Something soft and squishy was squashed beside his head. No one knew where he was, especially Voldemort himself. He had a jabbing pain in his right side and sticky sap-like blood around the pain.

He was aware that there was no sound; or at least nothing he could hear.

The thought of being deaf crossed his mind but decided against it as the powerful Lord Voldemort could not be deaf. Let alone wounded. So he chose to explore his surroundings, first he moved his left arm out in a swing along the ground and felt what seemed to be grass. Then moved his legs closer to his body and lifted his back so he was in a sitting position.

He regretted this action as he must have bumped his head on something because at that moment a sharp piercing jab shot through his mind.

It must be the cause of why he was here, yet he still could not put a finger on it.

He opened his eyes slowly, as it worsened the pain in his head, and the sight looked as if it was supposed to be on a postcard.

Voldemort came up with the conclusion that he was about to do something completely and utterly idiotic to ruin the lives of others but must have been side tracked. Or somehow it backfired and ended up killing himself. But that was unlikely as the great and almighty Lord Voldemort would not be that stupid as to point a wand at himself.

So as he had a gaze around, a tall, lean figure with half-moon glasses and a crooked nose drifted half-heartedly towards the confused evil mastermind. He wore a long gown that covered his feet and his long silver-white beard stretched past his waist. The smile was almost accusing but welcome as he floated up to Voldemort who was still staring at the breath-taking scenery.

"So… where are we?" Dumbledore inquired to the still confused Voldemort with an amusing look.

"And you're askin' me?!Where the hell are we? And what are those over there in the distance?" He demanded while squinting towards the sun.

"I suppose it would rely on you deciding where we are. I would make a guess at a mix between my school and your orphanage" As Dumbledore said this he took a sideways glance at Voldemort who had a screwed up face. It looked like a little kid about to throw a tantrum. And he did.

"You're lying!! I can see it in your face! You know exactly where we are!! Why won't you tell me! No one tells me anything! Even my own death eaters won't tell me my own plans!! The world is against me and I'm gonna blame you!! Because you're right here and I don't think anyone else is around!" He screamed at the top of his lungs while smashing his fists against the dewy soft grass. Most of what he said was muffled as his face was practically buried in the ground on which he was spitting his dummy.

"Now, now, just because everyone thinks you're the most evil person in the world who wants to destroy everybody's lives especially those you call enemies, doesn't mean you can blame other people. What would happen if I told you there was another way—"

He was cut off by a sudden scream of anger that came from the horizon. The same place Voldemort was squinting at just a few moments ago. The only possible explanation would be that other people had found their location and were hunting them down.

From a distance, it looked as if a forest was moving. There was a faint, but increasing, red glow between the approaching forest and the blue horizon.

The yelling didn't cease, if anything, it grew louder.

As the forest reached the bottom of the hill that Dumbledore and Voldemort just realised they were standing on, the yelling stopped.

"There he is!", "The Coward", "Ha! Hiding behind Dumbledore!" and "Childish!" were coming from the many moving mouths from the crowd.

As you may have guessed, the forest was not a forest, but an angry mob ready to strike Voldemort down for killing them. They held pitchforks and swords, their stakes alight and pointing towards the top of the hill.

They were ready for more war.

Meanwhile, as the crowd grew closer, Voldemort had been becoming less of a snake-like creature and more of a young boy by the name of Tom Riddle. All his life 'achievements' and destructive moments became distant memories within his mind. They were like a nightmare.

He was the first to notice, with his slits for eyes and flat ears, that the oncoming forest was an angry mob coming to kill him. Yet he could not fully comprehend why.

He snaked behind Dumbledore and peeped through his glowing beard looking like a child shying away from a parent's new friend.

"Don't let them kill me! You promised there was another way! Anything! Just let me live! Pretty Please? With a cherry on top?" A voice begged, coming through the silver hair. He said the last part with an attempt at the puppy-dog eyes.

Dumbledore looked pleased at all this. It was as if he was conspiring against Voldemort with the crowd to get him to beg for his life. It was to make him understand what havoc he created, and the way for him to fix it. Yes the great and powerful Dark Lord was begging at the feet of the pathetic and wasted Dumbledore, the only one who could save him now.

Once everyone had had their say about Voldemort, it was quiet. Except for the slow whisper from behind the waist length beard, "You Promised" escaping from the snake-like mouth that never moved as he spoke.

They were all waiting for Dumbledore to speak. He opened his mouth and closed it again. Hesitant of the way he wanted to say what should be said. But Dumbledore was not a man to break it slowly; he put it straight to the point. So he said,

"You are all dead. There is no point trying to kill him as it would not work. Or help for that matter. I have a plan that will save not only you, but Voldemort from himself. As well as all those out there who are crying over us all now.

"If you would kindly put away the pitchforks, swords and lighted stakes, we can all have tea and biscuits and chat about the misfortunate. And my brilliant plan."

The look on everyones faces was one of amazement. The facts that he wanted to sit and drink tea whilst a murderer was in their midst and those left behind were crying themselves to sleep! He must be nuts!

Yet they all seemed mesmerized by his words. Slowly, one by one, the people came out of the trance.

A long table was conjured, along with tea and an array of biscuits and cake slices, as a click came from Dumbledore's right hand.

Dumbledore gave everyone the choice of where to sit and made his way to the end of the table where two chairs sat side by side, tall and red with gold rims over the tip of the chair and along the armrests. The table was covered with a soft blue cloth that reached to the ground, and on the skirts were little stars and planets.

So once everyone had been seated in an appropriate order, Dumbledore silenced them as he opened his mouth to speak about his plan. But before he dove into its details, he had a few things to say to start off.

"As you all know, the ones we all left behind are weeping and crying silently, even to put them to sleep. My wish is that you all return, but that comes later with my plan. For now, as we are all here, I wish to say why we are here, although here will look different to each individual. This is because we are all in a coma-like state. I have placed this above all Hogwarts since after my death, as a hope that my students and their families do not need to suffer for any losses that may have occurred at my school.

"You may be asking, what the hell, you can't bring back the dead. Yet we are not dead. It is a state of the unconscious mind where a human's soul chooses to stay with the dead or float back to the surface, as you may call it. Many people may be too weak to keep this position we are in whereas those who suffer minor injuries would be able to resurface. It is my spell that keeps us in this neutral state between death and life, no matter of what state you 'died' in. From here on you may choose whether to go on, you will meet those of your family you lost and will be reunited. Those who wish to return to the loved ones in reality may come with me later.

"Now on to the plan I thought, most of which I told you already without realising. We will all return to reality, from there if you wish to die then you can, but we will remain in a coma for the rest of the three months. This was to ensure our souls would have time to heal and remain whole for the remainder of our lives. "

This speech was given without any interruptions. It was freakishly silent, as the place they were had no birds or other living creatures. No civilisation whatsoever around them.

They all sat silently, making sure he had no more to say before they dug in to the biscuits and cake. A cup of tea was given to each of them as the way they wished.

As everyone was filling themselves up, Dumbledore spoke so softly only Voldemort could hear what he had to say.

"I need to speak to you alone, before you leave if you don't mind." And with that he conjured some sherbet lemons that cheered him up so much.

All the while Voldemort was wondering what he had to say, would he say he couldn't go back? Had he created too much havoc? Or would he get a second chance? To live with the boy? The boy. Did he live? Die? If he died wouldn't he be here? Bitter thoughts ran through his mind for a time while he thought of a reason for the boy not being here.

He listened to other conversations while he was eating. Dumbledore was speaking to a red head, perhaps a Weasley. Yes, one of the twins.

"—Are they well headmaster? All I remember was Percy was joking about the ministry and then a large blast in the air and all was gone…" the sad faced Weasley twin asked of his family.

"Yes they appear very sad indeed, George is unsure of continuing with your shop and Ron and Ginny are not sure how to deal with your loss. But yes they should be ecstatic once you awaken. Trust me, Mo—Your mum has been sitting by your bed, refusing to sleep, using refreshing spells over and over, waiting for your return… yes should be soon"

After everyone was full and about to be sick with all the cakes and biscuits, Dumbledore ordered everyone into groups. The ones who chose to leave and those who chose to return. Only a couple remained behind, nobodies they were to the wizarding world, they only fought for Hogwarts.

The return was a lot like apparition, except they didn't apparate as they are inside their own minds. The last ones left were Dumbledore and Voldemort, waiting for the conclusion to the day, if that's what it is.

He took a deep breath and walked away, with a jerk of his head as for Voldemort to follow. They walked in silence for a while, before reaching scenery so beautiful it was like a fairytale.

They were standing on the edge of a cliff. The open sea stretched in front of them, blue, with a faint shimmer of purple. It was clear, yet the bottom was out of reach for human eyes. The golden red sun hang suspended just above the horizon casting its silvery glow over the sea. It seemed either the sum was rising or fading into the sea, to end another day.

Dumbledore stood, hesitating to speak, trying to choose the correct words. Voldemort now barely reached Dumbledore's waist, staring like a child watching a hero admiringly.

He knew there was another way, but somehow didn't want to know. He didn't care. He wanted to leave. Dumbledore gave him that choice, yet what made him stay back was the slight chance all would not be lost. But the aging must have something to do with it. The centre of his thoughts was the repetition of Dumbledore's statement 'There is another way', it was becoming more of an irritation and less of a worry as he stood beside him waiting.

"There is no other way to say this so I'm going straight to the point. You may return. BUT there are conditions." Dumbledore suddenly spoke, slowly but clearly as if to a child explaining his misbehaviour. He took a glance at Voldemort.

"We don't have much time, it will soon begin and I'll give you your conditions and rules.

"You must restart you life. Everything will occur over again, but you will start at the orphanage. You will be adopted, and you won't know you're a wizard until the age of 11. But, from then on you must repeat all your misdoings, the mission is to right all wrongs.

"You will be followed by your death eaters, but they will be your admirers. You will be smart and your greatness will be put towards your schooling and career choice. Any thought of continuing with your previous life, will result in nightmares through your unconscious repeatedly until the action is righted.

"Do you understand what must be done, you must right all wrongs, give a chance to those who missed a family life, and change the lives you endangered."

Voldemort was listening intently, hanging on every word.

So this was the way to return. To turn my greatness, my power, to good things from the damage I caused. Yet I will have friends, and a chance to 'love'. Yes, I will comply with those conditions, they sound fair. I will save everyone from me, when I'm done, perhaps I can live a life of peace, rather than ending in a war.

"Yes, but what about the boy? Will he be young again?"

"they will all return and forget the life of dangers and dark times. You must save them Tom, you must." He looked at Voldemort for this last sentence, longingly as if hoping it would sink in.

"I will not be with you all the way, only can I watch you from Hogwarts. I will not hear of you before you turn 11. Then may we review your progress."

The sun was now orange, just a semi-circle on the horizon, a tinge of pink on the outskirts. The sudden surrounding clouds had a tint of grey, increasing, but disappearing over the faraway hills.

They stood, how long, they didn't know.

"Its time. Remember what I told you. Don't seek me. I'll find you when its ready. Be good." He spoke with that same longing as if still deciding whether this was still a good idea. With Voldemort just a toddler, ready for bed, Dumbledore sent him off to wake in a new, and more hopeful, life.