Harry Potter- The New Prophecy

Sirius Black

Harry swore as he tumbled out of the fireplace and onto the floor of his godfather's old home. He would have thought he'd be accustomed to floo travel by now, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

The fire roared behind him, and Harry watched as Hermione stepped out, as graceful as ever. She took one look at Harry, covered in soot, and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Harry. One might think you've never traveled by floo before." She reached out a hand and helped him up before looking around. "Where is Dumbledore?"

Harry noticed for the first time that his old headmaster was nowhere to be seen. He had been right in front of Harry. He should have arrived only seconds before him.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but stopped when Hermione put a finger to her lips, motioning for him to be quiet. She pointed towards the kitchen, where it sounded like two people were having a conversation. Harry strained his ears to listen but could only make out some of the words. He was sure he heard his name.

"Dumbledore must be talking to Sirius now." Hermione said. "Maybe we should wait here and..." But Hermione didn't get the chance to finish her sentence before Harry turned and headed for the kitchen. "Honestly." She mumbled. "Why do I even bother?"

As Harry neared the kitchen, he could make out more words and began to piece the conversation together. "You're sure Harry's okay?" He heard Sirius ask.

"I can assure you, Harry is just fine." Albus replied calmly.

Harry peaked around the corner, his eyes searching the room for his godfather. He finally spotted him standing in the corner, a worried expression on his face. "When I didn't see him, I'd assumed the worst." Sirius said anxiously. "I thought for sure Voldemort had gotten to him. But he's okay?"

"Yes." Albus replied, his voice as calm as it was the first time Sirius had asked. "Harry made it out."

Sirius nodded before taking a seat at the kitchen table. "What about the others?" He asked. "Remus..."

Harry closed his eyes and sighed. Sirius was going to be devastated when he learned the news. Remus was the last friend he had, and Harry wasn't sure just how much his death might affect him. Would it push him over the edge?

"Sirius." Albus began calmly. "There's something you need to know." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "This is going to come as a shock, but...what do you remember from that night?"

"That night?" Sirius frowned. "You mean last night?" He waited for Dumbledore to respond, and when he didn't, Sirius continued. "We went to the Department of Mysteries to save Harry and his friends, and then we ran into some death eaters." He paused for a moment, deep in thought. Suddenly, a look of realization crossed his face. "Hold on, how am I alive?" He asked. "I remember Bellatrix hitting me with a spell. I remember falling backward. I remember Harry's screams."

Albus held up a hand. "An excellent question." He said. "Also one that I unfortunately do not have the answer to. Now before I continue, I must warn you that this is going to be hard to understand."

Harry tried to take a step forward, but was stopped by a gentle hand on his shoulder. He didn't have to turn around to know that it was Hermione. "Not yet." She whispered. "Let Dumbledore explain."

As much as Harry didn't want to admit it, he knew Hermione was right. If he walked in there right now, before Albus had the chance to explain everything, who knew what Sirius might do? The best thing he could do was wait. Wait and hope that Sirius would take the news well.

"Spit it out, Albus," said Sirius impatiently. "What is it you're trying to say?"

Albus turned his head in the direction of the open door where Harry and Hermione stood before turning back to Sirius. "There is no easy way to tell you this, but you didn't survive that night at the Department of Mysteries."