Behind The Veil

Behind The Veil

Bellatrix's wand emitted a shower of red light, the beam blasted across the room and hit Sirius full force in the chest. He stumbled backwards falling through the gently fluttering black veil. He closed his eyes tightly waiting for to hit the ground. It never came.

Sirius slowly opened his eyes - it made no difference; everything was is darkness. He looked around frantically finding no route of escape. Sirius thought back to what had happened to him - he found no rational explanation for where he was. He felt his chest where Bellatrix's attack had hit. His skin was warm to the touch.

"WHERE AM I?" Sirius screamed at the top of his lungs. The sound stopped dead, not even an echo, not even a reply.

He thought back to the battle that had raged around him... Harry was in danger! He had to do something! James would never forgive him.

He walked for a bit not seeing anything - the darkness was endless, and his footsteps made no sound. He felt like he was trapped in a silent prison. No walls, no guards... just endless darkness.

He walked a few more steps hoping to see something. He felt strange. The darkness and silence were edging into his mind. He was starting to question his own existence, starting to wonder whether he was really here, really alive.

That's when it struck him. He had fallen through the veil - the endless darkness was the punishment for those who had committed unforgivable offences. He was stuck in a realm of darkness with no way to escape.

He sat down, defeated. So this is what it felt like to be trapped with no means of escape. Even to him, the only person to ever have escaped from Azkaban. He sighed deeply. If only James were here.

Sirius thought back to his days at Hogwarts, those days spent with his friends. He and his friends were like a well oiled team, James the mastermind, Lupin the morality, Peter the lookout and him the strength. And now James dead, Peter on the side of Voldemort and him stuck behind the veil leaving only one marauder standing. Sirius sighed deeply.

He sat for hours just letting his thoughts swirl around in his head, with no hope, no companions, just him alone with his thoughts for the rest of his life. He sighed again.

And then... What was that? A bright light had appeared in the distance and was coming closer and closer towards him; a shining bubble of pure white. Sirius stood up, reaching out to the bubble, begging it to come towards him, begging it to free him.

"PADFOOT!" the bubble yelled. Sirius's eyes lit up as he stared intently at the bubble. There was something in the bubble - a man.

"PADFOOT!" the bubble echoed again. "Say my name, Padfoot!"

"Prongs," Sirius whispered, as a foot slipped through the wall of the bubble and stabilised on the ground. Sirius watched, amazed, as the body of his old school friend slowly eased itself through the bubble.

James's hair, jet-black, standing up on end and growing every-which-way, stubborn as it had been the last time Sirius had seen him. James's long stick thin body - no matter how much he ate his always looked starved. Harry looked exactly like him; the only difference was, of course, his eyes. Harry had Lily's eyes.

Sirius rubbed his hands over his face, then looked again. He was struggling to believe that James - his best friend who had been dead nearly 15 years - was standing here before him, smiling the same mischievous smile Sirius had seen on Harry a hundred times.

"James?" Sirius questioned, hesitantly. He stepped towards him holding his hand out in front of him. As Sirius's hand went to touch James it fell right through him. He stared at his hand, shocked, then stepped back from his friend.

"Hello Sirius, old friend," James greeted him, looking a little uneasy.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked, still uncertain of his old friend's sudden appearance.

"I'm here to help you," James spoke, "I cant stay for long, I'm not supposed to be here".

James reached into his robes, he fished out a large corked potion bottle filled with a neon green liquid. James gently threw the bottle from one hand to the other, the liquid sloshed around in the bottle. Sirius smirked, it was a typical James movement.

"What is it?" Sirius questioned, watching the bottle almost hypnotised.

"It will allow you to permanently transform into your animagus form," James explained eyes fixed on Sirius.

"And why would that help me?" Sirius questioned, watching James delicately throwing the bottle into the air.

"Animals are unable to live behind the veil, use this potion and you will be able to escape," James explained, he held the bottle out towards Sirius.

Sirius leaned forward and went to snatch the bottle out of James's hand. James recoiled, pulling the bottle out of Sirius's hand.

"If you drink this potion you will be unable to change back into your human form, you will live permanently in your animagus form," James explained, gripping the bottle tightly.

"You asked me to take care of your son James, I will do anything to help him," Sirius explained leaning forward towards James holding his hand out fo the bottle.

"Thank you Sirius, say hi to Harry for me. Tell him that me and his mother send our love," James asked, smiling uneasily.

"I'm a dog," Sirius smirked. Laughing at his friend.

"You will be able to communicate with everyone else," James laughed.

"Well goodbye old friend," Sirius replied.

"Goodbye," James replied a small tear forming in the corner of his eye, he hurriedly brushed it away.

Sirius threw back his head and swallowed down the entire contents of the body. Sirius felt a sickly sensation. His nose enlarged growing fur down his face, his body took on the shape of a large black dog. Sirius turned and looked at his old friend one last time.

A huge tear formed down the middle of the veil, a blinding light seeped in. Sirius stepped forward and ran through the tear. James watched as his oldest friend ran away from him.

"Good luck old friend," he whispered before he himself disappeared.

When Sirius stepped out he found himself stood on the Hogwarts grounds. Now to find Harry, Sirius thought bounding towards Hagrid's hut.