The last thing he remembered was the look of anger and sadness in Severus' eyes. He shouldn't have been tasked with that mission, but he was the only one who could do it.
And now he found himself surrounded by a bright, pure light. He couldn't see. So he tried to guess where he was by walking around. Oh well, at least he knew he could walk. Strange really, one would think that in the afterlife you wouldn't need to walk.
"You're not dead."The answer to his thoughts was resonating around him, like an echo inside an empty place of worship.
The voice speaking had an unusual characteristic: it was polyphonic. He could clearly distinguish three different underlying harmonies, each complementary to the others, and wondered if they belonged to the same being.
"And where would I be?" He felt his heart pulsing, but surely that must be a construct of his imagination, for he clearly remembered dying.
"You're between the world of the living and the world of the dead."
"Ah, yes, I thought something similar myself. Who am I talking to, if I may ask?". His curiosity was almost a living thing, straining inside of him, making him dizzy with anticipation. It had been a long time since he felt like this and it left him both disconcerted and intrigued.
"The mortals call me Death."
"The mortals call me Fate."
"The mortals call me Time"
"We are the three sisters."
The Norns. He was wary to approach them, these beings that held in their hands all that ever was and all that ever will; particularly because he had tried, in his foolish youth, to master one of them. The bright light dimmed of a fraction and suddenly Dumbledore could see himself and three silhouettes standing a couple of yards away. He was surprised by their position, it seemed to his ears that they were just inches away.
"Enchanted, Mesdames. May I inquire about the purpose of my presence here?"
"You may."
"Excuse my sister, Death loves sarcasm."
"Oh I don't doubt it, but I feel that she isn't the only one...Am I right, Fate?"
"You're an amusing human. Yes, you are right. You're here to observe how was brought about the fall of the Dark Lord known as Voldemort."
As Fate spoke, a white screen appeared on his left side. It wasn't very big, but not sooner the images began to flash before his eyes, that it enlarged enclosing him at its center.
Dumbledore saw everything. The Horcrux's hunt, Ron's betrayal and his return. Ginny's and Neville's resistance. Severus caught between two fires, trying to help the students that despised him. The Battle of Hogwarts, Harry's selfless sacrifice, Neville's courage and defiance in the face of death. Despair, tears, pain. Voldemort's demise. The heartbreaking grief of loss and the hope of a new beginning. A new generation that would not need to go to war. The birth of his namesake: Albus Severus. Both followed and preceded by other children: Lily Luna, James Sirius, Scorpius, Rose, and Teddy among others.
Tears were streaming on his face, but he was too preoccupied with the scenes taking place around him to notice.
"These things are happening as we speak." The screen turned white again and dissolved into the air.
"A choice now lays ahead of you."
Dumbledore's head snapped up, facing the three sisters.
"Time has offered to take you back the night everything changed, to right your wrongs and save three lives. If you refuse, you'll go in the afterlife to live 'the next great adventure'."
"As you know, foul things happen to wizards that meddle with time, so you'll have to be careful. Mind 'the butterfly effect'. The more things you change, the more the future you were showed becomes uncertain."
"You speak as if I had already decided."
"You have. You're a meddling old fool and you will always be."
"Have I offended you, madam Death?"
"No, but you seem under the impression that I am insulting you. I am not, I'm merely describing you."
"Very well, it seems that you were correct indeed, madam Death. I cannot resist the temptation."
"Now, Time, if you please. Remember, Dumbledore: there is not a "greater good". If you do things right, Death will claim you much later than the first time. Farewell."
"Farewell, Mesdames."
Space around him darkened, pressing heavily on him until he couldn't sense anything other than the absence of stimuli. Pressure increased all around him, squeezing his body. His ribs cracked and punctured one of his lungs. Rasping, he wondered if he had made the right choice. His kneecaps shattered and he would have fallen if not for the pressure that was simultaneously holding him aloft and killing him. As his shoulders were wrenched out of their sockets, he heard twin pops. Light burst under his eyelids and he knew no more.
