Fourteen Years Later

Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: He was laughing at her. "Come on, you can do better than that," he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.

The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest.

The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock…

It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backward through the ragged veil hanging from the arch….

And Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place

Sirius's POV

I felt weightless, like I was gliding through water. Moments before, my entire body had been in agony, radiating out from where Bellatrix's spell had hit me. Now, however, it felt like I had just woken up from a long sleep. It took me awhile to realize that my eyes were closed, but even then I still didn't want to open them. That is...not until I heard someone whisper my name. Someone I hadn't heard in fourteen years.

"Sirius. Open your eyes, love."

Very slowly, I raised my eyelids a sliver, not wanting to discover I was dreaming. Through the tiny crack, I saw a golden shimmer and the sweet scent of freshly baked cookies washed over me. I opened my eyes fully.

Kneeling next to where I lay was Kiki, her golden hair seemed to glow. Her eyes were alight with her old fire, and she looked every bit as beautiful as I remembered.

She held my gaze for a few seconds, then I pulled her into a kiss.

"I missed you so much," I whispered.

"I know," she replied.

"Hey, we missed you too you know," I heard someone call from behind Kiki. Looking away from her for the first time, I realized that James stood with Lily, as well as Mariam and Aiden, Jules, Jamie, Caroline and Matt, and Harry Joseph. He was standing with his arm around a beautiful girl who looked exactly like Kiki, but instead of fire, her eyes reminded me of flowing water and soft rain. Mary. I'd never seen Harry looking so happy and so at peace. He was smiling and his eyes were sparkling with good humor.

"Sirius!" Lily cried as she tackled me with a hug.

I laughed, "Hey there Lily Pad."

James was next, and he pulled me into a hug. "Thanks for looking after Harry for us."

"Harry!" I exclaimed, remembering my godson and everything that was transpiring back at the ministry. I whirled around and discovered that the veil was still fluttering behind me.

It was like I was peering through a sheet of smoke. On the other side, I could see the Department of Mysteries room. Harry Junior was running toward the arch, yelling "SIRIUS! SIRIUS!"

As I watched, Remus grabbed Harry and prevented him from coming any further.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry-"

Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!"

"It's too late, Harry-"

"We can still reach him-" The look of anguish on Harry's face broke my heart. I wanted nothing more than to run through the veil and reassure him that everything was going to be alright. But I felt a hand on my shoulder, and Kiki sadly shook her head no.

Turning back to the veil, I heard Remus, tears streaming down his face as he lamented the death of his last best friend, whisper, "There's nothing you can do, Harry...nothing...He's gone."

I couldn't bear to watch any more. I turned away from the scene.

"Is there anything we can do?" I asked hopefully.

"You've already done enough. You protected our child, just as you promised. Now it's time for him to decide his own destiny," Lily replied, still sadly watching her son through the veil.

"And our child is still safe. No one besides Dumbledore knows of his true lineage, and Dean is happy with his life. I've been keeping an eye on him." I put my arm around Kiki's waist and kissed the top of her head. Then, they led me away from the veil and we walked...on.