Bellatrix! Harry! Remus…

Sirius Black fell through the Veil and the deepest black enveloped him, cold and inky but intangible like smoke. He was falling, but now he was drifting. His thoughts became cloudy.

Bellatrix! Harry! Remus…

BellamusHarrremy…trix…Tonks

Sirius slapped his hands on either side of his head and clutched his long hair. He tried to right himself but no way was right. There was no up or down, left or right. He whirled his head around, but there was no sneering Bellatrix, no shocked Harry, no shattered Remus—only darkness—no—only nothingness. Their faces faded in his mind.

No!

Sirius morphed into a great, black dog and dashed frantically to where he thought he fell. He may as well have been chasing his own tail. Most disturbing of all, to the mind of the dog, was that there was no scent. Not a trace of anything living or dead. The dog howled and its howl was dull and muted, there was nothing for the sound to bounce off of.

From the dog once again emerged a man, who cried out in frustration. He must get out. He must find Remrry. He must not forget. He must not get lost, like he could have during his tortuous stay at Azkaban. He picked a direction and set off, talking to himself calmly.

"I am Sirius Orion Black. I went to Hogwarts with my best friends, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin. James Potter is dead. Peter Pettigrew is a traitor. I love Remus Lupin. I am the godfather of James and Lily Potter's son, Harry Potter. I must protect Harry Potter. I was imprisoned in Azkaban, but I am free now."

He repeated these words to himself again and again as he walked through the nothingness, searching for a way back. Soon his eyes stopped their search, there was nothing to see. So Sirius created his own things to see and chased the illusions, all the while repeating, "I am Sirius Orion Black…"

Time was lost beyond the Veil. He was there hours, days, months, years, decades, centuries. He never grew hungry, or thirsty, or tired, but walked on, replaying scrambled nonsense memories of what was once his life in his head.

After an eternity, Sirius Orion Black stopped walking and sat down, "…L-l-lupin. James P-p-p-p-pott-ter is dead. Dead. Dead. Traitor. Love. Harry."

"I am…" he could not remember. His head snapped to the left. He thought he heard a sound. A clicking sound? Or a swooping sound? The sound of a rose blooming. A million ice cream cakes. The sound of a sun rising.

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