The Labyrinth of Amagor

The Labyrinth of Amagor

Chapter 9: A Friend Restored

Alison woke with a sense of deep contentment. She lay nestled against Seamus, his arms comfortingly round her, and for now at least, she didn't want to be anywhere else!

Funny how things turn out, she mused. Yesterday, she had been a novice X-Man on her first real mission. Dazzler had been trained to expect all kinds of things: vast underground bases, urban battlegrounds, jungles, oil rigs-all filled with veteran mercenaries, outlaw Mutants or hostile aliens. What she had gotten had been a charming cottage, a plump, motherly hostess and a calorie-laden but delicious breakfast! Once into the Labyrinth itself, she had been mysteriously separated from her team-mates, only to fall literally into partnership with a young wizard.

Alison had been mentally preparing herself for danger, combat, some kind of complex challenge to her skills, powers or intellect. What she had not been prepared for was the almost electric shock that ran through her body when she first met Seamus Finnigan's eyes. Dazzler was a native New Yorker and didn't for a moment believe in all that "love at first sight" crap-lust at first sight, maybe, but love? That was for Valentine's cards!

None of which explained how it was that her heart turned over at the sound of the young Irish wizard's soft brogue. But there it was, and by the time they had threaded that lethal obstacle course together, Alison had been hopelessly, but hopelessly, in love with Seamus! Of course, she was sure he didn't feel the same way, so she resigned herself to being the best friend to him she possibly could.

But, after the day they had had, all that tension followed by the relaxation of a long bath and a good meal, she had wanted to sit with Seamus and talk with him. So they did that until Seamus got up and cast those spells on all the curtains, and suddenly everyone was going to bed, alone or in company. Ali had wanted company, very specific company, but didn't want to risk a friendship for a night of what she thought could only be casual sex. But she'd been unable to stop herself sending one look to Seamus, just before she entered the bed alcove. She had not known whether to be thrilled or saddened when he had answered her mute appeal, but she had invited him into her bed, anyway. She needed him there.

But Seamus had not, apparently, come for sex. The young couple had held each other close and talked. They had found themselves exchanging all kinds of little confidences, becoming increasingly intimate. Quite suddenly, Ali had heard Seamus say simply, "You do realise I love you, don't you Ali? I have since the first moment I saw you."

For the longest moment, she had been unable to reply, then, through joyful tears, she had told him that she felt the same way. After that, there had been swift undressing, followed by many soft caresses and finally a tender merging of their bodies as well as their hearts.

Now, as she felt him wake, she reached up a little and softly kissed his neck. "Hi, honey. Sleep well?"

"That I did, love." He kissed her hair.

Ali had to ask; she needed to hear him say it. "Seamus, last night you said...."

"That I love you? I did, and I do, Ali. Nothing's going to change that, acushla, I promise you."

"Good, because I love you, too. Do we have to get up, yet?"

"Not till the bell rings. Why?"

"Well, when you were kissing me last night, I think you missed a couple spots!"

Some time after that, the first bell rang, and people began stirring. Rogue called Harry, Ron and Hermione over to her, and handed them each what looked like a small capsule. "Ron, your Mom found these in your rooms, and shrank them down for us. She said you'd be able to reverse the spell."

When they did so, the three found that the "capsules" had been the duffle bags containing their uniforms.

"Now why did you bring these?" asked Harry.

Rogue fixed him with a stern look. "Hawk, you're an X-Man operating in the field. I realise you needed to start undercover, but this is now an official mission, and I expect to see you, Charm and Hunter in uniform. Got that?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Harry whipped off a somewhat sarcastic salute, which Rogue returned with a grin and a single digit.

Ron chuckled, but Hermione, typically, took a different tack. "Actually, that was a good idea. These outfits are much more practical for this kind of thing."

"You're right, of course," agreed Ron, "though you wouldn't be wearing a thong today, by any chance, would you, love?"

"Ron!" Hermione went scarlet. "You know perfectly well I'm not!"

"Thong?" queried Rogue.

"You had to be there," Ron told her.

"Honestly!" huffed Hermione. "What a thing to say in front of people!" she flounced off towards the bathroom, but she couldn't stop herself grinning. Ron had always been able to penetrate her armour, but Hermione was discovering that she really didn't mind all that much - as long as it was Ron.

People bathed and dressed quickly. Despite his response to Marie's order, Harry felt a good deal more ready to face trouble once he had drawn on the familiar, black leather. The last time he had worn it had been to model it for Ginny, and he was surprised to find that he'd grown a little since then. There was some leeway in the fit, though. Harry suspected that the outfit was not so much leather as it was what Beast called adaptive polymer, designed to deal with the demands placed on it by a wearer with unusual abilities. Still, he'd have to see if Wolverine could get him a new one if this sort of thing was going to become a habit.

Breakfast was consumed in near silence. Everyone knew that the Final Test waited, and they were all preoccupied wondering what it might be. When they had finished eating, everyone turned to Harry expectantly. He gazed at their faces, and became aware that he'd never realised he had so many friends!

He shrugged and held up his hands. "Look, everyone, I've no more idea than the rest of you what we're going to come across. We're just going to have to do the best we can. If we look out for each other and stick together as much as we can, we can at least give Amagor a run for his money!

"All you Hogwarts people, I want you to bear in mind that Rogue is in charge of the X-Men, but that we're not two separate teams. If she asks you or tells you to do something, please just do it, OK?"

There were nods of assent around the table, and then Rogue spoke up. "Hawk's right about me being team leader for the X-Men, but I'll say here and now that as far as I'm concerned, he's in overall command. This place is a wizard place--a magic place-- so a wizard needs to be in charge. That means, X-Men, if Hawk says 'jump', y'all ask 'how high?' Don't be askin' me whether y'all should or not, got that?"

The reappearance of Rogue's drawl clearly indicated she meant what she said. Harry realised he was once again in charge of a dangerous situation. What shocked him the most was that he was beginning to like that feeling.

Then the third bell rang, and the door swung open. Harry got to his feet. "All right. Good luck, everyone!" He led the way with Ginny beside him, holding tight to his hand.

They filed out into a vast arena under a grey sky in which a pale sun shone. For a moment they were alone, then, suddenly, across from them an army appeared. It was a wizard army, perhaps a hundred strong, and they stood quietly waiting while a tall figure stepped out of the ranks and moved towards the group of teenagers.

The man-if it was a man-had dark hair and a bland face with pale blue eyes. He addressed Harry in a deep, yet oddly toneless, voice. "This is your final test, young Gryffindor." He produced an hourglass from his robe and turned it over. "When the sands run out, battle will commence. You have until then to prepare."

He set down the hourglass and returned to stand in front of his forces. Harry turned to his friends. "Well, this is plain enough--an all-out fight against superior numbers. How do we win?"

All eyes turned to Ron, whose face was already set in the oddly calm expression he assumed at times like this. "Everything here is flat; there's no advantage of terrain to be gained. We could conjure some fortifications, and Iceman can make a barrier, but that puts us solely on the defensive. I don't see any brooms, but since Sunfire can fly, we have air superiority, especially since Shiro can do a lot of damage with those plasma bolts of his.

"What I don't like is the fact that if we elect to defend only, we lose full use of assets like Colossus, Sunspot and Wolfsbane. The same applies to us wizards. Harry, Ginny, Seamus and I all feel happier on the move and attacking. We're better on the offensive.

"Best plan I can come up with is for us to make a show of defending at first, but we have to be able to get our attacking forces in for fast strikes to thin out the enemy."

This started a more general round of discussion. Harry left them to it; he knew what he had to do.

Voldemort had opened the Labyrinth, kidnapped his friends, gone to great lengths for a single purpose-all to rid himself of Harry Potter! Without Harry, none of his friends would be in the slightest danger. Harry would have to do what was necessary. He would make a bargain with the Wizard general--a one-to-one duel to decide success or failure. If Harry won, well and good. If he lost, he would still save his friends. Harry would offer to take all the burden of failure, allow himself to be imprisoned here forever, serve Amagor for eternity, and even sacrifice his life, to get the people he loved out of the Labyrinth.

In that way, Voldemort could still be beaten. Only Harry and Dumbledore knew that the Prophecy could apply equally to Neville as to Harry himself. Out of the two of them, Harry knew Neville was the better man. Neville had no trace of the cold, ruthless other self Harry knew was growing inside him. The Wizarding world would be safe in Neville's hands; Harry could feel it!

A quick glance told Harry he was unobserved. He took a breath, checked that his wand was secure in the holster on his thigh, and set off towards the hourglass. But, before he had gone a yard, Ginny was there. She blocked his path, arms round his waist, squeezing with all her considerable strength, and glared up into his face. "Oh, no you don't, Harry! Not this time."

"Ginny, I...."

"Shut up! Just shut up, Harry! I know what you're thinking of doing. You were going to challenge that wizard to some stupid, single-combat type of thing, weren't you? Weren't you?"

"Well..." Harry mumbled.

"I knew it! How many times do I have to say the same thing, Harry? When are you going to realise we're not going to let you get yourself killed?"

Harry sighed. "Look, Gin, you're all in here because of me. It's up to me to get you out if I can."

"No!" she snapped. "We're in here because Voldemort's a murderous, cowardly bastard who daren't face a straight fight. If it weren't you, it'd be someone else he'd be obsessing about."

Harry tried to free himself from her hold. Ginny hung on and yelled, "Help! Harry's doing it, again!"

Strong as she was, Ginny couldn't have restrained Harry, but then he felt Ron's big hands on his shoulders and knew that he could never break that iron grip!

Ron spoke in a tone of exasperation. "For Merlin's sake, mate, when are you going to learn? I've been watching your arse--not a pretty sight, by the way-for the last six years. What makes you think I'm going to stop now?"

"Ron..."

"Can it, sugah!" Marie cut in, seizing Harry's left arm. "We're a team, remember? We do this together or not at all. You wanna do the lone hero bit, you gotta be Wolverine. You're good, honey, but you ain't that good!"

Hermione said into Harry's face, "Sweet Medea, Harry! I thought you'd know better by now. If you ever", she warned, now in full, strident flow, "try to do anything this stupid ever again, Harry Potter, I'll give you a piece of my mind you'll never forget. And then I'll....I'll tell Aunt Molly. I will! And you know what she'll say....

"Of all the pig-headed, macho, testosterone-driven idiots in the world, Harry, you're about the worst! This isn't Camelot, and you're not Sir Lancelot! D'you hear me?"

Bobby murmured to Ron, "You actually sleep with this woman?"

"Yeah."

"You're braver than I thought," Bobby observed.

"She's a handful," Ron admitted, all the while maintaining an unbreakable grip on his best friend.

By this time, everyone had gathered round, and from their expressions, it was quite clear they all felt the same way. Harry gave up with a sigh. "Look, whatever some people might say," he said with a sour look for Ginny, "you're here because of me. I was just trying to make sure none of you got hurt. Is that so wrong?"

"It's not even the point, Harry," replied Neville. "We would have followed you into this place out of simple friendship because we all know you'd do the same for us. Fate or luck or something made you the Boy Who Lived. That means Voldemort has a special reason to go after you. But he's after the rest of us, too. He wants to rule the whole Wizarding world, and, after that, the Muggle one. I'd bet my last Knut that if he knew what Mutants were, he'd want to conquer them, as well. So this is as much our fight as it is yours."

Neville turned to Rogue. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to speak for you and the X-Men."

"It's OK, Neville," Marie said, nodding vigorously. "I'm a Gryffindor, too, remember? An' Hawk, heah, like I keep tellin' him, is an X-Man! Professor X may say we shouldn't get mixed up in your world's problems, but that don't mean we leave our friends in the lurch. So, Hawk, like it or not, we work together and you're in charge. What do we do?"

Harry surveyed the group. "I must have done something right to have friends like you." He exhaled heavily. "Right, then. Iceman, you'll need to make a fortification of some kind that we can duck into when things get bad. Luna, Padma, Charm, Lavender, and Psyche had better support him. Rogue, you're in command of that unit.

"The rest of us are going to have to do the attacking. Like Hunter says, we can't just defend. Hunter, Wolfsbane, Seamus, Dazzler and Colossus will be one unit. Me, Neville, Firebird, Parvati and Sunspot will be another. Sunfire, you stay aloft and help where you're most needed. Ariel, there's nothing much that can touch you, so you're our scout." Harry screwed up his face. "Not much of a plan, I know, but we'll have to do our best with it."

Ginny turned her death-grip into a hug. "That's more like it! I love you, Harry."

"I love you, Ginny." Harry kissed her, blushing at doing so in public, but he made a thorough job of it anyway. Uninhibited Ginny responded enthusiastically. When they had finished, Hermione kissed one of Harry's cheeks firmly, and Marie the other lightly. Ron gave Harry's shoulders one last squeeze, and released him.

Harry blurted out, "Thank you all-just thought I'd better say that now!" He smiled. "Those sands are almost gone. Let's do this!"

Harry took the lead, and they advanced as a group. The wizard general stepped forward to meet them. As they came within speaking distance, he bowed and spoke again. "Are you prepared?"

"We are," replied Harry formally.

The wizard bowed, again. "Then the Test of Unity has been passed. Farewell." With that, he and his army vanished!

For a moment, the youngsters stood nonplussed. Then the arena became a large stone chamber, and once again the ambivalent figure of Amagor stood before them. "Behold!" he declared in a ringing voice. "You are victorious over the Labyrinth. I do homage to your worth!" he bowed low to them all.

Harry finally found his voice. "We...won? But what about the Final Test?"

"The Test of Unity," Amagor explained, "is the greatest of all the tests. Measuring skill, courage, wit and honour of young wizards is a simple thing. Such qualities can be learned in schools or are bred into the bone.

"But, from the beginnings of Hogwarts, there was rivalry between the Four, and so between the Houses they founded. That rivalry ran from friendly competition to bitter enmity, rising and falling as the years passed.

"Thus the Final Test is to know if those of the four Houses could put aside their differences and stand together at the last. This Test you have passed, and so you may leave the Labyrinth with pride."

Amagor gestured to a door behind him. "Beyond that door, I may not go. There you will find the Room of Departure. Of old, four portals led to the private homes of the Four. When they passed away, a Portkey to Hogwarts was set there. That is now gone, but one of the portals has opened-that which leads to Salazar's Keep."

Amagor stepped closer to Harry. "To you, I say this, Dunadan. My power ends in this chamber. What awaits you beyond the door is none of my doing, and it is a thing most dishonourable.

"This also I shall say: My knowledge of what lies beyond my domain is limited, but the Keep of Slytherin is, as we speak, a place of battle. You will find enemies as well as friends.

He turned to address all the students. "But now, you are done with my Labyrinth. Hail to you all, brave Gryffindors, lore-wise Ravenclaws, and Children of the Future!" Amagor bowed once more before he disappeared.

There was a moment's silence before the room erupted in a storm of cheers, hugs, kisses and backslapping. Harry joined in for a while, but Amagor's words kept nagging at him. Eventually, people quieted down, and he took the opportunity to get their attention.

"Listen...listen! We're not out of this, yet." Harry looked at them all. "Amagor said that there was something more--something aimed at me, that he had nothing to do with--"

Harry was shouted down. From the cacophony, he got the very clear message that he was not to be allowed to go through the door alone. He found himself laughing. "All right! All right! We go in together, then."

Flanked by Marie and Ron, with Hermione and Bob close behind, and with Ginny's arm firmly round his waist, Harry approached the door. It swung open without being touched, revealing a very large, well-lit chamber.

The room was circular. At the four points of the compass were four large windows. Above each window was the crest of one of the Hogwarts Houses: lion, raven, badger and serpent. Three of the windows looked out onto Stygian blackness, but the serpent-crested Slytherin window opened onto another circular chamber.

Harry barely noticed this; his full attention was drawn to the object in the centre of the room. It was a tall, thick pillar of pure crystal, and in the centre of it hung a suspended human figure-an oddly familiar figure. Harry stepped closer...it couldn't be...it was! Sirius?

"Sirius!" Harry let go of Ginny and dashed toward the pillar, only to be stopped, yards short, by a shimmering barrier.

"What?" Ginny caught up with him, and then stepped forward. The barrier didn't stop her, and she and Hermione went right up to the pillar. Ron tried to follow, but again, the barrier sprang up.

"It seems only women can get near him," remarked Ron.

"No surprise there," said Hermione over her shoulder. "They say Sirius was quite the flirt at Hogwarts. Once in a while at Grimmauld Place, he'd even tease me."

"Can't say I blame him," replied Ron. "Can you, Roberto?"

"Not really...oh!" Roberto shot a quick, apprehensive look at Ron, who just grinned and winked at him.

Dani glanced between the two of them and asked. "Is anything going on here I should know about?"

"Don't worry, Dani," said Ron. "I'll explain it all to you later, when we have a private moment. All right, Roberto?"

Sunspot grinned. "Fine by me, Ron. You catch on quick, amigo."

"Will you lot pack it in!" snarled Harry. "We don't have time for this! Hermione, Ginny, is he all right?"

"Keep your shirt on, Harry," said Hermione abstractedly. "He's alive, in some kind of suspended animation, I think. But why the barrier? Why would someone want to keep men away from him?"

Neville called to Harry. "You'd better have a look at this."

Harry jogged over. Neville indicated a small table on which were three objects: an hourglass with all the sand in the upper portion, a vial of some potion, and a scroll addressed to Harry.

He picked up the scroll at once. As soon as he broke the seal, the sand in the hourglass began to trickle slowly down. Harry read the scroll; his face twisted and he threw it down without a word, turning away and stalking off alone. The others gathered around, then Hermione picked up the scroll and began to read aloud in a soft but clear voice:

Voldemort, Lord of the Wizarding World, to the rebel Harry Potter, greetings.

If you are reading this, then you have surmounted the perils of the Labyrinth. My felicitations; however, here is one dilemma even the djinn Amagor could not resolve.

Did it never occur to you to ask your masters if Sirius Black could be retrieved from beyond the Veil? Such a Summoning is simple enough for one truly dead-for one alive, it is a bagatelle. But the ritual is one of Necromancy, which your foolish teachers call a Dark Art and refuse to practise. Thus it is they who have denied you your last link to your family.

Now, I have restored your godfather to you, but as ever, I demand my price! The crystal that holds Black can only be shattered by one thing: the unique Patronus spirit which only you can summon. But only a female can cross the barrier that encircles the crystal. Even the Patronus cannot cross it, but must be summoned from within.

The potion you find here will effect a single, irreversible change in you. It will transform you into a woman. Thus, in one stroke, I return you your godfather and free us both from the Prophecy that so weighs on us!

Act quickly, Potter! When you opened this scroll, the sands began to run, and Black's life runs with them!

Lord Voldemort

By the time she had finished reading, Hermione was white to the lips, and her eyes were blazing. Ron's comments blistered the air. Ginny looked as if she'd been punched in the stomach; without a word, she went over to Harry.

Harry had been wrestling with himself. He wanted Sirius back; he needed him back! Remus Lupin was now the only living link to Harry's parents, and Harry would not add to that man's burdens with his neediness. Harry knew in his heart of hearts that Molly and Arthur Weasley would always be there for him-that they would gladly take the place of the parents he had lost. In fact, Harry already felt that way about them. But Sirius had given up so much, suffered so much, only to be snatched away just as he was on the point of re-entering normal life.

Sirius had been lost trying to save Harry. Harry owed him a wizard's debt. There was also a part of Harry that craved escape from the Prophecy--that ached to be free from being the Boy Who Lived. If Harry took the potion, the Prophecy would pass to Neville. Neville was a good, brave, man, but was Harry prepared to thrust such a burden onto a friend?

What would Sirius say? He would gladly sacrifice himself, as he had twice before. He would urge Harry to stay in the fight, to fulfil his destiny. But could he, Harry Potter, leave a friend to die when the means to save that friend lay in his hands?

Harry couldn't decide, and he had so little time! Then he felt Ginny behind him and turned to her. "Help me Ginny. Tell me what to do," he whispered.

Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. "I can't, Harry. I didn't really know Sirius that well, though I know he means a lot to you. But all I want is you, Harry!" She managed a crooked smile. "I'm pretty uninhibited, but I don't fancy you as a girlfriend."

Hermione and Ron had drawn closer. Harry turned to them. "I know you want to help, but you can't. Ron, you've been my strong right arm all this time, but this isn't a fight you can join in. Hermione, you're the still, small voice of reason, but this is outside anything even your intelligence can solve."

"Then perhaps I'm the one," said Kitty's calm voice. "You're thinking like a wizard, Harry. Don't limit yourself that way."

She took his hand and led him to the barrier. Harry felt a peculiar sensation as she phased them both, then she stepped across the barrier. As Harry followed, the spell sprang up against him. Harry passed partially though it before pain lanced his frame. He gritted his teeth to push through, but then he heard Kitty moan; the barrier was hurting her, too! Harry let go at once, and was flung out of the barrier across the room. Ginny ran to him as he struggled to rise.

"How's Kitty?" Harry croaked.

"I'm fine," she called from Peter's arms. "Why did you let go?"

"It was hurting you!"

"I could've stood it!"

"I didn't know that," Harry told Kitty. "I couldn't risk you."

She was about to protest more, but Peter shushed her as Rogue came up to Harry. She looked him in the eye and said, "There's more than one way to skin a cat, honey!"

He stared at her with wide eyes. He spoke so only she could hear. "Marie, are you sure? I know from...before...how hard it is for you. I didn't want to ask."

"For you, Harry, I can do it." She smiled. "You're not a Dementor, after all. Give me a minute."

She moved away and spoke quietly to Bobby. He nodded, smiled and kissed her on the forehead. She gestured Harry over. "O.K. You know how to do this spell, so just as soon as I'm through the barrier, I'll let you take over and do your stuff. You ready, sugah?" Harry nodded.

Rogue jerked her head at Harry, saying, "He's gonna keel over when I'm done." Wordlessly, Ron and Peter took up positions on either side of Harry.

Harry asked, "How do we do this? Do we hold hands or something?"

Marie shook her head. "No way! I think we both deserve a little better than that!"

She came close to him, looped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. It was a soft, lingering, surprisingly passionate kiss that Harry couldn't help returning before he fell away into darkness. Peter and Ron lowered his inert form gently to the floor. Ron took his wand from the holster and handed it to Rogue, unnerved to see Harry's green eyes staring out of Marie's lovely face. "Thanks, mate," she said, and turned to the barrier.

Harry was strong, Rogue realised, perhaps stronger than she was, but for now he was content to ride in her mind. Her female body passed the barrier without a hitch, and now she faced the crystal pillar. The man inside--she felt a rush of emotion toward him--was conscious. He was staring, horrified, at the figure approaching him.

Rogue put thoughts of him out of her mind, calling now on the part of her that was Harry. He surged forward and began to summon up images: a phantom memory of his real parents; a whirling, airborne, exultant chaos; the cosy warmth of The Burrow; Ron and Hermione kissing passionately in the Common Room; Harry and Kitty, locked in an embrace in the arboretum at Xavier's; Harry and Ginny, kissing on a hilltop in the sunset. Rogue realised what was happening and instinctively began to summon happy memories of her own, adding them to Harry's, trying to help in any way she could.

For a moment, their minds merged almost completely, and they raised their wand and cried, "Expecto Patronum!" There was a blaze of silver light that condensed into the form of a magnificent stag. The stag lowered its head and charged the pillar. But as it did so, Harry/Rogue noticed another form that flew behind the larger creature. It was faint, little more than a shadow, a two-foot long silver dragonfly! How?

Then the stag struck the pillar, and the crystal shattered with a ringing sound. Sirius collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath. The stag turned and trotted back to Rogue. Before she could touch its muzzle, the stag vanished along with its smaller companion. Rogue collected herself and ran over to Sirius.

As Sirius entered the Whispering Veil, he felt himself being pulled. It hadn't been like this before! Then with a wrench, he was standing on a damp stone floor, surrounded by smoky orange fires. A tall figure stood beyond one of the fires. As it moved toward him, he saw a gleam of red eyes. "Elric?" he hazarded. Had his albino friend managed to follow him? The figure gave a harsh laugh and raised a wand. Everything went black.

They had sealed him in the pillar, and as they had done so, Narcissa had explained their plan to him. Then he had slept only to awaken with the awareness that his supply of air was running out. To his horror, he had seen a female figure approach the crystal and raise a wand. Harry? No! And, yet, the unmistakable form of Harry's Patronus charged down on the Pillar.

Sirius felt strong hands on him. He opened his eyes to look up into a striking, female face. "Harry?"

"No," the girl said, her accent unmistakably American. "Not Harry. My name's Marie, or you can call me Rogue. Can you walk, Sirius Black?"

Now that Sirius could see her clearly, he realised that this was not a female Harry. Her hair was dark, but not Harry's jet black, and there was a streak of pure white near her face. Her eyes were grey. She was wearing some kind of uniform made of black leather, though she wore a Gryffindor badge over her heart. With her aid, Sirius began to struggle to his feet. "What? How?"

"It's complicated," she said. "I'll explain in a minute. I can't hold him for much longer. C'mon!"

Sirius was a little stiff, but otherwise in fairly good shape. He didn't need the girl's support as he approached the cluster of young people who stood nearby. He focused on the figure lying, apparently asleep, on the floor.

There was Harry! He looked to be asleep, lying with his head in the lap of a little redhead-the Weasley girl, Sirius realised. Her gaze was fixed on Harry's face, and she was gently stroking his forehead. Oho! thought Sirius. It seems my godson hasn't been idle while I've been gone. Then noted with a pang that this was another milestone in Harry's life that he had missed. He wondered at Harry's black uniform.

Sirius looked around. Two boys in uniforms were standing guard over Harry's inert form. One of them he recognised as Ron Weasley. Merlin! That lad's turned into a bruiser. Wouldn't like to meet him in a dark alley. The other was even bigger-a dark-haired giant that Sirius didn't know.

There were nearly twenty teenagers gathered in the room. Some of them, Sirius could place from the time he had spent spying out Hogwarts, trying to find Harry and Pettigrew. There was the Longbottom lad, with the Brown girl latched onto his arm. That was the Irish kid, Finnigan. Sirius didn't know the stunning strawberry blonde in black who was draping herself over him. Then there were two Indian girls, so alike they could only be the Patil twins, and one more girl in ordinary clothes.

Who were the rest of the youngsters in the uniforms? Sirius spotted Hermione Granger coming toward him. As she did so, the girl who had rescued him-Marie?-swayed and clutched his arm. He turned to her, asking, "Are you all right?"

She blinked. "Yeah, I'm OK. It's just starting to go back. This is gonna take a while, people," she said to the company in general. "Y'all better take five."

The next moment, a sandy-haired lad had taken hold of Marie. He grinned at Sirius. "It's OK, Mr. Black. I got her. It gets her like this sometimes."

Hermione said briskly, "Sirius, there's a lot to explain, so I'd better do it while Harry and Marie recover. Ron? Come and give me a hand?"

"OK, pet!" Ron turned to a gangly, fair-haired youth. "Sam? Can you watch Harry with Peter?"

"Sure thing, pal."

The three of them moved off a little way, and sat against the wall. Sirius watched amusedly while Hermione nestled herself against Ron with a little sigh of contentment. Things had changed!

"Time was, you two used to drive each other up the wall," he commented.

"Oh, we still do," grinned Ron, "just in a slightly different way."

"I'll bet!" Sirius smiled again, then got to business. "So, what just happened? When I first saw, er, Marie, coming through the barrier, I thought Harry had taken that damned potion."

Hermione shook her head. "No. What happened was that Marie used her Mutant power to absorb- to 'borrow', if you like-Harry's wizard skills and knowledge. The Barrier Charm couldn't stop her because she's female, and once inside it, she used Harry's magic to summon the Patronus."

Sirius stared at her. "That explains exactly nothing." He held up a hand before Hermione could speak again. "Start from the beginning, please. How long have I been gone?"

"Just over a year," Hermione told him. She told him how the battle at the Ministry had ended and then focused on Dumbledore's discovery of the Mutant community. She tried, as best she could, to explain what a Mutant was. Hermione went on to talk about the exchange scheme in the spring, sketching the adventures of the three friends at Xavier's as well as the exploits of the three young X-Men at Hogwarts. Finally, she told Sirius about the kidnapping of their friends, Voldemort's visit to The Burrow, and recent events in the Labyrinth.

Sirius did his best to take it all in. "Do you mean to tell me that those kids came all the way from America just because you were in trouble?" He shook his head. "I didn't realise they still made friendships like that. Seems I missed a few other things, as well," Sirius added, nodding toward Ron and Hermione. "How has Harry been?"

"He went through a bad patch after you fell into the Veil," Ron told Sirius. "Blamed himself, y'know. In America, it was better. He kind of healed inside, especially when he and Kitty there," Ron gestured toward her, "got together. But they called it quits before we came back, and now he's taken up with my sister," Ron said, screwing up his face. "Can't imagine what he sees in her."

Sirius let that pass. He could see what Harry saw in Ginny Weasley. Then there was a sudden commotion, and Sirius jumped to his feet as a recovered Harry dashed over to him. The others left them alone for a while.

After the hugging and backslapping was all done, Sirius held Harry away from him a moment and looked him up and down. "Merlin!" he said. "You've become quite the young man, Harry. You get more like James every time I see you--except he never had those muscles, and you've still got Lily's eyes."

Harry grinned. "You can thank Wolverine for the muscles!" When Sirius looked blank, Harry explained, "Wolverine is one of the X-Men. But you, Sirius, what about you? What was it like beyond the Veil?"

Sirius's eyes became far away for a moment. "It's like nothing you can imagine. I've been to places, seen things, and met people there. I don't know what the Veil may be for the dead, but for the living, it's a portal to countless worlds. Every time I entered one, I had to find a way out and try again to make my way home. I might still be drifting from world to world, if Voldemort hadn't intercepted me that last time. I only regret that I left a friend behind."

"Perhaps he came through with you, and Voldemort's got him," said Harry grimly.

Sirius didn't think so. "If Elric had come through with me, Voldemort would no longer be a threat to anyone."

At the name Elric, Harry's mind turned upside down. He had a sudden image, or memory, of a tall, slender man, with bone-white hair and skin, and sorrowful, crimson eyes, dressed in black armour and wielding a huge black broadsword carved with terrible runes. Then the image was gone.

Harry focused on the present. "Look, Sirius, we'll have time to talk about everything later, but right now, I've got to get my people out of here."

As Harry moved back into the crowd, Sirius realised two things. One was that, even though he was the only adult here, it would be a mistake to try to take charge. The other was that Harry was not as much like James as Sirius might have wanted him to be. There was an edge of hard competence to the lad that James had never had. James Potter had seen life as a sport, a challenge; Harry was all business. Well, James had an easy life, right up until the end, thought Sirius. Harry's had a hard one, and that's partly my fault. Sirius promised himself that somehow, someday, he would make it up to Harry.

As soon as she had recovered, Marie made her way over to Ginny. She had something to explain to her friend. "Ginny, honey..." she began, then stopped as Ginny turned to her with glowing eyes.

"He kissed me!" Ginny exulted. "Before he even asked about Sirius or you, as soon as he woke up, Harry put his arms round me and kissed me! D'you know what that means?"

Marie smiled. "It means he loves you, Ginny. Everybody knows that!"

"Everybody except me," said Ginny. "I was almost used to the idea that I was less important to him than his bloody duty or his friends or-oh, I don't know what. But he thought of me first." Ginny sighed, off in a little world of her own for a moment, then she said, "Sorry, Marie. You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah. Ginny, when I kissed Harry back there..."

Ginny held up a hand. "Forget it," she said graciously. "Harry told me last night you two had nearly had a moment. I'm just pleased you both got it out of your systems."

The two girls hugged; they were, after all, good friends. What Ginny couldn't know, of course, was that Marie knew just exactly how Harry felt about Ginny.

"Excuse me, Marie," Sirius interrupted. He smiled at her a little awkwardly. "I never thanked you for what you did for me and for Harry." He put out a hand, which Marie took.

"No problem, Mr. Black. I'm kinda double obligated to Harry since he's an X-Man and I'm a Gryffindor, and all. If we don't look out for each other, who else will?"

Sirius shook his head. "I'm going to be weeks working all this out. What's an X-Man? How does an American become a Gryffindor? What exactly is a Mutant?" When Rogue began to answer, he said, "No, don't try to explain now. I need to talk to Ginny, here, in private. If you'll excuse us?"

Marie nodded, and went over to Bobby. Sirius turned to Ginny, who was looking at him apprehensively. He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I don't bite. Now, look, Ginny, I've not exactly been the best godfather in the world to Harry. In fact, I've let him down badly when it comes to looking after him--"

"It wasn't your fault!" Ginny protested. "Pettigrew framed you, and you ended up in Azkaban for years. Even if you hadn't been there, those Dursleys wouldn't have let you anywhere near Harry. He told me that they were desperate to keep him away from wizards and Hogwarts and everything."

"That may be so, but the blame has to be partially mine. I should have accepted my responsibility to become James' and Lily's Secret-Keeper as James requested," Sirius countered. "But you're right that that's all in the past. Ginny, I want to talk about the future. I intend to be part of Harry's future, and I know you do, as well. All I want to do is to ask you to help me look after Harry. Together, we might just be able to keep him safe and sane. Will you help me?"

Ginny looked surprised. "Of course I will. So will Ron and Hermione and Marie and...and even Kitty, I suppose. We'll look after him, all of us. Merlin knows he can't look after himself!"

It was at that point that Harry called for everyone's attention. "Right, listen! It's obvious that there's only one exit from here. If Amagor was telling the truth, it leads to a place called Salazar's Keep. Amagor also said there was a battle going on there, and that we'd find both friends and enemies.

"Now, looking through that window, the room beyond is empty, so it's probably safe to go that far. After that, we'll have to play it by ear. Are we all ready?"

Everyone was. This time, though, Marie insisted that Colossus go through first in case there was anything big and nasty waiting on the other side. Sirius watched in astonishment as the heavily-built young man who'd been standing guard over Harry suddenly transformed into a being of living steel!

Moments later, Peter reported that the room was apparently safe and clear. The others followed him in.

The chamber was a large octagon lit by blue-flamed lamps. The room was furnished with chairs, tables and a desk, all clean and dust free. Metal shutters were closed across the windows, and the only exit was a trapdoor in the floor, which was locked.

As soon as Harry stepped into the room, he 'heard' something-a voice in his head, calling his name. For a moment, he thought it might be Professor X, but this voice was female. The White Queen? Why would Emma Frost be trying to communicate with him?

Harry? Harry Potter! Look on the desk!

He went over to the oak desk. There were a number of objects on it, only one of which drew his attention. There, in a simple, silver frame, was a wizard photograph of...his parents! Without thinking, he picked it up.

As soon as Ginny realised that Harry was gone from her side, she turned to look for him. He was standing by the desk, picking up something. Ginny started towards him, then gave a yelp of alarm when Harry's form shimmered and vanished!