epilogue
Barty had seen Sirius languishing in a life that was no longer his.
That was why he had started calling for Sirius. Mostly at night and in his dreams and then during the day too. Sometimes he had touched Sirius, put his hand gently on his shoulder. Of course Sirius couldn't feel him, but maybe he could? Their bond had been so irrational and so devoid of reason, they had suffered so much and yet held on to each other. Barty knew that he had betrayed Sirius last and that Sirius would have been willing to go with him. They could have fled, to a faraway place and tried to see if their love could save them both.
And now Sirius was here, he was really here.
Barty was crying without realising it. His hands shook and when Sirius stood up and pushed himself into his arms without hesitation, he shook under his sobs.
When the Dementors had removed his soul from his body, they had removed the part of Barty that was hopeless and disorientated. They had taken away the evil, the madness, the result of his life. What they hadn't been able to take away was the young Barty who loved Sirius with all his heart.
The Barty who loved Sirius so much that he hadn't been able to die.
Not really, strictly speaking.
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