A/N: This is my first ever one-shot. I took inspiration from the quote 'It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.' I am a massive fan of the Potterverse and hope to improve my writing skills through writing fanfics.
Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin, First Class, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, was not a bad man. He would admit, at a push, to being a little manipulative, controlling, even. But with his superior intellect, people trusted him to plan and lead the resistance against Voldemort - they knew he acted for the greater good.
This morning, though, he had awoken in a cold sweat. It was rare, after all this time, for him to dream of Ariana, but he saw her last night. She didn't speak. She just looked at him, while behind her, he saw many others he knew - Cedric Diggory, James and Lily Potter, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Sirius Black. All these faces belonging to people who had died before their time, or been damaged irreparably at a young age. All were his fault.
The dream had then shifted, leaving only Ariana and a boy barely older than she was - Harry. What would happen to Harry, before this war was over?
Albus was now sat at his desk, his pensieve before him. More thoughts than he could count were swirling across the surface, occasionally showing images, and glimpses into his memories. He raised his wand, and pulled a figure out of the depths: it was Aberforth, shouting at him, and Albus knew that he had been right to do so. He sent the memory back into the pensieve.
A new image rose, of its own accord, and Albus looked back four years, into the Mirror of Erised. He would forever be haunted by the image he had seen within.
But what had he said to Harry? It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live... Albus needed to take his own advice; Ariana's death was many years ago, and the threat posed by Voldemort was very different to that of Grindelwald. Albus sighed, and stood. He would talk to Severus, and ask Minerva to keep an eye on Harry. With this in mind, he put all thoughts of Ariana to one side - he had a war to run.