Facing the Veil in the Department of Mysteries, her wand in hand, Hermione took a deep breath, blood pulsing at her temples, her stomach clenching. This was the moment she had waited for, that she had prepared during three long years of research in all the archives and old libraries of the English wizarding world.

The moment when she would try and call Sirius back from beyond the Veil.

What if the old, long lost formula didn't work after all ? What if she had made a mistake and misinterpreted one of those old scrolls she had worked so hard to decipher ?

Sending people beyond the Veil had once been the maximum penalty in the wizarding world. But taking into account the possibility of a imperfection of justice, the Wizenmagot of the time had provided the possibility of reversing the sentence. It only been done two or three times in the course of many centuries. When she had found out about the long forgotten formula, she had tirelessly looked for it.. It had been used so rarely, and it was such a long time ago that there was no trace of it in the archives of the Ministry of Magic. Hermione had travelled all over the country to find at last, in the private library of a Scottish castle, a handfull of dusty old scrolls, written in ancient runes.

Granted, she was one of the best rune translators of England. But what if she had missed something? Or worse, what if the scrolls were, in fact, fakes ? Some kind of joke from a long dead witch or wizard ? The skeptical look held by Carthwright, the Department employee who had been asssigned to watch over her in the Death Chamber during the 'experiment ', didn't do anything to improve her confidence.

Clenching her wand harder, she took another deep breath and then, loud and clear, pronounced the old words of the formula. A blinding light flashed from the Veil, making her briefly close her eyes. And as she reopened them, a powerfull, overwhelming joy suddenly filled her heart.

A still form was lying on the floor just in front of the Veil. He was there ! He was back with her! She rushed forward, kneeling at his side, and looked at the face that had haunted her days and nights for more than six years. He looked exactly the same as he had on that fatal night she had seen him disappear beyond the Veil. A man in his mid-thirties, still handsome in spite of the lines his long years of suffering had left on his lean face.

" Sirius…wake up ", she called softly.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. His unfocused gaze wandered along the ceiling, then met Hermione's eyes. And, like the sun piercing the clouds, recognition and warmth filled his eyes, as in turn he whispered her name.

"Hermione… "

Her heart suddenly started racing. Was this loving gaze really aimed at her ? Suddenly, his expression changed to alarm as he exclaimed :

"Is everyone all right ? Where's Harry ?"

Hermione smiled softly. How typical of Sirius ! He was just back from the realm of the Dead, and his first question was not about himself, but about his loved ones' safety.

"Harry is fine", she answered, while helping him to sit. "Voldemort is dead. Harry defeated him. Do you remember that Bellatrix hexed you and made you fall beyond the Veil ?"

Sirius paused, gathering his memories, and then said slowly : "I remember her striking me with one of her curses, yes… But nothing more."

"It was five years ago, Sirius, five years during which you remained beyond the Veil."

"Five years… ", whispered Sirius. His beautiful grey eyes were so confused, so lost that Hermione, fighting the urge to hug him, took one of his hands in her own.

"For us, you were dead. Many things have happened since then, mostly for the best, even though we've lost some dear friends in the war."

"You said Harry was all right… Remus ?"

"He's all right too. We thought we had lost him after the final battle. He was completely unconscious and looked dead. But his wereworlf strength saved him. Apparently his opponent's curse had not been strong enough. Whoever he was, the Death Eater who tried to kill him didn't know he was a werewolf. Remus regained consciousness a few hours later. It took him a long time to fully recover It was the same for Tonks. It seems that Remus had bitten her accidentally not long before the battle. But it saved her life, after all."

"What about Ron ?"

"Ron is ok. But we lost Fred. He's become a ghost, though. He couldn't leave his brother"

Sirius's eyes filled with sadness. He had liked the mischievous twins, and had never held a grudge against Fred for his harsh words on the night Mr Weasey had been hurt.

"But I'll tell you the rest when you're better. Can you stand ? I've asked for some hot chocolate and some food in my office here. It will do you some good to eat a little before I bring you to my place. You'll meet Harry there as soon as we arrive, she added, seeing the question in his eyes before he had the time to ask it. I didn't tell him what I was trying to bring you back. He would have been too disappointed if I had failed."

Her attention focused on Sirius , who was slowly rising to his feet, swaying a little, Hermione had failed to notice that Cartwright had left the room. She suddenly realized he had come back with Aloysius Bertram, head of the Department.

"Miss Granger", the fat man began with a pompous voice, shaking her hand, "it's an honnor for me to receive the heroine of the Battle of Hogwarts, and to bear witness to of another of her magical accomplishments." "Mr Black," he added, shaking Sirius' hand, "likewise, it is an honor to meet a man who suffered so much for the Cause of the Light, and now the first man ever to return from the Dead. Our Minister has immediately been informed of… "

Sensing Sirius' tension and confusion, Hermione decided to cut short the man's speech and give Sirius the privacy he badly needed at the moment.

"Thank you, sir", she said with all the authority her status as a war heroine gave her, "but Mr Black needs to rest. I'm sure Mr Cartwright here can give you a full account of what happened. I'll be at your office tomorrow to give you all the details. Now of you may excuse us…"

And with that, Hermione took Sirius's arm and led him out of the room. After a short walk down a few corridors and stairs, they arrived at her small office.

"Chocolate is the universal medicine…", smiled Sirius, as she poured him a full cup. "I see that Remus has rubbed onto you."

Hermione smiled too. Even back from the realm of the Dead, Sirius was apparently still able to lighten the mood.

"Remus is right, chocolate is good after any kind of taxing magical experience, she said. "How do you feel ?"

"I'm fine", he answered automatically, his mind obviously very far from his own physical or mental state. "I can't believe I've been kind of dead during five years. You've changed so much. You're out of school now. What are you doing ? And Harrry ?Are you happy, both of you ? How did you call me back ?"

"Well, to answer to your first questions, Harry is an Auror now. He's betrothed to Ginny and seems very happy. As for me, I was engaged to Ron for a while, but then I realized it wouldn't work. And I chose to work in the Department of Mysteries and to do some research about the Veil and the way it was used in ancient times. Which leads to your last question."

"It came to my knowledge that around a thousand years ago, sending people beyond the Veil was the way of disposing of the worst criminals, before Azkaban was built and death penalty abolished. But our ancestors were aware that justice is fallible, even in the wizarding world. That's why criminals were not not simply put to death by the Killing Curse, but sent beyond the Veil. Because the curse that could send a person beyond it could be reversed, if a judicial error was discovered. The problem was that the reversing spell had been forgotten for so long it took me three years to find it, after the end of the war with Voldemort."

"I had never heard about that spell ", said Sirius… "You looked for it for three years, Hermione ? I'm not worth three years of your life."

"Don't say that !", exclaimed Hermione, tears springing to her eyes. "You're one of the bravest men I know. You kept your sanity in Azkaban, you were the the first one to escape from there and you lived on rats to protect Harry."

"It was the least I could do."

"Oh, I know, you blame yourself for the Potters' death, because you proposed Petter as the Secret-Keeper. But you're not the only one who mistook Peter's hero-worship for James for true friendship. James did it too, and in my opinion, he let Peter look up to him far too much. It was dangerous in itself."

"Besides", Hermione went on, "I know why you suggested Peter. There is no way I could belive that you were scared. I know you wanted to attract Voldemort's attention to yourself, to make him and his Death Eaters hunt you. You suggested Peter as the Secret-Keeper, as the least likely choice, in case you were caught and given some Veritaserum. That way, you couldn't reveal the Potters' hiding place, whether you were able to resist it or not. And learning of your disappearance, James and Lily would have been given enough time to find new ways to protect themselves. Don't you dare tell me that I'm wrong !"

"How do you… "

"Because I know you, Sirius Black. You're one of the kindest men I know too. You could have resented Dumbledore for not having any doubt about your guilt. For not having done anything to get you a fair trial. No one should be sent to Azkaban without a trial. He knew, you, Sirius, and he did nothing, for twelve years. You could have resented Remus even more, for the same reason."

"But Hermione, all evidence was against me. It was not their fault."

Hermione smiled softly. "See what I mean ? You're the most forgiving of men. I for one would never doubt Harry, even if all evidence was against him. I would never believe him capable of betraying Ron !"

"Whatever…" , sighed Sirius. "I thank you with all my heart, Hermione, for having brought me back to life, at such a cost."

"I couldn't accept your death", whispered Hermione. "After all you had been through… it was so unfair !"

"Ah Hermione. That's so very you. Always fighting any kind of injustice." He smiled at her fondly. Obviously he explained her quest for his sake by her strong tendency to stand up against anything she perceived as unfair. As if he had just been another cause, like the Elfish welfare ! For an instant, Hermione felt the temptation to tell him that there were much stronger and deeper personal motives for her actions. But it was neither the time nor the place to admit her feelings for him- if she ever decided to do so. Instead, she answered his smile and said :

"And think about Harry's happiness when he sees you. As I said, I never told him about my research, because I didn't want him to be disappointed if I failed."

She didn't add how devastated Harry had been after Sirius's disappearance beyond the Veil. Sirius already blamed himself for too many things that were not his fault.

"I told him to be at my place for lunch. What a suprise it will be for him !"

Their eyes met, glittering at the idea. Sirius rose from his chair.

"Is it time ? Shall we go ?"

"Yes", said Hermione, smiling at his eagerness. "Let's go."

TBC

Well this is my attempt to set things right, at least in my own eyes. Like Hermione in my story, I found Sirius's fate so unfair ! He and Hermione are my favorite characters. And even if they can seem an unlikely pairing, I think they fit very well together. They share the same unwavering courage and loyalty. Clever, thoughtful Hermione could help Sirius to think before he acts, and he could teach her how to loosen up and see the funny side of things. Pairing her with Ron, what a waste ! Added to that, I wanted to give my own answers to some of Dumbledore's odd behaviors.

Please R & R !