Albus Dumbledore walked unnoticed through the world he had left behind, feeling completely justified and content in his decision. It was time, his time. Those whom he had carried now stood tall, carrying their burdens with renewed strength and vigour.
Harry had taken his place as leader, as hope, Ron and Hermione at his side. Minerva, as Headmistress, commanded the school with boundless authority, educating and protecting the generations of the future. Remus, the last of the Marauders, used his charms and curses to gather an army of magical creatures and half-breeds. Severus had taken up his duplicitous ways once more, risking his life to bring vital information to the Order. Hagrid trekked through cruel terrain, Grawp at heels and a baby Chimaera stuffed in one of his large pockets. The Weasley twins, with charred eyebrows and bodies wracked with furious coughs, shared identical sheepish grins as the surveyed the aftermath of their latest invention.
They, and many others, now sat around a table without any obvious head, yet with supreme order and leadership. It wasn't until Albus turned to leave that his smile faltered as he came across the only two people he had ever truly disappointed. A girl he had failed to notice and a boy he had failed to help. Blinded by his own assumptions, he had neglected his charges with devastating results. Now he watched as the two sat bickering, excluded from the Order's meeting. One, which they wrongly assumed, would need protection, and the other they wrongly assumed they would need to protect themselves from.
He chuckled as Ginevra made crass remarks towards Draco that, if overheard, would earn the wrath of Molly Weasley. Truth be told, Albus had always been a little afraid of that woman.
He smiled warmly as they took turns sneaking furtive glances at one another. He fought back a grin as their eyes met and they quickly looked away, each flushing, suddenly finding the floor particularly in need of their attention, before beginning the cycle once more.
As he crossed the final threshold between the world of the living and the world of the dead, Albus wondered just who he had to speak to in order to ensure a future of pink haired babies.