disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just Arabella and her story.

Welcome back, everyone! Sorry for the late update on this chapter. It took me forever to move and I'm still not completely moved it! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the first chapter of the sixth book. It's a bit short, but something I've been wanting to write for sometime and I'm really excited for the rest of the book. See you at the end!

Pearly Gates

Sirius opened his eyes. He was lying facedown on the ground and his vision was blurry. There was no one else around him, he was perfectly sure of it. It took him a minute to realize that he was no longer in the Department of Mysteries and that he was alive. Surely, he was alive. If he wasn't, he would no longer be existing and his body would be dismembered. He must have been thrown into another room without his knowledge or something of the sort. He rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes. When he looked at his surroundings, he rubbed his eyes again. Two things were racing through his mind at the moment. One, he was naked. It didn't concern him, but it did make him wonder why the Death Eaters would send him into a room like this. Did they think this was going to stop him from re-entering the battle? Two, he was surrounded by a bright, white mist. It wasn't completely transparent, nor was it translucent. It was just sort of there surrounding him. The floor was white as well. It was neither warm nor cold. Just a surface for him to lay upon.

Sirius got up and looked around. There was a fountain in the distance and he could see a small stack on the bench in front of it. He took a deep breath and made his way towards it. His muscles began to relax and he could hear the rush of water. Slowly, he began to notice details of the fountain. It was sculptured beautifully with carvings of angels, flowers, and vines that were all intertwined with each other. One of the angels on top had a halo hanging above them with vines wrapped around it and another was holding a rose and sniffing it. He put on the clothes and ran his fingers through his hair. Something seemed off. His clothes were soft, clean and warm. There was nothing wrong with them. But his hair seemed… shorter? He looked into the fountain and nearly jumped back. He was no longer haggard or old. No, he was young, younger than he had been in years. There was no longer the hardness in his eyes he had to look at every morning in the mirror. He looked just as he did before he was thrown in Azkaban, before everything went wrong, and his family was whole and safe.

Then a noise suddenly appeared behind him and he quickly turned on the spot. He did jump back this time as a figure made their way over to him. She was a young woman with olive skin, brown hair, and bright brown eyes. As she continued to make her way closer, he noticed that her eyes were glossy and her red lips were trembling. She stopped a few feet away from him and her shoulders slumped, almost in relief. Tears began to fall down her cheeks and she quickly covered her face.

Sirius stared at her for a moment and looked back into the water. It slowly dawned upon him where he was and that he was not going to re-enter the battle. Then, suddenly, images began flashing in his mind. Bellatrix's angry face, a red light, and the look on Arabella's face…

"I'm dead, aren't I?"

Kassandra nodded her head and bit her lips.

"And you're dead."

Kassandra nodded her head again. "I've been dead for a while, Sirius."

Sirius shuddered for a moment and regained his composure. He had not heard her voice in years and could feel his body lose its restraint.

Kassandra walked towards him and cupped his face. She wiped her thumbs across his cheeks and had a look of worry on her face.

"Why are you crying?" she whispered.

His body had already lost control and he didn't even realize it. His shoulders were shaking and tears were streaming down his face. Kassandra held him close and stroked his hair. He took a deep breath and smelled peaches, just as he always had.

"You're here," breathe Sirius. "You're here and you're real…"

Her skin was just as soft as he remembered and he could not stop touching her cheeks, her neck, her hair, the bridge of her nose… she wiped his cheeks and he returned the favour.

"My dear Sirius," she whispered. "What are you doing here?"

Sirius let out a throaty laugh and tangled his fingers in her hair. "I've just missed you, that's all."

"But now you're stuck."

Sirius shrugged and said, "Doesn't sound too bad. I'm with you, after all."

Kassandra let out a small laugh and shook her head. "That was incredibly cheesy."

Sirius then looked around and said, "So this is heaven, then?"

"Not quite," said Kassandra.

"I thought I was dead –"

"You are," Kassandra said quickly. "But right now, you're sort of in between."

"Meaning?"

"You have to accept the fact that you are dead in order to move on."

"Okay, then, I accept."

"It's not that easy," said Kassandra, shaking her head. "Here, come."

She took his hand and knelt in front of the fountain. Sirius followed her lead and waited for her to speak.

"If you stick your head into the water, you'll get to see the life you could have had," explained Kassandra, gesturing at the water. "And if you want to, you can go and live that life. But if you accept the life that you did live, you'll get to move on."

"And what if I don't want to look inside?"

"You can't move on," said Kassandra. "You'll be stuck in between forever. Unable to go back or move forward. You either have to accept the life you could have led or go lead it right now. I would not choose to be stuck here forever, Sirius."

"But…" Sirius sighed and then said, "I've no choice, do I?"

"No," said Kassandra, shaking her head. "I'll say this at the very least, it's an interesting system they've got here."

"Will you come with me?"

"Of course."

With that, Sirius took her hand in his and slowly bent forward. The tip of his nose touched the water and he was suddenly jolted forward. He was thrown headfirst into the water and then he was no longer surrounded by a white mist. In fact, he recognized where he was immediately – King's Cross. The platform was surrounded by families rushing to get their things on board and mothers kissing their children goodbye. Steam was coming out of the train's engine and a beautiful sign over them read Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock. His heart skipped a beat, remembering all the times he boarded the train to Hogwarts, how he longed to be inside the warm castle surrounded with his friends. It all seemed like it was a lifetime ago. I suppose it really is a lifetime ago now, though Sirius.

"Any moment now," mumbled Kassandra.

"What are you –"

His stomach then dropped at the sight. Suddenly, through the barrier, emerged a small family. In the lead was a teenage girl pushing a trolley. She looked behind her at her brothers and parents before getting lost in the crowd.

"Come on, let's keep up."

Kassandra took his hands and they followed the family. They weaved through the crowd, trying not to get lost. Sirius didn't recognize any of the other families, but knew who they were following. Of course, he knew who they were. When they stopped walking, he saw the father help the girl load her luggage into the train and disappear. The mother was left standing on the platform with a small boy in her arms and another holding her hand.

"You're crying again," said the boy holding Kassandra's hand in a matter-of-fact tone.

He didn't look like a toddler and he was clearly not old enough to go to Hogwarts yet. He had a mop of curly brown hair on top of his head and his eyes were mismatched. He shook his head as Kassandra wiped her face.

"I can't help it, love," whispered Kassandra, laughing a little. "I always cry when your sister leaves us."

"She's going to come back," the boy said exasperatedly. "She's not leaving us forever."

"I hope not," came a voice behind Sirius. "She owes me five galleons."

The boy's face brightened up and he threw himself at Remus's legs. Remus let out a small "oomf" before returning the hug and ruffling the boy's hair.

"Been giving your mum some trouble, haven't you, Isaak?" he asked the boy.

"No," said the boy named Isaak. He gave Remus a small pout and then said, "I've been good."

"Doubtful." Sirius reappeared from the train and looked sternly at Isaak. "I distinctly remember you throwing paint on Daisy."

"She did it first!"

Remus shook his head and the other boy in Kassandra's arms smiled at him. He reached out towards Remus and Kassandra handed him over. The little boy giggled and settled himself against Remus's chest, looking as though he was content was staying there forever.

"She settled in, then?" Kassandra asked Sirius. "Found a good compartment and all?"

"Yes, dear," Sirius said in an amused tone. "Found an amazing compartment that overlooks the countryside and we made sure that she'll get the first round of snacks and enough leg room just in case she needs a nap –"

"All right, all right, enough of your flack," said Kassandra, lightly smacking her husband's arm. "I get it. I'm too worried and overbearing. I can't help it, all right? You know, I do remember you crying when she first went to Hogwarts."

Kassandra had her hands on her hips as the others started laughing. Isaak looked as though Christmas had come early and the other boy was purely following Remus's lead with a rather high-pitched laugh.

"You cried?"

Arabella reappeared from the train behind Sirius and began to laugh. She looked just as Sirius remembered, heading off for her fifth year. She looked happier and brighter as she laughed at her father, whose cheeks began to turn bright red.

"I do recall shedding a few tears," Sirius said to gritted teeth.

"Few?" repeated Kassandra. She then turned towards Arabella and said, "He couldn't stop crying in the car and his pillow was completely soaked through."

Arabella laughed again and the scenery around them changed. Sirius let out a shout of rage. He was not done. He wanted to see what was going to happen next and he didn't even get to learn what the little boy's name was. They were now standing in the countryside outside of a white tent. There was a small breeze and the sun was surrounded by clouds. He could hear music, cheers and laughter coming from inside the tent.

"Do you want to keep going?" Kassandra asked him softly. "We don't have to if you want to leave."

Sirius shook his head and dived right into tent. There was a party inside of it with many people standing in the middle of the dance floor cheering, clapping, and twirling. Sirius moved closer towards the crowd and saw, to his amusement, him and Kassandra doing a sort of elaborate dance of what seemed like an Irish step dance. They were badly butchering it, but the crowd seemed to love it as they cheered on the happy couple. Sirius stared at the both of them, memorizing the lines on their faces and how their hair had strands of white in them. They were older now and happier than ever. When the song ended, Sirius and Kassandra embraced as the crowd gave them a final round of applause. Music began to play once again and everyone began dancing. He looked around at the crowd and recognized some of them.

The Weasleys were there. Arthur and Molly, both white-haired now, were beaming and playing with kids that were obviously their grandkids, and Charlie was drinking with Hagrid in the corner and singing. Bill was enjoying the company of a rather beautiful blonde woman, while Fred and George were twirling Ginny rather aggressively to the point where she was starting to get dizzy. Ron and Hermione were there as well. They were whispering and dancing very close to each other. Sirius smiled at them. He did have an inkling that something might happen to the pair. Remus, Alastor, the Tonks, and many others were there as well. He looked around again and found Arabella dancing with two men. He knew who they were immediately. Isaak was now a foot taller than Arabella and his hair was tie back. He was laughing along with his brother who looked as though he had a permanent smile on his face. Arabella was wearing a white dress with her hair loose and flying in the air. She was trying to keep up with her brothers as they both tried to twirl her at the same time. She ended up stumbling backwards with a laugh.

"You two are too much!" she cried, her voice full of life. "Honestly!"

"It was Reg's idea, of course," said Isaak with a cheeky smile.

"Can't send you off from home without a proper dance, now, can we?" said Reg, his cheek red.

"You're making it sound like I'm leaving the country," said Arabella, shoving Reg. "I'm going to be just down the street. Harry and I spent quite a lot of time building that house."

"With us as free labour," added Isaak.

"Yeah, when are we going to get paid for that?" asked Reg.

"It's an open bar, boys," said Arabella. "That's all you're getting from us."

"Please don't," came Kassandra from the crowd. She looked rather worried at her kids. "I really don't want a repeat of Bill and Fleur's wedding."

"What was wrong at their wedding?" asked Reg, looking rather offended.

"If I recall correctly, they had lovely flowers," said Isaak.

"Quite lovely indeed –" added Reg.

" – the groom was radiant –"

" – bride wasn't too shabby herself –"

" – food was brilliant –"

" – had loads of fun –"

"And you both came home stinking drunk and Arabella ended up puking in the garden," interrupted Kassandra, not the least bit amused. "Honestly, this open bar concept was a terrible idea."

"Dad doesn't think so," said Reg.

He was looking at the bar and everyone turned their heads. At the bar stood Sirius, Remus, and James Potter. They were in the middle of sort of drinking contest. Once they had finished their fifth shot, Sirius turned to the small crowd and raised his hands in victory. The crowd cheered him while Lily gave her husband a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Remus shook his head, looking regretful, while someone that looked remarkably like Lily handed him a bottle of water with a pitiful smile.

"Honestly – men," huffed Kassandra as she stalked her way over to the bar.

Arabella, Isaak and Reg laughed in her wake as they watched their mother start to reprimanded her husband and friends. Sirius watched them for a moment, his shoulders suddenly heavy. Arabella was wearing a sleeveless dress for her wedding and there wasn't a single scar in sight. Isaak was his mirror image and Reg had an air of carefree elegance about him. He had Kassandra's brown hair and his smile was the same as Arabella's. They were all real, but somehow not, and Sirius's chest began to twist.

Someone squeezed his shoulder and he turned to see Kassandra staring at the kids they could have had.

"We could have been happy," whispered Sirius.

Kassandra nodded. "We could have… Let's go, Sirius."

He closed his eyes and he was back in the white mist, kneeling in front of the fountain. Sirius sat on the bench for a while, contemplating what he had just saw. He supposed there were other scenarios he could have seen. He could have seen him hold his first grandchild or see his boys graduate from Hogwarts or see him and Kassandra grow old surrounded by screaming grandchildren like Arthur and Molly. He then found himself being immensely jealous of Arthur Weasley. The man led the life Sirius wanted. It was almost comical, the unfairness of it all. The life Arthur led was the same one Sirius wanted to lead – waking up with his wife by his side, his kids running down to the kitchen table, his friends coming over for Sunday lunch, seeing his children grow like weeds around him, holding his wife's hand in his and kissing her wrinkles every night…

"Sirius, are you all right?" Kassandra whispered, worried.

Sirius turned towards her and nodded. "Yeah, um, what, um… what did you see when you – er –"

"Died?" offered Kassandra, giving him a small smile. "About the same thing you saw. Arabella… and Isaak and Regulus –"

"Regulus?" repeated Sirius, his eyebrows raised.

Kassandra's smile did not fade. "Yes. Your brother has a lot to explain to you. He's rather excited to see you again." She then took in a deep breath and said, "I also saw us growing old, walking with canes and unable to keep up with our grandkids. It was… nice. It reminded me of what you told me on our wedding. Do you remember?"

Sirius scrunched his eyebrows and said, slowly, "I think so… Forever and ever, right?"

"Forever and ever," repeated Kassandra, her voice now rough. "You promised to love me forever and ever and a little more after that."

Suddenly, like that, the strange weight was lifted off his shoulders. Forever and ever and a little more after that. They were now part of that stage in their life. They were now at their "after that" and he was going to fulfil his duties as a husband. He couldn't do it before but he was going to make it all up now.

"I choose this," said Sirius, gesturing at the white mist. "I choose this, I choose you now. Is that it then?"

Kassandra looked rather surprised. "You're not going to choose that life? Loads of people have chosen to live their lives again. I think I have some sort of great-grandfather or something that chose to do it all over again, his wife's been complaining about it ever since, and you can go and do the same, I promise not to complain about it or anything, Siri –"

"Nah, I'm good," said Sirius, shaking his head with a small laugh. "I mean, that Sirius seemed like a great husband and all, and now I get the chance to at least try and be a good one to you."

"You don't have to do any favours for me, Sirius –"

"Forever and ever, right?" Sirius said quickly. "I told you forever and ever. Come on, Kas, this is our chance to finally be happy. Those other blokes in that life were happy, it's our chance now. We can finally be together. I want to be here with you, Kas. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to be with you."

Kassandra gave him a small smile. "Actually, I've been watching over you for years, Sirius, so I do know."

"Then why would you ever expect me to choose anything other than you?"

Kassandra sheepishly shrugged her shoulders and lead against him. He wrapped her arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. They stayed like that for a while. He glanced back at the fountain for a moment and the heaviness returned. Did he make the right choice? Was he too quick to choose his wife over his children, especially his daughter that needed him the most?

"So how does this all work then?" asked Sirius. "How does all over this work? Choosing this or that? I don't get it."

Kassandra sat up and looked around thoughtfully. She let out a small hum and said, "I haven't done this before, mind you, but I think we just have to, you know, catch a ride."

Sirius blinked at her. "And where's that supposed to take us?"

Kassandra stood up and began inspecting the ground intently. Sirius stood up as well and watched for her for a bit. Her head was slightly bent to the ground and she began tapping her foot on the ground in various places. When she finally stopped, she looked left and right before bracing her shoulders.

"All right then, I think this is it," she said over her shoulders at him. "Get ready."

She flung her wand arm out. Kassandra was squeezing her eyes shut and when she realized that nothing had happened, she opened them and looked around wildly. Sirius laughed as Kassandra began flinging her arms out in various spots and then –

BANG!

A triple-decker, violent purple bus came to a screeching halt in front of them with gigantic wheels and bright headlights. The gold letting over the windshield spelled The After-Knight Bus. A middle-aged conductor in matching purple uniform leapt out of the bus and groaned. He rubbed his back for a moment, looked around, and began saying, "All righ' then, welcome to the After-Knight Bus, emergency transportation for newly dead wizards and witches. Just step on board and we can take you to your new homes. My name is Mikey Millard and I will be your conductor this evening. Arms please."

Kassandra stuck out her arm and Millard probed it with his wand. A small, thin purple ribbon fell from the tip of his wand. He grabbed the ribbon and read it intently for a few seconds. He then looked up at Sirius, then at Kassandra, and said, "He new?"

"Fresh off Earth," she said quietly.

Millard nodded and hopped back on the bus. He looked back and said, to Sirius, "If you step on this bus, mate, you've chosen your faith and you can't go back. I'll give you sometime to think about it. Be sure this is what you want to do."

Mikey Millard disappeared inside the bus and Kassandra stepped onto the platform. She turned around and Sirius found himself unable to move his feet.

"You want a do-over, don't you?" she whispered.

"No, it's –" Sirius cleared his throat and looked at the ground, unable to meet his wife's brown eyes. "We – we left her, Kas – how – how could we? I just – I choose you, but –"

Kassandra had a strange look on her face as she looked away from him. "If you go back, you won't be going back to our Arabella. It'd be a different person all together."

"I know, but –"

"She's stronger than both of us combined," rushed Kassandra, as though she's told herself this a thousand times. "She's been through more and endured more than us and there's nothing we can do despite all my efforts and pleas and –"

She broke off for a moment and held onto the rails.

"I've thought about going back a thousand times and it makes no difference because I couldn't save her when she needed me the most. I would be going back to another time when I should have made a different decision rather than when Bellatrix broke into our house. I would have raised a different daughter rather than the one that needed us the most." She took a deep breath and then said, "We can't do anything now but support her. Our lives are over and done with. Arabella… she's going to be just fine. I promise you. She's got Remus and Harry and they love each other very much."

Sirius stared at her for a minute and said, "You blame yourself, don't you?"

Kassandra gave him a sympathetic smile. "Of course I do. Did you expect anything else?"

"It's not your fault," Sirius said quickly.

"And it's not yours either," Kassandra shot back. "We can't… we can't keep blaming ourselves or keep wondering what would have happened if we didn't die. If you want to go back and live the life you were supposed to then I completely understand, but you have to know that you wouldn't be going back to the Department of Mysteries but years before you were thrown into Azkaban."

Sirius sighed. "That's not… what I want. I want to go back to the Department of Mysteries, finish Bella off, and take Arabella back home."

"I know. I understand completely, Sirius. I desperately wanted to go back and save Arabella from them, but…"

Her voice trailed off and Sirius's chest seized for a second. He took a deep, long breath and said, "She'll be fine, right? She'll be safe and happy with Harry, right?"

"More than happy, I think. Neither one is going to be admitting it anytime soon, especially after what just happened… but things have a way of working themselves out. In a few years, when the dust settles and there are no more monsters over their shoulders, they'll both be just fine."

Sirius gave her a half-smile and stared down the length of the bus. He took a step forward, and then another step and stood on the platform close to Kassandra. Their bodies were touching and Kassandra was staring at him boldly, as though daring him to choose the other option.

"So where does this thing take us then?"

"Home," she mumbled.

There were no seats on the bus. Instead, there were rope handles hanging down from the ceiling. Mikey Millard stared at them as they got adjusted before nodding and taking a seat behind the wheel. He took off his hat, cracked his fingers, and scratched his jaw. Kassandra gripped her handle tightly as Millard started the bus again.

BANG!

The next second Sirius found himself slammed against the window, thrown backward by the speed of the After-Knight Bus. The bus kept swerving and spinning, as though trying to avoid objects and people, but when Sirius looked out of the window, with his ears ringing, he saw nothing but bright, white light. There were no people or lampposts or trashcans or even a street for them to follow. Kassandra had her eyes screwed shut as she swayed on the spot. Millard was spinning the steering wheel in different directions and shifting gears every second. Sirius was sure that they would have crashed if they were back on Earth. Millard suddenly slammed the brakes and the After-Knight Bus skidded to a halt. Sirius fell face first on the floor while Kassandra managed to keep her hold on her handle.

Sirius slowly got up and looked out the window. The bus stopped in front of two large, white-gold gates that was reminiscent of the entrance gates at Hogwarts. Sirius no longer felt queasy and guilty, but rather light and calm. He didn't know what was through those gates, but there was a sense of familiarity. He couldn't explain it completely. It felt as though he was coming home after a long, hard day or simply sitting on the couch with a warm cup of tea. It was like what Kassandra said – home.

"Enjoy eternity!" called Millard before disappearing out of view.

"Come on, then," Kassandra whispered softly. "They're waiting for you."

But Sirius did not budge. His throat closed up, his eyes were brimming with tears, and his heart was racing. He felt so alive in death. So free and so alive. He felt terrible when he thought of all those he was leaving behind – Arabella, Harry, Remus, Andromeda – but Kassandra was standing next to him and everything felt so right and calm.

"Sirius, what's wrong?" asked Kassandra, alarmed.

"Noth – nothing – just – surreal –"

Then, with a clear mind and a light heart, Sirius stepped in front of Kassandra, placed his hands on her cheeks and kissed her. She was caught off guard for a second before returning the kiss wholeheartedly. For the first time in what seemed like eons, he finally fulfilled a promise. He kissed her in front of the golden gates of heaven with passion and a promise of forever. He kissed her after years of wishing that it was him who Bellatrix finished, that he should have been there, that he should have protected his family. He kissed her after dreaming about it for years and years of longing and heartbreak. She was always the one for him and, now, they finally have eternity together.

When they finally broke apart, the gates parted open and a familiar, cheerful voice filled his ears.

"Oi, Padfoot! Hurry up!"

Thank you so much for reading!

As for Sirius sort of flip-flopping a little, I think it sort of makes sense a little... maybe? He is choosing between life and death, even though it wouldn't be exactly the same life he was leading. And for the promise he was talking about towards the end, it was the same one in the beginning of Goblet of Fire when he goes to see Kassandra for the first time in the graveyard. He promises to see her again and kiss her in front of the pearly gates of heaven.

This chapter was initially supposed to happen in the fifth book, but I decided to do it here and give Sirius a happy ending for once. He, among other characters in the series, deserves happiness in their lives and I believe that this is a fitting ending for him.

As for the whole concept of this chapter, this is sort of what I believe heaven would be like. A sort of time of reflection of life and what could have been if this one major event in your life didn't happen, or if you chose something differently, or if circumstances were different. If Sirius were too choose to live the life he was supposed to have, it wouldn't be him going back to save Arabella or Harry, but rather entering a different universe all together. Hopefully that makes sense. If it doesn't, feel free to message me and I will be more than happy to clarify.

Until next time, comrades!