On the Other Side

A/N Whilst this fic is purely a figment of my imagination, the characters do in fact belong to HP God JK Rowling

He stood there staring.

He was alone. Whispers carried on the air, and he walked towards the sound. In front of him was the great expansive lake. The surface of the water reflected the sky above. Hyacinths and roses grew around the edge of the lake. The roses were nodding their heads in the breeze. The scent of the flowers greeted his nostrils, and he breathed in deep.

He sighed. He had no memory of how he got there. He had no idea who he was. He sat down at the edge of the lake. He listened. The whispering was getting louder, but the words couldn't be heard. He looked at the sky. The dawn still hadn't broken. The few clouds that were there seemed to be suspended there.

A flash of memory appeared behind his eyes. He blinked. What was that? He asked himself. He felt he should know what it was he saw, but for some reason, he couldn't grasp it. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. He listened to the whispering, and breathed in the floral scent of the air. A slight smile played on his lips; the scent of the flowers reminded him of…

Lily.

He opened his eyes as the memories flooded back to him like a tidal wave, and he felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He closed his eyes again and let the memories wash over him.

…the red haired woman had her back to him as he crept up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and said, "guess who?" making her jump. She spun around, frowning at him. She tried to hold the frown but her face trembled as a smile broke through, lighting up her face. She looked radiant…

A smile crept to his face as he reminisced. He screwed up his face as he tried to hold the memory, but as they do, the memory faded. He sighed. He looked up at the sky, it was still dawn. He closed his eyes again, and as he did, another memory pushed its way forward in his mind…

…he was playing on the hearthrug with his son. The child had his mother's eyes. He looked up at his wife and smiled. "Dada." They both looked around at their son in surprise. They looked at each other again and grinned. James looked at his son with pride…

James sat up. Looking around he realised that Lily wasn't there with him. Relief flooded through him. He hoped it meant things had worked out better for her than for him. As he thought this, a flashback. The cold, high-pitched laugh. The cruel voice. He shuddered at the recollection. He saw in his mind's eye the green flash of light, and he knew. He held his head in his hands and broke down.

"Lily, Harry, I have failed you…"

The mist cleared as she looked around. There was no one around, but she sensed she wasn't alone. She heard whispering, but could not locate where they came from. But instead of making her uneasy, she felt strangely at peace.

Lily surveyed her surroundings. She seemed to be standing at the edge of the lake at Hogwarts, the sky was pale blue over the mountains in the east, but almost black to the west. It was as if the sun had not yet risen, but was hinted at. There were few clouds in the sky, but the clouds that could be seen were like the softest cotton wool ever. The air was soft with rain that would never come. Lily smiled as she recalled all the fun times she had at the lake with her friends. She sat down next to the water's edge. As she did so, a thought came to her.

This thought teased her, it danced around her mind, enticing her, but as she reached for it, it danced out of reach. She was forgetting something. She lay down in the long, soft grass, and closed her eyes. She breathed deeply. The air smelled of the flowers that grew nearby. She raised her arms and rested her head on her hands. She had never felt so relaxed. Her mind continued to search for this thought that resonated around her head, but the harder she reached for it, the more illusive it became.

She sighed. This was like trying to remember the ingredients of a difficult potion. She chuckled to herself. The whispering she had heard when she arrived seemed to be getting louder. She listened to the whispers, straining her ears for the words being spoken. But like the thought, she couldn't grasp hold of them.

She opened her eyes and looked at the sky. The sky hadn't changed. It was a perpetual dawn. She closed her eyes again.

A vision swam behind her eyelids.

…The baby toddled towards her with his arms raised, he grinned cheekily at her. The firelight reflected in his hair, shimmering with colours of blues and black. His green eyes, like those she saw every morning in the mirror, twinkled. "Mama." A tear welled up in her eyes. Her son's first word…

She sat up, opening her eyes as she did so. A scream caught in her throat.

She uttered one word…

"Harry!"

She heard whispers just beyond the hill. She walked towards the sound.

As she crested the hill, she looked into the next valley. Her eyes drank in the sight before her. Sat on the ground was a familiar figure. He sat with his back to her, but she knew who it was.

He had the same mussed up hair as always.

He knew he was being watched. He looked around. On the crest of the hill he saw the woman from his vision. He stood up to look at her properly. She was as beautiful now, as she ever was. But seeing her standing there was pure torment for him. The relief he had felt when he first arrived, at her not being there with him was now gone. He loved her so much it hurt to think about it. But her being here meant things went as bad for her as it did for him.

"Lily…."

She started down the hill towards him. He started up the hill towards her. They met each other with open arms. She buried her face into his shoulder and cried. He held her as she wept, and he was unable to stop the tidal wave of emotions that ran through him. Their tears mingled as they kissed.

They both knew what this meant. They had not survived.

They let go of each other and they stood at the lake's edge. As they looked over the water, James put his arm around his wife. The whispers got louder. They both turned to see who was coming. A whole crowd of people were walking towards them. As they approached, James and Lily stared in disbelief. There were people here before them that they had not seen for years.

They watched from a distance, knowing that the realisation would not be easy. As the couple stood side by side, the group silently, but unanimously decided it was time to meet them.

They walked towards them, talking quietly amongst themselves.

As they approached, the couple turned to face them. There was a collective gasp.

"James, Lily…"

"No, it can't be…"

"But what about…"

A tall woman approached the couple.

"Welcome, James, welcome Lily. As sad as the circumstances are, we are pleased to see you again." James mother said.

"Mum, Dad, where's Harry?" said James.

"He survived. The war is over thanks to him."

"I need to see him. Now!" said Lily.

A few people in the group looked at each other at her words. But her mother stepped forwards through the crowd.

"Lily, he is fine. Come and see"

The crowd parted to let James, Lily and their parents through. James and Lily looked at each other. They followed their parents towards a shallow pool. James's Dad swept his hand over the surface of the water and said under his breath "Harry Potter"

The surface of the pool shimmered, and as the image took form, Lily reached for James's hand, and they watched together.

The Vision in the Pool

Harry slept on as Hagrid passed the sleeping child to Dumbledore. Hagrid suppressed a howl of grief that was welling up inside of him, as Dumbledore placed Harry on the doorstep of number 4 Privet Drive

James and Lily held each other, watching as their son was being taken towards his new life.

A/N The idea for the pool at the end was inspired by a book I read by Mary Stanton. I just tweaked it a bit for the fic.

Borrowed from Philosophers Stone