No Fate

Harry couldn't see it clearly. He was running towards something, something dark, but he couldn't discern what it was.

All he knew was that he had to keep running. If he ran faster, maybe he'd get there in time. He didn't know what he was going to be in time for, but he knew it was important. This driving force, this need to run, this feeling he couldn't explain. He couldn't stop, not now, not when he was so close to the finish.

The dark thing was getting slowly more clear. Harry knew that he was almost there, that if he could keep running, he'd reach the end.

Then he saw what it was. A stone arch, with a tattered black veil hanging across the middle. If he listened closely, he could hear voices, soft murmurs coming from the veil. The same arch that he saw every night, after the same long run. But it was different this time, he just knew it.

"Sirius?" Harry called, although he knew that it was in vain. Sirius was gone forever, he'd never return. All the pain of the past few weeks came tumbling down on Harry, as he stood there looking at the instrument of his godfather's death. Harry began to cry silently, the tears running down his face like crystal rivers.

He knew that this was a dream, and willed himself to wake up. But it did not work, it never worked. He did not know how much time he spent here each night, only that he visited this place every night, without fail. Only that the dreams terrified him to no end, for a reason beyond his conscious mind's understanding.

"Harry," said a masculine voice. Harry started, it couldn't be Sirius. Sirius never appeared in his dreams. But it was, as Harry saw when he turned around. His godfather, the last of the Blacks, was standing there looking at him.

"Harry," Sirius said, gazing at Harry intently. "Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid!" Harry said, the tears still flowing down his face.

"Yes, you are," Sirius said softly.

"How could I be afraid of you, Sirius?" Harry asked, willing his godfather to understand.

"You aren't afraid of me, Harry," Sirius replied. "You're afraid of death. That is why you visit this place every night. You are terrified of dying, of no longer being with those you love."

Harry realized that Sirius was right. He supposed that his subconscious brought him here to make him face his fears.

"But, Harry," Sirius continued, "You must not be afraid. Death is but the next adventure."

"But, Sirius," Harry said, his tears stopping. "If I die, there is no hope. If I don't kill Voldemort, no one can."

"You underestimate your comrades," Sirius said.

"But the prophecy..."

"The prophecy is based on limited knowledge," Sirius said.

"But that makes no sense!" Harry said. "The prophecy is...well...a prophecy. As in, it's foretold."

"Ah, yes, it's foretold," Sirius said with contempt. "That course is the one that will most likely happen, Harry. But you must remember one thing. There is no fate but that which we make for ourselves."

"But Dumbledore said..."

"Dumbledore is human, and therefore is fallible," Sirius replied. "I am dead, I know all the secrets of the dead. Do you not trust me, Harry?"

"This is all a dream, Sirius," Harry said hopelessly. "But I wish that you were right."

"Is it a dream, Harry?" Sirius asked. "I am right. You are not in a set course. If you were, what you did now would not matter. You'd inevitably have to face Voldemort, no matter what you did."

Harry saw that Sirius was right. He wondered why he had never thought of that.

"But you must take your fate in your own hands, Harry," Sirius said. "Only by your own determination, perseverance and love can you hope to defeat Voldemort. Love, the light that you have in such great quantities, the thing that Voldemort lacks. He can't understand love, therefore it is your greatest weapon. Don't ever stop loving, Harry."

"But what about the others, Sirius? What happens if someone else dies?"

"It will be a worthy death that they have, if it should come to that. I won't lie to you Harry, people will die. But it would be an insult to their memories-and mine-to just give up."

"I just can't help thinking about the Weasleys. Sirius, there are nine of them! What are the odds that they will all make it through this war?"

"Slim to none," Sirius said, with a somber look. "But you mustn't let what will happen in the future affect your happiness today. I know this better than anyone, Harry, and I'm going to tell you. Live each day like it means something, because you never know when it will be your last."

"Sirius, can I ask you a question?" Harry said.

"Sure," Sirius replied.

"Do you have regrets?"

Sirius laughed dryly. "Of course I do. There was so much I could have done to make a difference, and I didn't do it. I thought that I'd have my entire life ahead of me, and then it was taken away. Bellatrix was always such a bitch."

Harry laughed. Merlin, it felt good to laugh. He hadn't laughed properly since before Sirius had died.

"Exactly," Sirius said. Harry was startled. "Yes, Harry, I can read your thoughts. Advantage of being an apparition. You have to laugh, and live life, or you'll have too many regrets. I'm busy here, but the time that I have to myself is always spent wisely. I've learned that lesson well."

"What do you mean, you're busy?" Harry asked.

Sirius laughed. "What did you think happens when you die, Harry? You don't float around in nothingness, you do many things. That's why death is the next adventure."

"Sirius," Harry said. "What do you regret?"

Sirius sobered. "I regret being mean to Snape." Sirius smiled at Harry's disbelieving look. "Really, I do. I think to myself, when I'm alone sometimes, about school. If I hadn't been so mean to him, if I hadn't made his life a living hell, would he have become a Death Eater? Would he have hated us so much that he had to get back at us, any way he could? He was only a boy. He didn't know what he was doing, but he became a Death Eater solely to get back at James, Remus and I."

That made Harry think of another question. "Sirius, are my parents there? With you, I mean."

Sirius smiled again. "Yes. They're doing well, I can tell you that. I can't say anything more, but they send their love."

Harry smiled. "I send mine back."

Sirius sobered, and then spoke quickly. "Harry, listen to me. I have to leave, but I must tell you one more thing. Trust your friends, Harry. You underestimate them, and that will be your downfall. You have to know that they're capable of doing just as much good as you. Also, be wary of Draco Malfoy. Revenge is a terrible driving force, and Malfoy is full of longing for retribution. You must be careful of him, because he's more dangerous than he looks." Sirius was starting to fade. He met Harry's eyes for the last time. "Remember, Harry. There is no fate but that which we make for ourselves."

"Sirius!" Harry called. He didn't want his godfather to leave. "Sirius! Sirius!"

"Harry!" a voice called. "Harry, are you alright?"

Harry awakened to a feminine voice calling his name. He was abruptly brought back to the reality of Grimmauld Place.

"Harry," said the voice. "What's going on?"

Harry looked up into the face of Ginny Weasley. She looked down at him anxiously, her hands on his arms. Seeing that he was awake, she sat down on the edge of his bed.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"You were shouting," she replied. "Shouting Sirius's name."

Harry stared off into space as he remembered his conversation with Sirius. He knew that he would no longer visit the arch in his dreams, for he was not afraid of death any longer. He would miss Sirius, but he knew that he could live.

"Ginny," Harry said, looking her in the eye. "Do you miss him?"

"Yeah," she said, and her eyes got all dreamy-like. "I do miss him, more and more with each passing day."

"Me, too," he replied softly. He looked at this girl, and knew that her family would not survive. He wondered who would go. Would it be Charlie? George? Ron? Maybe it would be Ginny herself.

Without thinking, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her. She hugged him back, and they sat like that for an indeterminable length of time.

"Harry?" she asked softly, her breath tickling his neck.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, Ginny," he replied. "I'm going to be just fine."

"Harry?" said a new voice. Ron's voice, coming from the other bed. "Why are you hugging my sister?"

Harry and Ginny laughed. Ron came over to sit on the bed, and Harry released Ginny.

"Harry," Ron said, looking at his best friend seriously. "If you need to talk...you know...about Sirius..."

"Why?" Harry asked, feeling lighter than he had in ages. "He's dead. Death is but the next great adventure. He's somewhere, and he's with my parents. And they're happy."

Ron looked at him strangely. Before he could even ask, Hermione walked in.

"What in Merlin's name are you three doing?" she asked, sinking down beside Ron.

"Having a midnight pow-wow," Ginny said. "What does it look like?"

"Well, you could have brought me with you, Ginny!"

"I'll be sure to send you an invitation next time."

"You'd better," Hermione said, in a mock threatening voice. "Or else!"

"Harry's just been telling us about Sirius," Ron said.

Hermione froze, then looked slowly at Harry.

"It's alright," Harry said. "I just had the strangest dream."

"What was it about?" Ginny asked, eyeing him closely.

"Sirius," Harry said. "I dreamed that I talked to him. He told me things."

"Like what?" Ron asked.

"That there is no fate but that which we make for ourselves."

They sat in companionable silence, as they pondered those words.

"He's right, you know," Hermione said.

"Yes," Ron said, giving Hermione a look. "Well, you're sort of biased against Divination and that sort of thing, aren't you?"

"Ron!" Hermione said. "I am not biased!"

"You are too! You're as bad as Malfoy and the M-word!"

"I am not!"

"You're biased, admit it!"

Ron jumped on Hermione and began tickling her sides. She laughed helplessly, trying to fight him off. They fell to the ground, making a particularly loud thump. Harry and Ginny looked on in amusement.

As Ron and Hermione tickled each other mercilessly on the floor, Harry turned to look at Ginny again.

"Do you think they'll ever get it?" Harry said, in an attitude of long suffering.

"I don't know," Ginny said, "but I hope so."

"Watch," Harry said, eyeing his two best friends. "In about five seconds, they're going to realize that they are all tangled together, and they're going to be really embarrassed."

Four and one half seconds later, Ron and Hermione abruptly stopped laughing. They looked at each other for a long moment, before blushing bright red and picking themselves up off the floor.

Harry gave Ginny a knowing look, and she burst out in giggles, earning her a dirty look from Ron. Seeing the look on Hermione's face sent Harry into giggles as well.

As he and Ginny laughed together, watched warily by Ron and Hermione, Sirius's words echoed in his mind.

You have to laugh, and live life, or you'll have too many regrets.

No fate but that which we make for ourselves.

Harry knew that he was ready to make his own fate. He just had to be prepared for whatever came. He may lose those he loved, and he may even die himself. But those who remained would prevail against Lord Voldemort, because they had to.

No fate.