Meet Me on the Other Side

Harry rested in his bed, thinking about the rough day. Sirius' death still weighed heavily upon his mind, as it had been all day. After the Order of the Phoenix's offered to check in on him, things started to let up, but Harry had to blow his improving mood on the way to the Dursleys' house.

"You're quiet boy," Uncle Vernon said. "Too quiet. What are you thinking?"

"What does it matter? You wouldn't care anyway," Harry muttered.

"I would if you're plotting something," he said.

Harry refused to say anything.

"Harry, you'll answer your Uncle Vernon, or you won't get any supper until--I mean, we'll find someway to punish you!" Aunt Petunia yelled.

It must have been hard to think of an adequate punishment after the Order made such a threat, but Harry had a feeling they would think of something. "All right, if you must know, my godfather died."

"Yea!" Dudley cheered. Aunt Petunia sighed with relief.

"That godfather who was a convict?" Uncle Vernon said. "Good riddance! That's one less thing we have to worry about. He finally got what for, didn't he?"

"DON'T TALK ABOUT SIRIUS LIKE THAT!" Harry found himself yelling. Part of him immediately regretted it, because he knew what was coming, but the other part of him was still mad. "HE DID NOT DESERVE IT!"

"SHUT UP, BOY, OR I'LL GIVE YOU WHAT FOR!"

All right, Harry will shut up now. He hated this silly excuse he had for a family blasting Sirius for being a criminal and saying he got his just desserts. Still, Harry didn't feel like blowing up now, just to see what the Order would do. One day, though, he'll get the Dursleys. He was seething under his skin, and soon they will pay.

Now, here he was in his bed, thinking about Sirius and crying. Dudley was certainly going to tease him about it tomorrow morning, but Harry didn't care. As sleep began to creep over him, Harry couldn't help but wonder about Luna's words, "It's not as though I'll never see Mum again, is it? You heard them, just beyond the veil, didn't you? In the room with the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, that's all. You heard them." Yes, he did hear them, but who were they? What were they saying? Could he see Sirius again?

In his dreams, Harry found himself in the Department of Mysteries for one last time. Now that he knew his way around, he managed to find the door to the veil. He walked down the stone benches down to the bottom of the stone pit, to the archway. He listened closely to what the voices were saying.

"We're waiting for you, Harry," they said beyond the veil. "We miss you. We'll be together again."

Meet me on the other side.

Meet me on the other side.

I'll see you on the other side.

See you on the other side.

That seemed to be the refrain of those beyond the veil. Harry had to find some way to express his feelings. "Sirius, I know you're there somewhere. Can I talk to you?" No answer. Harry decided to talk anyway. "Why? Why did it have to be you? Don't you know I'm alone now? I have nobody! No family! Nobody, I'm alone." Harry sat before the dais and wept.

Honey, now if I'm honest,

I still don't know what love is.

Another mirage folds

Into the haze of time recalled.

And now the floodgates cannot hold

All my sorrow, all my rage.

A teardrop falls on every page.

The curtain fluttered again, and once more Harry heard whispers.

Meet me on the other side.

Meet me on the other side.

Harry looked up into the veil. "I don't care what Dumbledore says, it's all my fault that you're here. If only I remembered that mirror you gave me. If only I worked better at Occlumency. If only I stopped Voldemort's plan in its tracks. You wouldn't have gone looking for me, and you wouldn't have wound up here. Now, I feel like there's nothing I can do."

Maybe I ought to mention

Was never my intention

To harm you or your kin.

Are you so scared to look within?

The ghosts are crawling on our skin.

We may race, and we may run.

We'll never do what has been done

Or change a moment when it's gone.

Once more, the only reply Harry got was the whispers beyond the veil, saying the same words.

Meet me on the other side.

Meet me on the other side.

I'll see you on the other side.

See you on the other side.

These words were starting to sound cold. The people behind the veil didn't care how Harry felt now. They were just telling him to wait. He's had enough of waiting. "Why won't you meet me on this side, MY side!" he yelled.

Maybe it was the Gryffindor part of him, but he wondered for a moment if he could reach into the veil and pull Sirius out. He stood intending to walk boldly up the dais and do just that--peek in, take Sirius' hand, and return him to the land of the living. But as he came upon the dais, he suddenly felt a curious, cold sensation he was sure that he did not feel the other night. He thought he felt a thousand ghostly fingertips touching him, wishing to grab him and take him into their dark world. He circled the dais, but the dreadful feeling followed him everywhere. Finally, he sat beside the veil and sobbed. "I can't do it. I just can't do it."

I know it would be outrageous

To come out all courageous

And offer you my hand,

To pull you up on to dry land.

But all I got is sinking sand!

The trick ain't worth the time it buys.

I'm sick of hearing my own lies.

And love's a raven when it flies.

Then, he felt a comforting arm around his shoulders and a gentle hand rest upon his arm. Harry had wondered if somehow Dumbledore had apparated here to comfort him, but when he turned to face his consoler, he saw no one. Then, the words were whispered again right in his ear, and this time, Harry could place a name with the voice. He knew.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll be waiting."

Meet me on the other side.

Meet me on the other side.

I'll see you on the other side.

See you on the other side.

Harry nodded and once again tried to walk up to the veil, but that same comforting arm held him back, and the voice whispered new words in his ear. "Not now, Harry. One day." And then, he was gone.

Harry woke. It was daylight already. He dwelt upon the dream for a long time before Aunt Petunia made him get up. He didn't know if it was real or if it was just a dream. How could it be real? Part of him wanted to talk about this dream to someone, but no one here would ever understand.

Honey, now if I'm honest,

I still don't know what love is.