Across The Veil

Across The Veil

Chapter One: Ideas Brewing

It was a warm evening towards the end of summer when Draco was awoken by a loud tapping. He got up, almost falling off his bed, and stumbled over to the window. Outside the pane of glass, he could see an enormous owl flapping its wings slowly. It seemed like the type of owl his father might send, large and elegant. Groggily, he let the owl in, giving it a treat to munch on as he untied the letter from its leg.

"Dear Son," Draco read aloud. Well speak of the devil. He continued to scan the letter silently.

I must ask that you be at the Ministry of Magic at 9:45 on November the 1^st. You have to go directly to the veil...and cross through it. Do not worry yourself about where the veil resides - your instincts shall guide you. Bring anything you can find that may aid you, for your survival is at stake. You will be asked to report on everything you find, mainly whether or not Black has managed to survive.

I trust that you will accomplish this successfully. With a task of this magnitude completed, you will be worthy of the Dark Lord.

L.M.

Draco's eyes bulged as he finished the parchment in his hands. 'This couldn't be possible,' he thought to himself. 'My father is in Azkaban, where he belongs.' Draco breath caught as he realized that there was absolutely no way for Lucius to mail him from inside Azkaban. He couldn't still be imprisoned. Dizzy and shaking, Draco made his way slowly across the room. This wasn't supposed to happen; this can't happen.

Draco placed the letter in his desk draw and crossed back over to his bed, hoping against all hope that this was all just a dream. He closed his eyes and prayed that he would come to find that none of this had happened. After tossing and turning for a good hour, the young man fell into a restless slumber.

He woke the next morning and went straight to his desk. The letter was there, exactly as he had left it. The rest of Draco's summer was spent trying to figure out just what he was going to do about his father's note.

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I sighed, looking at the clock; it was almost time for me to meet Ron and Hermione. As I walked into Gringotts, my mind wandered to Sirius. If I had just learned Occlumency like I was supposed to, then he wouldn't be dead and I would be living with him like he promised I could. Now, I have to live with the fact that he's gone, just like so many other important people in my life.

I was broken out of my thoughts as a particularly rude goblin asked me for my key. I handed it to him and he quickly led me to the cart that would take me down to my vault. Once there, I pulled out just enough to last me a year and endured the bumpy ride back before setting off to meet Ron and 'Mione.

I looked at my watch, wondering what time it was and hoping I wouldn't be too late. 1:52...darn. I was supposed to meet them almost a half-hour ago. I picked up my speed and ran the rest of the way to Madam Malkin's.

"Harry, where were you? We've been waiting here for a while now," Hermione asked, the usual worry present in her tone. She ran up to me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, embracing me in an enormous hug.

"Yeah, where were you mate? Leaving me with this one like that. Almost had to go shopping with her I did. Surely you wouldn't want your best mate to suffer through that, now would you?" Ron piped up, chuckling as Hermione hit him with her bag.

"For your information, Ronald Weasley, you would have had to go shopping with me anyway. It's just that now Harry gets to be...tortured... along with you," Hermione said, glaring at the redhead. I groaned, but both ignored it. "Now Harry, you need some new robes, right? And so do you Ron; yours are simply gruesome," Hermione said haughtily. She had tried countless times to get the two to wear nicer clothes, but they never seemed to heed her advice.

"Barmy, that one is. And she gets worse every year," Ron said. I laughed, following Hermione into the store.

The moment I stepped in, I was bombarded with robes; dress robes to be exact. Hermione sent me into the dressing room with ones of at least ten different colors and styles. I looked back as I entered the stall, smiling when I saw robes flying at Ron from all directions. As I closed the curtain, I could just make out the words on the redhead's lips: "HELP!" I laughed, knowing that there was no escape from Hermione's wrath.

A few moments later, I emerged wearing a silk baby blue robe. Excitedly, Hermione ran over, Ron coming at a slightly slower pace. I started to shuffle a bit, uncomfortable, but Hermione held up her hand, telling me to stop. Her eyes continued to travel up and down the length of my body while she circled around me.

"Hmm," she said slowly, eyes narrowed. Her back straightened and her eyes relaxed as she came to her decision. "Alright, take that one off and give me all the light robes you took in with you. They contrast too much with your eyes and the color washes out your skin." She paused for a second, looking thoughtful. "And now that I think of it," she continued, "maybe you should give me that maroon robe too."

I turned to go back, but was stopped short when I heard Hermione's gasp. Worried, I whipped around, just to find her holding a dark green robe with silver stitching.

"This is perfect," she breathed. Her eyes shot over to me before finding their way back to the robe in her hands. "Try this on," she commanded. "You have to try this robe on." I could see from the look of excitement in her eyes that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Back in the dressing room once more, I pulled the new robe on quickly. As I changed, I listened to Hermione compliment Ron's robe before telling him that he could change back. I smiled lightly and turned to look into the mirror. 'Not bad,' I thought to myself. 'Maybe Hermione does know what she's doing.'

I exited the dressing room when something, or rather someone bumped into me, sending my glasses flying through the air as I hit the hard ground.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Potter? Don't you know it's rude to bump into somebody," Malfoy said, sneering down at me. I looked at him slowly, my hand moving across the ground as I tried to find my glasses. I winced when I heard a distinct crunch.

"Better be more careful Potter," the same cold voice began, "or next time, you may find that more than just your glasses end up broken." He gave me one last glare before walking away.

"Sod off Malfoy," a familiar voice yelled. Ron stood in front of Harry, cursing at Malfoy's retreating back. The aristocratic paid no heed.

"Don't pay any attention to that git," Ron said, helping Harry to his feet. "He's just an arrogant bastard."

"Don't worry, I never do," I reassured him. "Besides, you know he's full of hot air. He never carries through with his threats." The three of them all nodded in agreement.

"You know, Harry," Hermione started, changing the topic. "You really do look stunning without your glasses. You should seriously consider getting your vision repaired. Actually, I think I know a place where you can get that done. That new shop down near Eyelops probably does it, and we can go check it out after we get you two fitted." Hermione walked purposefully toward the counter. "Oh by the way," she said suddenly. "You're definitely getting that green robe."

As Ron waved over Madam Malkin, I grabbed my new dress robe, carefully laying it atop my black Hogwarts ones. I walked over to where Ron was, and waited as the elderly witch measured us. Before long, the three of us were walking out the door.

We reached the Vision Stop ten minutes later. It looked like a nice enough place, although it really didn't stand out all that much.

"Hello, my dears how are you?" I tall, plump, and cheery lady greeted us as we entered entered.

"Hello, Mrs." Hermione said and leaned forward to read the woman's nametag. She coughed lightly. "Ms. Nicolette. We were wondering if you had anything that could correct a person's vision. You see, my friend here really can't see very well, but his glasses are such a nuisance and he'd be so much better off without them."

The woman (or Nicolette as the nametag said) gave me a once over. "Oh, I'm sure we have something. Come over here and I'll see what we can do."

After examining my eyes, she sighed softly. "Sorry," she said sympathetically, "but there really isn't much of a chance here. Your vision is seriously impaired, and if I tried to fix it, it may just cause more damage. You'd have to go to a fully trained healer if you want anything done." I felt a bit gloomy at this, but became hopeful when Nicolette smiled suddenly. "However," she began, "if your only problem is with your glasses, then there is something that might work." She disappeared for a moment before returning, a small box in her hand. "Now these are somewhat muggle, but they work quite nicely if I do say so myself."

I looked at the box nervously, wondering just what was in it.

Moments later, we left the shop happily. In my hand was a small box of what the sales-lady called contacts. They worked just as well as my glasses, but were much less of a hassle when it came to things such as quidditch. Even if they were a tad bit uncomfortable, I was assured that they would soon feel as natural as my glasses had.

Truly, contacts are quite nifty. I smile as I remember the argument 'Mione and I had just minutes ago. Apparently, contacts come in colors, and I thought it would be cool if I changed my eyes. Hermione had argued vehemently, saying that my eyes were probably more stunning than anything you could get with contacts. She also brought up the point that the robes I had gotten earlier went with my eyes wonderfully, and it would be a waste if I changed the color of them. Although I was a bit put out, I secretly agreed with her.

Giving Hermione a quick hug, I turned to leave with Ron. I had just arrived at the Burrow a couple days ago and I plan on staying until school begins; there's no place I'd rather be during the summer holidays.

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Draco strolled through the corridors of the train, making his way to the back. He was supposed to be at the prefect meeting, but he was given permission to leave when he complained that he felt ill. Finally, he made it to the last compartment - hoping desperately that it would be empty. Opening the door, Draco groaned.

Sitting there, all alone, was Potter. Just his luck.

"Malfoy," Harry asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?" Malfoy laughed at Harry, whose expression quickly turned to a glare. "Sod off, you bloody bastard," he snapped irritably.

"Touchy," Malfoy drawled, amusement lacing his words. "This is the last free compartment, so I guess you're just stuck with me." Harry's glare deepened.

"Fine, if you feel you must, then there's little I can do to stop you." Harry ground out angrily. He quickly turned away from the blonde, intent on falling asleep as quickly as he could.

Hours later, the Hogwarts Express began to slow down. "Get up you bloody lug," Malfoy sneered, hitting Harry in the arm. "We're nearly there, and you haven't even gotten changed yet."

"Hmm?" Harry asked groggily, wiping the sleep from his eyes and stretching.

"I said 'get up.' We're almost there and if you don't get changed soon, then you won't have a chance to." With that he whirled around and left the room.

Harry stood up, quickly slipping his black Hogwarts robe on. As soon as the train lurched to a stop, he bounded out of the door, intent on finding his friends. Spotting them near a carriage, he hurried over to meet them. He took a seat across from Ginny and Luna just as the carriages started moving.

"Hullo Luna. How have you been?" Harry greeted politely. It was always rather awkward talking to the odd girl. Receiving only a dreamy 'hello,' Harry turned his attention to the other occupants of the carriage. It appeared that Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were already engaged in a conversation, or, more accurately, Hermione and Ginny were bombarding Ron with various questions regarding the redhead's love life. Ron looked to his friend for help, but Harry wasn't about to risk being hit with the same inquiries.

Without warning, Luna began speaking again, picking up as if she had never stopped after 'hello'. "I've been fine lately." She stopped for a second before continuing, her tone a little more serious. "I'm sorry about Sirius Black. You seemed to be quite upset when he died. Did you know him well?" Harry looked startled.

Before that moment, Harry hadn't given too much thought to Sirius, at least not since the beginning of the summer. Waving away the sorrow that hit him, Harry looked her in the eye.

"Yeah, Luna, I was close to him. He was," Harry stopped, not entirely trusting that Luna would keep his secret quiet. "He was very close. I really miss him a lot."

"Well, if you ever want to find him, I would be glad to help."

"What do you mean find him? He's dead. The only reason a body wasn't found was because he fell through that damn veil." Hearing this, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny halted their conversation to listen.

"I mean exactly what I say. I know you think I'm crazy, but there is a reason I was put in Ravenclaw. It is just as I said, if you ever need help finding him, then I will be glad to help."

"Luna, I really don't need your cockamamie schemes. Sirius is dead, he isn't coming back, and it's all my fault," Harry said, voice rising. He had finally begun to accept the fact that Sirius was gone, and then she had to go bring the whole thing up again. He began to wonder why he talked to her in the first place; it wasn't worth it. She was never any help anyway.

"Just listen to what I have to say, Harry. If you don't want to believe me then go ahead, but at least listen to me," Luna cried pleadingly.

"Fine, but be quick; we're almost at the castle."

"Okay. Thank-you. You know how Sirius' body was never found?" Harry nodded slowly. "Well what if he was in some other dimension or something? What if you're the only one that can help him?"

"Luna, I don't mean to insult you, but that is ludicrous. He died when he fell through that veil." Harry was trying to keep calm, but it was difficult to hold his emotions in check.

"And how do you know that," Luna asked heatedly, exasperation creeping into her tone. "You know he wasn't hit with the killing curse; the light was red. You also don't know just what happens when you fall behind the veil...no one does. He could very well be alive, but trapped."

The carriage came to a stop and students began to file out towards the castle. Luna hopped out and headed towards one of her Ravenclaw friends. Stopping, she turned to Harry. "Think about it. Please. It all makes sense."

As her voice drifted off, Ron put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Don't listen to her," he said quietly. "She's mental, that one." After a moment, Ron grinned. "But maybe not quite as bad as this one," he laughed, tapping his finger in Hermione's head. The bushy haired prefect looked at Ron in disapproval as the trio made their way into the castle.

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Over the next few weeks, Hermione became particularly thoughtful. As she spent more and more time in the library, she began to formulate a plan. Skipping dinner one night, she worked for hours on end, perfecting every detail. Finally, she summoned Harry and Ron to an old, abandoned classroom. It was time to share with them what she knew.

"Hermione, why did you bring us down here?" Harry asked, bewildered by Hermione's increasingly odd behavior. She hadn't been around all that much recently, and Harry could've sworn that he'd seen her sneaking around on occasion.

"Yeah," Ron piped up. "I would much rather be eating than sitting down here. Especially so close to Slytherin territory."

"Oh, don't worry Ron," Hermione began, "this shouldn't take too long. It's just...I've come up with... I've come up with this plan." The two boys looked at her in interest.

"However," she continued, "if we want to pull it off, we'd need some help..." Hermione trailed off nervously. With that, the door swung open, revealing one Draco Malfoy.