The Afterlife

Regulus opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground, and there was someone stood above him, watching him. It was bright, and it took him a second for his eyes to grow adjusted to the light. He tried to remember what had happened.

He had been in a cave, trying to retrieve the Slytherin locket – a Horcrux that Lord Voldemort had created. His plan was to give the locket to his house elf Kreacher – which he had done – and order him to destroy it. He thought he was going to die.

But he was not dead. He was lying on the ground, now fully awake. He felt elated. This was a second chance for him.

"I'm alive!" he breathed out excitedly. The person standing above him leaned over, closer to his face.

Hold on a minute, he thought, as he took in the face of the person. I recognise this person.

And slowly, Regulus started to work things out. The person standing above him, staring at him with such pity, was his Uncle Alphard. He hadn't seen the man in years. He had always preferred Sirius, not to mention he had been disowned from the Black family. But that wasn't the reason that Regulus was frowning at his uncle.

His uncle Alphard had died a few years ago.

Which could only mean one thing.

"No, you're dead," Alphard said, reaching a hand down for Regulus to take.

Regulus closed his eyes and opened them again, hoping that he would see something else. But there was Alphard, standing there.

"If I take your hand, will I go to heaven?" Regulus asked.

"Where do you think you are, Regulus?" Alphard asked.

Regulus looked around. It was bright. It was white. It definitely wasn't hell. "This is heaven?"

"If you want to call it that," Alphard said. "This is the afterlife. Let me show you."

Regulus swallowed and nodded, reaching out for his uncle's hand and letting himself be pulled up. It was a sad thing for him to let go of life, but he knew that after all the years of doing the wrong thing, that he had finally done something worthwhile.

So Regulus stepped into the light with Alphard, not stopping to look back. Death was welcoming.

~The End~