the_debt_of_time

The light surrounding the veil burst, throwing them both backward again, away
from the arch and into the back of the pit before the room fell completely dark.
Remus coughed, holding his bruised ribs. "Hermione.. ." he muttered, reaching
out for her. "Hermione, what were you thinking?"
"Son of the House of Black," Hermione whispered, repeating the last words of her
incantation, this time in English. She panted, moving to stand, and reached for the wand
that had fallen from her hand.
Remus growled at her. "I know what you said!"
"Accio wand!" Hermione ignored Remus's roar as her wand flew into her hand.
"Lumos Maxima!"
A bright light ignited from her wand, illuminating the entire room.
His focus fell to the arch, which looked as it had upon their entering the room, save
for Hermione's beaded bag on the ground, the medic kit, and a large shaking figure lying
in the centre of the stone dais.
"It can't be," Remus murmured as he stood, gazing at the body with trepidation.
Long, black hair covered the face, but the sight of tattoos peeking out from the edges of
burgundy robes had him sucking in a sharp breath.
"Sirius!" Hermione screamed, rushing toward the shivering form and placing her
hands tenderly on his back.
The man flinched in response.
"Help me, Remus! Turn him over," Hermione instructed as she opened the medical
kit, sticking her lit wand between her teeth. Before touching anything in the kit, she smeared
dittany onto her bleeding hand, fumbling for potion phials as soon as the cut had stopped
bleeding.
Dumbfounded, Remus moved without conscious volition, dropping to his knees
next to her and staring at the trembling form in front of him. His hands shook as he grasped
solid shoulders and pushed. The body rolled, and he stared, horrified, into the face of the
best friend he had thought long dead. Yet there Sirius was as if he had been struck down
by Bellatrix's curse but not pushed through the veil by it.
"He's... Sirius... Merlin, Hermione, how did you do it?"