life in the Underworld, and ne'er banished to the bowels of Seth's domain. You may go."

Lily kissed him on the cheek, while James pretended to glower in the background.

"Welcome home, Padfoot."

-author's notes-

Well, I hope I've given Sirius a happy life with his pals...lol. If you haven't read Order of the Phoenix, I strongly advise you to before reading this. It'll make a helluva lot more sense.

Don't flame me for the fact that I'm using Egyptian mythology...I like Egyptian mythology. ^.^

Ash