20 Feet { Blarry }

chapter 10

"Now that introductions have been made," Snape drawled, "Potter, why don't you tell Bill exactly why we desire his assistance." Harry cocked an eyebrow; he didn't know any better than Bill why the Weasley was called here. Severus sighed, "As stated in my letter, you are sworn to secrecy if you decide to help us," the potions master began, waiting for Bill's nod of confirmation before continuing. "Potter here has discovered that his godfather, Sirius Black, is still alive, floating - for lack of a better word - in some suspended state between this realm of life and the afterlife, and he wants...only Merlin knows why," Severus muttered,

"to retrieve him and inflict his irritating presence on us all once more." Blaise snorted and Draco smirked; they were both clearly amused, but Harry, taking a good look at his potions professor, could tell that the man wasn't as annoyed by the prospect of Sirius' recovery as he made out.

"I have spoken with the mutt extensively," Severus continued, "and the issue is that Black has no idea whatsoever where he is. There are no defining features of this realm, and it is largely enshrouded in shadow. He claims that he can hardly see his hand before his face, and the only light he ever discerns is from this side when we communicate with him via the two-way mirror." "Two-way mirror?" Harry nodded, "It's a mirror that my father and Sirius used in the past to speak with each other when they were in separate detentions here at Hogwarts," Harry snickered. "For some reason or another, it still works now."

"Interesting," Bill mumbled.

"In any case," Severus began again,

"I thought your expertise might be of use here as we have no idea how to go about reaching him because we do not know where he is or how to get there without simply walking into the veil ourselves, and we cannot be sure that the veil will eject us into the same realm where Black currently resides or how large the place might be. Pinpointing his location after we get there might be nigh on impossible, and that still leaves the issue of returning if we can locate him at all. Bearing in mind the fact that you have spent a considerable amount of time entering dangerous tombs and crypts in Egypt, I had hoped that you might at least be able to provide us with a starting point." Bill leaned back on the loveseat across from Harry and the Zabini boy and focused on the ceiling in deep thought; the very idea that Sirius Black was still alive and trying to escape yet another impenetrable prison was astounding to Bill.

The man was tenacious in every sense of the word. Returning to the problem at hand, Bill began to speak. "It seems to me that the best option here would be the Rasozm portal. In theory, it is a portal that can be created by any witch or wizard who desires access to a place that has been heretofore denied to them. We use it in Egypt in the most extreme cases because it is difficult to maintain, and it has a number of steps that could lead to serious injury or death if done incorrectly," Bill said seriously. "Do we need access to the veil," Harry asked with determination evident on his face. "Getting back into the ministry would probably be even more impossible than it was the last time, and admittedly I am hesitant to go back there." Snape snorted but maintained his peace as he bustled about his sitting room. To what end, only he knew. Bill shook his head,

"No, Harry this spell doesn't necessarily mandate that we use that specific gateway just that we use some other entrance point to the area we want to access." The redhead watched as Harry visibly deflated, slumping into the Slytherin boy's loose embrace. "We don't have another entrance to Mr. Black's realm," Zabini said quietly. Bill grinned,

"That's not exactly true is it," he asked cryptically. "Just what are you getting at Weasley?" Snape asked, returning to the center of the room, eyeing the eldest Weasley son critically. "It has been a long day, and we are all tired. Might you get to the point?" Bill nodded,

"This mirror you've been talking about, the one you use in order to speak with Sirius should be enough to do the trick. It is a gateway through which you currently have access to that space, and if we turn that into a portal large enough to pass through, we should be able to enter and retrieve your godfather, Harry." Snape nodded slowly as he pondered that idea for a while.