Beyond the Veil -- Sirius Survives verse
developed this little idea after a discussion with @extremelyxshabby, inspired by @mightymorphinpowerpuff
“Beyond the Veil” doesn’t necessarily mean death.
The veil Sirius falls through is located in the Department of Mysteries, thus making it (dun, dun, dun) Mysterious. The full capacity of the veil is unknown and, after years of study, the only thing Ministry officials have come to know as truth is that no one comes back from the other side.
When Sirius slips through, what he finds is a sort of darker, bleaker, more desolate version of the real world. There’s no sunlight – only darkness broken up by flashes of lightening across a barren sky. Everything is decrepit and in ruins (think the Upside Down in Stranger Things). Sirius is still alive – he knows that much. Were he dead, he’d have been greeted by his lost loved ones. (At first, however, Sirius believes he hasn’t enough soul left to go to the After Life, but soon realizes he’s just trapped in some in between).
The Place Beyond the Veil is plagued with dark creatures – the likes of which Sirius has only ever read about or seen in the Forbidden Forest. Acromantualas, as evidenced by corpses spun in silk and mummified, basilisk, graphorns, trolls, ogres and – much to Sirius’ dismay – Dementors patrol the wasteland. Then, of course, there are the ghosts, who prove helpful in Sirius’ quest to get out.
He manages to break through the Other Side five years later – though he’s uncertain of how much time has passed (it seems like much less because of the way time works in the Place Beyond the Veil). He passes out in the Department of Mysteries and comes to chained to The Chair with the entire Wizengamot staring down at him.
Minerva McGonagall reminds the Wizengamot that Sirius was posthumously cleared of all charges against him a few years prior, when then Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge saw Voldemort with his own eyes. She then offers him her previous position of Professor of Transfiguration, which he graciously accepts. He walks back into a life he’s unprepared for – saddened by the multitude of loss the war has caused, but glad that it’s over. He’s a bit disheartened by the marriage of Remus and Tonks, but knows that the latter is a good woman and, if Remus is happy, so is he. Plus, he’s glad he gets to be an uncle to Teddy and, somewhat, to Harry’s kids.
He’s not a super strict professor and, in fact, can’t be bothered with most things. He’s probably the only professor who doesn’t readily hand out detentions (the offense has to be horrible, otherwise Sirius just shrugs and thinks about how much worse he and the Marauders were). He does, however, preside over many detentions, mostly because he finds it entertaining. He’s favored for many reasons, which doesn’t help his already large ego.