Chapter Five: Summon Me

Across the plain, it seemed as though the veil began to flutter… yet no sounds of any sort followed the ordaining movement. With a blink of an eye, the light that had momentarily illuminated the darkening shadows, flicked one final time before disappearing completely.

A seemingly confused Sirius stirred into consciousness as he laid helplessly in the epitome of bleakness. Within a few moments, Sirius hysterically plunged out into the absolute darkness. His arms flew outward and he threw himself back upon the misty surface of the ground. Unable to control the angry tears that had welled up in his eyes, Sirius tried to free himself from the twinge of old memories by attempting to release the last bit of humanity that he possessed.

As Sirius lowered his head, the silence that surrounded him slowly began to lull him into a trance that he had grown to distrust. Thoughts and images of his past life…. eventful accounts of which were the reason for this godforsaken fate….returned to him. Fate…Fate…As the clarity hit him; he awoke from his trance at once.

“Nooooooo!” he hoarsely screamed out. He had accepted this fate. It had taken him nearly every ounce of determination, but he had managed to let it all go. Sirius had roamed every corner of the pitiful surroundings during his escapade. Yet, the voice that lingered in his mind was as clear as ever.

“You have what it takes…Look within,” shrilly echoed into the vast emptiness of all that enveloped around him. Shuddering, Sirius felt a chill shift up his spine before he finally willed himself to his feet.

Unanswerable questions stole their way into his thoughts as he once again felt himself fall onto the ground. This voice---or whatever it claimed to be---was hypnotizing him. He had to stop himself from believing that he could once again return to all that was left behind. There was absolutely nothing he could do to help…. not that he wasn’t physically competent. On the contrary, his powers had grown immensely in this forsaken realm. Or else, maybe his dream wasn’t just a dream after all. Was it her grandiose touch that caused such increase in his sharp performance? Could it really be Peorth?

Either way, he felt that he was more at one with his physical self than ever. Not that he had anyone else. Those around him were all deranged…within the few minutes that they did manage to stick around. He slowly began to refer to them as candle glows because they too, just as candles were whisked away by the stirring mist of the atmosphere. He remembered a time when he actually looked forward to each new incomer before they managed to fade away.

Head high, Sirius would try and get as much information out of them as possible. Yet, the tidbits that he had managed to seek were hardly satisfactory. Unfortunately, he had also managed to witness a couple of tantrums about ‘The Dark Lord and The Chosen One…’ Yet, the muffled anguish inside the souls seemed to depart within the minute that they appeared. Some, quite forcibly, managed to last longer than the others but those too disappeared and left Sirius puzzled.

With each new visit, Sirius grew more anxious. Not for the fact that he still claimed a bodily structure and was viewed as a god, but because of the increasing amount of candle glows. During one day, he was almost positive that he saw Dumbledore’s figure gleam, merely 20 feet away from him. Yet, by the time he managed to take out of his wand and make way past the translucent others, the glow darkened and disappeared.

In this realm, his wand did nothing more than create illusions. These strong illusions seemed to overpower all logic. All in all, ever since he fell through the veil, it hadn’t helped him effectively. But, why hadn’t he destroyed it? If his wand was so worthless, then why had he clung so dearly to it? Could it be…that deep within, he still had hope? Did he agree with this voice? Did he believe in Fate? Could he possibly return and help?

“NO!” he forced himself to think and closed his mind from the tormenting thoughts. Physically competent or not, this was a mind game. It was just a nonsensical mind game that prized in torturing him. After all, he had helped enough. He had managed to reach Harry in the only form that he could muster; in his subconscious. Or was that part of his dream as well? Was anything ever what it seemed? This realm seemed to create a void inside Sirius that truly left him befuddled. Therefore, this voice or whatever it was, needed to be hushed. He would not afflict himself anymore by believing the inevitable.

“Look within! Do it before it’s too late!” came the singsong voice, now rushed, yet still just as prevailing.

“Stop! I CAN’T!” he shouted, in a voice that jostled a ruthless pain inside him. As he wildly shook his head in disbelief, he felt the mist…

The veil that surrounded him from such an unreachable angle, began to flutter as though in a high wind. It slowly began to fall back, away from the darkening mist and Sirius felt the others emerge around him…

Before he was at his feet, the impatient figures that he knew had been secretly watching his breakdowns began their shouting ritual…before disappearing. He took no notice nor showed any interest. After all, to those in the parallel world, these loud rants would sound out nothing more than incoherent whispers. Yet, he admired the determination …the devotion…the love…and the hope that he assumed was long buried inside him.

“You’re the only one who is capable,” sung out the familiar voice yet again, in a tone so serene it soothed his bewildered self.

“Why me?” Sirius cried out, wildly throwing his hands in the air, as if to shift the power he allegedly possessed unto the sporadically flashing others.

Sirius had always been viewed as an exceptional prodigy but this was unlike anything he had ever encountered. As noted by the beautiful deity from his dreams, this passage of life---or death---had changed him. The special attributes he once possessed were lost. Or else, buried deep inside him. Was this what Peorth had been referring to all along?

As the sudden realization hit him square in the chest, Sirius started gasping for air. Even though the mere thought of returning to his old self began to send an electric shock to every nerve in his body, his experience in this Plain suddenly seemed to make sense.

“I’ve forgotten how fickle the human mind can be…It’s about time. Gather the others,” the reassuring voice sounded out, now more sensational than ever.

He could do this… He had to do this…If not to free himself from this damned living, he had to pull through for Harry. Sirius took a deep breath as he let his fingers soothe his temple. Before he could succumb to any more troubling thoughts, Sirius daringly rose to his feet and took his wand. Holding it triumphantly outwards, he pushed aside the hair that framed his virtuous face and tore off the withered edges of his robe.

Sirius pondered her command intensely, and played out the different ways he could accomplish it in his head. Although Sirius always remained humble, something incredible stirred within him and he felt as though he didn’t need her pious assistance. With a smug look on his face, Sirius let out a low laugh and thought back to what the Marauders would do in this situation. He closed his eyes and visualized his two friends and that traitor before him…He could almost hear them.

“What are we waiting for? Come on Padfoot. Let’s get started!” James’ bittersweet voice echoed in his thoughts. “Remember that one spell we saw in Snivellus’ notebook before it mysteriously fell in the lake? If we could somehow use the magnitude of the power it possesses with one of our creations and create a connection between the two forces, I wonder whether this realm would know how to contradict the action,” James’ voice trailed off, as if he were contemplating something extremely ghastly. “Now, normally I would never agree to use anything even minutely associated with that slimy git, but under dire circumstances, it could possibly work!”

Not before long, a more practical influence stole the limelight from James as Sirius envisioned Remus’ sixteen-year-old image in his mind. “Listen mate, while intertwining those two foreign spells could possibly work, I still think that it’s for the better if we find ourselves back into the same pathway toward that tree, come across that regal lady and get more information before we throw ourselves into something we have no control over.”

A smile slowly began to play on Sirius’ lips as he weighted the two options. Yet, it quickly turned sour, as Wormtail added his two cents.

“James, I still have that notebook! I swam in after you guys left and recovered it before it was completely destroyed! Such powerful magic in there! I was dying to show you because I couldn’t get any of it to work properly alone but L-” he crooned out before stopping himself awkwardly, in the most wretched voice Sirius had ever heard.


“No more walks down memory lane, Sirius Black. It is done,” sung out an indefinite fourth voice. It sounded so serene and majestic yet still by far more prominent than the other memorable voices. It had said his name. Sirius allowed the purely sensational resonance work its magic on him, before slowly realizing a very significant notion. This was no unknown voice…It was Peorth.

Before Sirius could even question such vividly striking supremacy, infinite amount of candle glows shunned out the darkness and as it was said, it was done. Standing tall, Sirius felt extreme reassurance as the moderately composed others began to circle in around him, as if ready to answer his beckoning call. The sight was truly a wonder. This had to be her doing. Nothing could ever seem so tranquil.

After a moment or two of respectable silence, Sirius made a notion to get everyone’s attention even though all eyes were already glued on him. Although the vast nothingness was now immensely occupied, Sirius’ every action still seemed to echo miles away. In a fierce voice, Sirius humbly said, “We’re listening. You command and we'll follow.”

Sirius heard a seemingly passionate laugh somewhere off in the crossroads of his mind, and wondered whether Peorth would show herself. Just one glimpse of such gallant beauty would dazzle every soul around him. Yet only her majestically potent voice sung out, “On the contrary, it is you who will lead.”

With this, Sirius bowed his head and lowered his wand in relation to the position of his heart. Mirroring his actions without question, the others took in the collective passion that Peorth had most likely embraced them with, and waited. Not a single soul thought about inching away from the mystifying force they knew so little about, and yet felt immeasurably pressuring in on them.