Lovely (a Scorbus story)

Part 16

Harry sat at his desk, fiddling with a quill and staring at the sheet of paper his son had sent.

Seconds later, the door opened and Hermione burst in. "Harry—what is it?"

Wordlessly, Harry passed her the article. Hermione gasped as she read it.

"But Harry—this means—"

"What do we do?"

Hermione looked apprehensive. "We...we try to save him, of course."

"Hermione...it's been twenty-five years."

"He won't have aged a day," she whispered. "If it's true."

Harry stood up so fast he knocked over his chair. "Get Ron, and we'll go."

"You want Ron to come?"

"I want Luna and Ginny and Neville to come too, but Neville's teaching, Ginny's visiting her Aunt Muriel, and Luna's dead," Harry said harshly.

Hermione winced, as she always did when Luna was mentioned. "I'll get Ron."

She flicked her wand, and a silver otter spiraled out of her wand.

"Harry's office," she said quietly, and the otter glided out of the room.

Harry observed the woman who was almost like a sister to him. Her brown hair, not bushy, as it had been in her school years, was chopped short in a pixie cut. She was as slim and pretty as she had always been, but age was beginning to show on her face, as was the toll of being the Minister for Magic.

The door opened and Ron burst in, breathless. "Harry. Hermione."

"Let's go," Harry said curtly, striding out the door. He saw Hermione pass the article to Ron.

"But Harry, you don't read the Daily Prophet—"

"Albus sent it," Harry explained. He couldn't control his hands from shaking.

Sirius. Sirius, who might be alive...and waiting...

Harry thought of the dull agony that still woke him up some nights, yelling for Sirius, as his mind replayed his godfather's look of mild surprise as he toppled backwards through the veil. Ginny was always there on those nights, to light her wand and calm him down. It had been a long time before he had stopped waking up every night.

But that jet of light Bellatrix had sent at Sirius...it hadn't been a Killing Curse at all, had it?

Lupin was wrong. He's alive, he has been this whole time.

"Harry, slow down," Hermione pleaded. Harry paid no attention, breaking into a run as he neared the elevators.

"Harry, mate," Ron complained as Harry jabbed the button for the bottom floor.

Luckily, there was nobody else waiting for the elevator, so it arrived at the bottom floor quickly. From there, Harry raced for the stairs, taking them two at a time until he reached the bottom.

"Oh, I hate this part," Hermione moaned as Harry sprinted for the room full of doors.

As soon as the door behind them shut, the room spun around them, so that they couldn't tell which door they came through.

"Where's the room with the veil?" Harry bellowed as the room stopped spinning.

A door burst open and the three of them tumbled through it.

"There," Harry breathed. "SIRIUS! SIRIUS!"

"Harry, he can't hear you now," Hermione said desperately. "We need to figure out—how to get him out...Harry, no! You can't just go charging—"

But her words were lost on Harry, who was sprinting straight for it as if his life—or Sirius's—depended on it.

"You're mental," Ron concluded. "Totally mental. I mean, we all knew it—"

"Not the time, Ronald," Hermione said, jabbing him in the ribs with an elbow.

Harry had reached the veil. He could hear voices, voices murmuring...

"Sirius?" he whispered.

"Harry Potter..."

"SIRIUS!"

But there was nothing, and he took a deep breath, and ran straight through.

And when he emerged out the other side, he was accompanied by a large black dog.

"Harry?" Hermione said anxiously. "Harry! HARRY!"

"I'm here," Harry tried to say. "I'm here."

Then he fell to his knees, and the last thing he saw was the face of his godfather, and it was the most welcome sight in the world.