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Introduction:

I'd like to start off by introducing myself. My name is Lissydove (Lissy to my close friends) and this is my third fan-fic. Currently, I have a fic called One Ravenclaw's Pursuit of Love, Friendship and a Little Attention in the Romance section and Operation Matchmaker! in the comedy section here at SS Grimmauld Place. You may be asking, isn't that enough? "Why, Lissy, are you moved to start another thread?" Answer: "I can't help myself!" I've had this idea for awhile and lately it has been taking up my creative thoughts. So I feel the need to put it in writing.

Those who know me realize that I am a Marauders fan and the topic here will not surprise them. What I hope is that I have written a story on the subject of Sirius, post OOTP and post veil in a way that you all haven't seen before (though it won't be evident in the first post), *shrugs* I know I haven't. I hope that the seasoned fan-fic readers and Sirius lovers out there will enjoy this as well as all casual readers. As my loyal readers know, I rarely take the traditional point of view in my writing.


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Dedication: This fic is hereby dedicated to four lovely ladies whom I love very much. They each know individually how much they mean to me, but I wanted to let them know how much they are appreciated:

Tina (XoxXtinaxox09)

Katy (aiangel327)

Ally (ally221289)

LadyV (Aingil an Spéir)

You all keep me going, as do all of my cherished readers! You are the best! Thank you for being here for me! I'm very lucky to have you.


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Sirius Black’s Second Chance


The Other Side of the Veil


Sirius Black’s head was pounding. He felt as though he had been hit with something hard, repeatedly. Perhaps he’d just had one too many firewhiskeys. That wouldn’t be a first. Unfortunately, he felt like he should be remembering something. What? He raised his arm to cover his face. Something was blinding him, which did nothing for the state of his headache. He groaned and rolled over. It was at this point that he realized two things: one, that he was lying down and two, that he was getting wet. He sat up in surprise “What the…?” Then the rest came back to him: leaving Grimmauld Place, the Department of Mysteries, Harry… Harry! What happened to Harry? Sirius sprang to his feet, wand in hand. He braved the bright light and opened his eyes. And found himself… alone… outside.

Overhead, the sky was clear and sunny. It was a pleasant summer day by all observations, but how did he get here? Sirius could see the indentation in the grass where he had been lying and the early morning dew that had begun seeping through his clothing. There were, of course no signs of the struggle he had left behind… How long ago? There was no way to tell for sure. But it had been night time when he last knew what was going on. The last thing he could remember was his cousin. Bellatrix had hit him with something… The pain behind his eyes told him it was something powerful and that he was lucky to have survived. Now he was outside and apparently far away from the action. His eyes raked the landscape and could only see grass and rolling rocky hills that went on for miles. Nearby, at the top of one of such hills was an archway. A thin veil or curtain hung from it, fluttering in the breeze. Sirius recognized it instantly; he had just seen one in the Department of Mysteries. It must be a gateway of some kind, which meant he should be able to go back. He ran up the hill to the arch, but he needn’t have bothered. Just as he reached the stone archway, the veil fluttered one last time and disappeared. Recklessly, he tried to walk through the stone structure, only to come out the other side on the same rocky hill. The gateway, or whatever it was, had closed.

“Harry! No!” he shouted in anguish, not worrying who might hear. It was painfully evident that he was nowhere near any towns or dwellings. He reached out and placed his hands on the cold unforgiving stone and knew that he wasn’t going to get it to work again; he had no idea what kind magic enchanted it. He rested his face on his hands and tried to think. Well, he had no idea where he was for one thing, though his instincts told him that he was still in Great Britain, probably north, judging from the landscape. He would guess Scotland. He needed to find a town of some kind where he could discreetly contact the Order. He could try to apparate a few times until he got his bearing. It was dangerous for a wizard to apparate over long distances when he did not know where he was, but he'd have to try it. It was as good of a plan as any.

Sirius sighed and moved away from the arch and… went nowhere. He tried to disapparate again, with no result. Again. What was going on? He growled in frustration. Well, if he had to travel on foot, he would be faster on four legs then on two. This way, he could also approach any towns unnoticed. He attempted to adopt his animagus form of a great black dog. Unfortunately, once again, nothing happened. He looked at his hands in astonishment, they were still hands and not paws and he was clearly still standing on two legs! He couldn’t believe it! Was he bereft of all magical ability for some reason? What could this mean? He was slowly beginning to feel frantic. As a test, he raised his wand and tried a simple spell:

“Wingardium Leviosa!” The stone he had been pointing at floated into the air obediently. Angrily he tossed it away and tried some different spells, and they too had the desired result. In frustration, he aimed a stunner at the ground and sent a large clump of dirt and dust into the air. Satisfied with that, he aimed a few more stunners out of sheer ire. Clearly he could do magic, but why couldn’t he disapparate or use his animagus form? Or do anything that would get him out of this ruddy place and closer to Harry?

He vented his anger to the sky once more, but knew it wasn’t getting him anywhere. He would have to walk, for now. He wasn’t worried about his ability to make his way in the wilderness, he had traveled and foraged for himself while on the run from the Ministry. He had just never been quite this pressed for time. Anything could be happening to Harry at this moment and Sirius was powerless to help him. He gritted his teeth and made a decision. He turned south and started to walk, with only his thoughts for company. How could he have failed his Godson so badly?

He traveled all day, the landscape not changing much. Nor was there any sign of human habitation, wizard or muggle. He would have to take a break. There was no help for it. It would do Harry no good if he pushed himself to exhaustion and not be able to go on. Nearby, there was a stream that he had recently begun to follow. He knelt down by it’s edge and splashed cool water onto his face. Perhaps after a drink and something to eat, he could continue to travel into the night. He leaned over and cupped his hands to get more water. The stream was a very slow moving one at this time of year and reflected his face like a mirror. What he saw caused him to recoil in fear and shout out in surprise…


:evillaugh


Some response posts (so I know you're out there!) will get you some more!