Disclaimer- I own nothing goes to wallow in self pity Hey, but good for J.K. Rowling, huh?

Author's note- This story should be interesting…. I still haven't worked out where all I'm going with this, but I'm having fun so far, so hopefully it'll be good. It should be a book seven type story with a spin or two. I might skip around with the point-of-views though, so bear with me!

The Next Great Adventure

Chapter 1

He couldn't feel the actual spell. The harsh emerald light illuminated his dying features, lifted him high above the tower, but he did not feel it. All he felt was the revulsion behind it; the pain and hatred that fueled it.

In the second that it took him to die, Dumbledore gazed down through the haze of confusing emotions, smothered in that suffocating green light, to spare a last fleeting glance at the stretch of seemingly blank stone wall below him. Any knowledge he had left – any strength, or bravery, or hope – he silently prayed would pass to the boy hidden beneath him. He hoped that Harry Potter, now immobilized, wrapped in his father's invisibility cloak, would understand – would know what to do.

And then he was falling. He fell through space and time, through everything he never understood and everything he did. The green light faded imperceptibly into darkness and he fell, never really reaching the ground.

His eyes were burning with a dazzling bright white light. He blinked, but could not shake the blinding light pressing against him, blocking out everything else. His skin felt like it was bubbling, as though he had just taken a draft of Polyjuice Potion – his ears popped incessantly. As he stood there (or at least, he thought he was standing, it was difficult to tell), waves of different smells and tastes passed over him. In one moment, he could detect the unmistakable scent of raspberries, and in the next, his senses would be overwhelmed with the taste of peppermint humbugs.

Through all the confusion, through the overpowering sensations encompassing him, he suddenly felt a hand reach forward and grip his shoulder. All at once, everything stopped. He found himself standing in a grand garden, illuminated with a soft golden light. His eyes searched his surroundings, taking in the bright colors of the flowers, growing steadily throughout a sea of green grasses and leaves. A number of paths branched out from the place where he stood, which he took to be the center of the garden. One path opened up onto an expansive wooden bridge, that stretched out farther than his eyes would allow him to see. It was a while before he remembered why he was there, or even that he had no idea where 'there' was.

But then the hand, still resting upon his shoulder, tightened slightly and let go. Dumbledore looked around to find two men standing behind him. James Potter looked exactly as he had remembered him; same dark, messy hair, same brilliant, hazel eyes, same exuberant smile…. Sirius Black, however, looked different, to put it simply. His face, far from being so hollowed and gaunt from all those years at Azkaban, was full and shining, the way it had been so many years ago.

"What did I tell you about Snape, eh?" Sirius began. "Always knew he was an evil g – hey!" he was broken off quite suddenly as James elbowed him in the stomach.

"We can get to that later, you prat," muttered James. "Don't you think we should explain a few things first?"

"Oh, right," said Sirius.

Dumbledore didn't speak. He felt as though some force was somehow preventing him from even trying, so he simply looked upon the two old friends as they talked.

"You'll be able to talk again soon," said James as if reading his mind. "It's just at first that you can't say anything. I think it's either the shock of, well, dying, or that you're just supposed to listen for the first part of the time that you're here."

"We should probably move, though," said Sirius. "You know, just in case someone else arrives while we're here."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Here, we can just sit here for a moment before we meet up with Lily," James said, walking over to a large stone bench on the edge of the garden.

Sirius nodded and began to follow, but as he moved, Dumbledore finally noticed the entrance through which he had arrived. It was the archway … a massive stone archway hung with a fluttering, black veil. Dumbledore stared at it, silently examining it. It wasn't like the one in the Department of Mysteries – not exactly. Unlike the one through which he had seen Sirius fall, this one did not have the appearance that it was falling apart. It stood tall and firm, and although it represented something so grave as death, it had a graceful beauty about it.

Sirius had stopped to see what Dumbledore was looking at. "Oh yeah, the veil," he said, his eyes turned toward the archway, gazing at it with an unfathomable intensity. "It's funny; most souls pass through it after death. For me, it's how I died….

He sighed. "Well, come on, Professor."

Dumbledore tore his gaze from the veil, which continued to move as though just touched, and followed Sirius to the bench. Moving here was like moving around in a memory. Just as in his Pensieve, walking was more dreamlike, as though he weren't completely solid.

He sat between Sirius and James, still observing everything around him and waiting for one of them to speak.

"Well, erm, it's nice to see you again, sir," said James quietly. Dumbledore smiled at him, his blue eyes twinkling reminiscently.

James smiled too, and then continued, "Welcome to Heaven. Well, technically it's Heaven anyway. It's actually more like a stage of Heaven, really."

"Yeah, sort of like a limbo," added Sirius. "You stay here until you're ready to let go of the world you left behind; until you can move on, so to speak."

"Here you can still watch everything that happens on Earth," said James. "Well, not everything. For some reason or other we've never been able to see into any of Voldemort's schemes, or anyone's on his side for that matter. But we've been able to watch over the people we loved and cared about in life."

"It's like knowing everything and yet still being completely clueless," Sirius sighed. "You would've thought that death would bring something a little more satisfying, like a complete knowledge of the inner workings of the universe for instance."

"I think the next stage does bring something like that," James said pensively. "Maybe not something quite as elaborate as what you'd like to know, but more of an understanding … like what your life meant, basically."

"Wow, Heaven sure has made you more insightful, Prongs," Sirius laughed.

"Anyway," said James, choosing to ignore this particular comment as he turned back to Dumbledore, "we're meant to be your guides as you get used to the whole death thing. Everyone has a guide when they first get here, usually someone they knew in life."

"Turns out you knew a lot of people in life," said Sirius, "but we're some of the only ones still here."

"Yep," James grinned, "so you're stuck with us…. And I think that's about it, for now anyway. You'll probably have loads of questions, but we can fill you in along the way.

"Lily can't wait to see you," he grinned suddenly. "She's been in an outrage since we saw you die."

"We thought it'd be best if we left her behind until we talked to you," said Sirius, grinning too, "but we can go see her now. In fact, we should probably go anyway; it looks like someone else is about to get here," he added, nodding toward a tall, middle-aged woman who was smiling at them as she made her way down one of the paths to the archway.

James and Sirius stood and began leading the way down another one of the nearby paths. Dumbledore, however, remained seated. A curious sensation had just come over him. He knew, without knowing how he knew it, that he could speak again.

"So tell me," he began, his voice hoarse as though he hadn't used it in a long time, "why haven't either of you moved on?"

The two halted, turning around. James exchanged a sideways glance with Sirius before replying, "Would you be able to move on, if your son was the only one who could defeat the most evil wizard that ever lived? The circumstances have always been different with Harry…. Do you think Lily could move on, knowing that he would be spending ten miserable years with that horrible sister of hers? We had to watch over him – make sure he'd be alright."

"More and more witches and wizards have been staying here, refusing to go on," said Sirius grimly. "They need to see the end of this war. They need to know that their families are safe."

Dumbledore stood to join them. "And how do they do that?"

"We'll show you," said James. He turned once more, leading the way.

As they moved forward, Dumbledore gazed around yet again, trying to take everything in. They passed the vast bridge that he had spotted earlier, and Sirius spoke to him softly.

"The bridge to Heaven," he said. "Well, the next stage of Heaven anyway. They say that when it's time for you to move on, you just know, and that's when you cross the bridge."

For a man who was always so inescapably omniscient during life, this whole experience was simply unsteadying for Dumbledore. He had never had so many questions, so many uncertainties. It appeared that death was indeed a different journey entirely. It really was the next great adventure.

Author's note- Well, I hope you enjoyed chapter one. I don't know when I'll be able to get the next one up (stupid school …), but I'll try to get it up sometime soon. Reviews are always appreciated!