"I~ killed Sirius Black, I~ killed Sirius Black!"
As he ran, Severus heard that song again.
He could not help recalling the scene of Padfoot's supposed death. He had fallen backward through the veil hanging in the archway, his body curving into a graceful arc. As he fell into the ancient corridor and vanished behind the veil, his face had worn an expression of surprise and fear. The veil had fluttered for a while, as though a violent gale had swept through it, before becoming still again.
First, even if a gale had truly passed through it, that veil should not have fluttered so violently. Perhaps only the entry of a new life could make it do so.
Second, only those who had seen death could hear the whispers beyond the door—that was, those who could see Thestrals. Both Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood had heard them.
Third, the ghosts of Hogwarts could not sense his presence in the mortal world. They believed Sirius Black had embarked on his next journey.
Back in the Well of Despair in the Alps, Severus had collected quite a few artificially made Phoenix tears. He had traded them for many things, yet at Jacob's Tower, he had exchanged them for the red liquid in the pool. This was what Albus Dumbledore had told him.
His eyes had hurt earlier because he had used an item that enhanced vision. It had been considered cheating.
What was the standard for cheating? Had Albus Dumbledore not cheated over the matter of the Elder Wand?
Severus stopped running. He summoned that gauze-like substance and placed it before the Aurors. Sure enough, they all stopped their pursuit.
For a wizard like Hermione Granger, who had never seen death, that layer of black gauze was invisible. Likewise, in her eyes,