He arrives in an empty train station that would have been familiar, had it not been for the bleached white that covered everything. There would be no trains coming for a very long time. And so he took his place on the empty bench nearest to him and he waited.
Only mere months had passed and another arrived. A swiveling eye met with his own, before the owner trudged on by with a jerking nod of acknowledgement. The train came and once again he was alone.
People began filling the train station rapidly as time went on. There were many adults. But they were far outnumbered by children. Some he knew from his years in the school. He had seen them in passing, in rare visits to his office, at the tables in the great hall. The others were smaller and unknown to him. To young to have yet reached puberty, to young to look so scared.
He would guide them to their trains. He would dry their tears . He would watch the trains leave the station far to full.
And then he would wait.
After a long time of emptiness in the station, children from the school began to appear again. A Slytherin boy covered in burns. A man with bright red hair missing a counterpart. A girl with her neck ripped open and fear in her eyes.
He guides them to their train as it rolls in. The Slytherin sits on the opposite end of the train. The man and the girl hold hands. Though they were not friends, they are comforted by not being alone.
A man arrives in the station. Neck bleeding, soaking the ends of his greasy hair. His eyes do not meet those of the man in the station. Not even as the man calls his name.
His train arrives and he is gone as quickly as he came.
A couple comes in. A man who looks older than he is and a woman who looks tired and sad. Her hair which is so unusually beautiful, has faded into grey. Their hands are clasped tightly together, as if the other will disappear if they let go.
They whisper worries about the tiny life they left behind. They board the train knowing they will never see their son again.
A tiny boy, to small for his age, comes along. He left behind a brother.
The man guides him to the train with a few more children.
His brother never follows.
He meets Harry and guides him away from the trains. The meeting is temporary, for it is not yet his time. Harry fades and once again the man is alone.
Very few children arrive in Harry's wake.
A young girl taps on his shoulder. She has been waiting here for many years for him. His eyes soften and hold a careful fondness.
She tells him that she forgives him. And finally the man's train rolls into the station.
Together, hand in hand, Albus and Ariana step into the train and its doors close behind them.
And once again the station is empty and white and quiet.