"Avada Kedavra!"
The evil jet of coursing green light hit Harry square in his chest, bowling him off of his feet. It felt different than he thought it was. It wasn't nearly as bad as It seemed it would be. Honestly, getting hit with a bludger was far more painful. However, it did cause him to black out. The last sound he heard was Hagrid's deep, rumbling voice calling out his name, and the muffled cheers of Voldemort's boot-lickers and lackeys as he fell under a wave of unconsciousness. Only… instead of what he thought would happen, you know the whole eternal blackness, a never-ending slumber, there was white, literally everywhere. Everywhere. It damn near blinded him. That's when he noticed he wasn't wearing his glasses. Only his vision was fine. It didn't blur or anything. He looked down. He was wearing his clothes when he died. Black traveler's cloak, tattered white t-shirt, ratty blue jeans, and some torn sneakers. Dressed to the nines.
Harry sat up, running his hand through his hair. He had a bit of a headache, and it really seemed to pulsate in the area behind his eyeballs. He got up on his feet, looking around. White. White everything. He looked up. Whoa. Less white. There was a giant glowing constellation, pulsating in a black and purple light. When he looked closely… it appeared to be in the shape of an 'x'. Strange. He continued walking into the white expanse. However, as he walked, the whiteness blended to purple, then to black. Soon he was engulfed in the darkness. His heart rate raised.
"Wait, heart rate?"
He touched a hand to his chest. Yup, his heart was beating. He thought that wasn't supposed to happen to dead people? "If I'm not dead… where am I?"
"Many men with much more genius than you or I have asked the same question, Harry."
Harry spun around on the spot, turning to face the owner of the voice. The darkness instantly turned back to the white expanse and there before him stood Albus Dumbledore. "Professor!" Albus rose a hand, which, Harry realized was the hand that had been marred and blackened. It had now fully healed. "Ah ah ah, Harry. I am no longer your Headmaster. Please, call me Albus." Harry nodded. "Er, sure thing Pro-… Albus." It felt strange coming off of his tongue. He would have to get used to it. "So… Am I…?" Dumbledore merely shook his head, eyes twinkling and his lips curled into a gentle smile. "No, my boy. You are very much alive. More so than I, or him." He motioned to a faraway corner in the darkness, where a small child lay shivering, covered in blood. It was grotesque. "What is-" "Isn't. Not anymore. Maybe at some point it was, but now it isn't. Do you understand, Harry?" "Er… not entirely, sir. But never mind. Why… didn't you tell me everything? For the longest time, I was just wandering around grasping at straws."
Albus closed his eyes and nodded. "A foolish mistake on my part, dear Harry. I had hoped… that I could retain most of my secrets in death. Your young mind had been burdened enough. How you didn't go insane is the greatest form of magic I've seen." Harry smiled. He knew what Albus was thinking. "Love. You were right all along. But… If I'm not dead, then I have to go back. I can't leave everyone to deal with Voldemort alone." Albus nodded. "Yes, Tom is a menace, and to leave him unquestioned would be the greatest mistake we could ever make, but in this realm, time does not pass. Until you return to the world of the living, they remain suspended, unable to move, time unable to march onward. So we should begin. I'll start by telling you something only the Greatest of witches and wizards can learn. Do you know what I mean by Greatest?" Harry nodded. "I think so. Not the most powerful or the most feared. The most loved. The most respected. The bravest. But I don't think-" "That you qualify? You're incredibly modest, Harry. For I have never known a Greater Wizard than you." Harry smiled. "Thank you, sir. So… what are you going to tell me?"
"Harry… what do you know of stars?" The young wizard thought about it for a second. "Only what I learned in Muggle School. That they're giant masses of gas and fire." Dumbledore chuckled. "Quite a muggle way of thinking. I must say I envy them. Able to grasp at straws until they find the most scientific explanation. The truth is, Harry, that stars are giant masses of magic. Each star is powerful, and each star has its own traits. But there are a few stars far more powerful than the others. Six to be precise. The Star of Rebirth, the Star of the King, the Star of Eternia, the Star of Hell, the Star of the Assassin… and the Star of Death. And you, Harry, were born under one of those stars." "Which one?" "I can't tell you. I know, of course, but for you to come to know, you must find out for yourself. That is the second part of what we will be doing here. Training you to understand your Star. And to utilize the power you receive from it to defeat evil." "Voldemort?" "Oh, Harry… there are far greater evils than Tom. And they are coming. Making their way to your world. Mankind will face an enemy greater than anything they have ever seen. And you, all of you, will have to be ready." "I understand. What will I do first?" Dumbledore walked toward him and rose his hand. A strange rune was carved into it. "You must search your own soul to find the answer. And only there will you be able to grasp the power you will need." Harry nodded. "I'm ready, Headmaster." Dumbledore chuckled and planed the rune on Harry's forehead. Then everything, once again, went black.