"I've got to go back, haven't I?"
"That is up to you."
"I've got a choice?"
"Oh yes." Dumbledore smiled at him. "We are in King's Cross, you say? I think that if you decided not to go back, you would be able to . . . let's say . . . board a train."
"And where would it take me?"
"On," said Dumbledore simply.
Silence fell as Harry contemplated Dumbledore's meaning.
He gazed at Dumbledore with tired eyes, eyes that were far too old for a seventeen year old. Harry looked longingly at the shifting clouds of the train station, then ducked his head guiltily. He knew what he wanted was somewhat selfish, but wasn't his very last wish allowed to be at least somewhat selfish? Ron and Hermione knew what to do – as did Neville; he had made sure of it.
"Can I send them one last message?" he asked, unsure of what he wanted the answer to be.
Dumbledore's blue eyes had tears in them, but he still smiled. "There is a way, of sorts," he assured Harry. "As you pass through, simply focus on what you want to say and who you want to hear it. They will."
He stood up, and Harry followed suit. They walked together toward the misty train tracks, so the seats they had been sitting in and the whimpering, unwanted child beneath the bench were soon out of their sight.
"Tell me one last thing," said Harry, stopping before the tracks. "Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"
Dumbledore smiled indulgingly as he gestured around. "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"
And they walked forward, Harry thinking only of the faces of Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny.
I'm safe. I'm alright. Be strong.
Harry's eyes opened to bright sunshine, a blue sky and white clouds. He felt a warm breeze across his face and heard quiet whispers from other people who were off to one side, out of his field of vision.
He sat up, feeling light and carefree for the first time in a long, long while. Where am I?He wondered, until it all came back.
The clearing.
Death Eaters cackling.
A flash of green light.
A white train station.
Dumbledore.
Something told him that he should feel distressed, or at least worried for the outcome of the war, but he couldn't help feeling content.
"Harry!"
He sat up and looked around, the shout sounding vaguely familiar. "Cedric!" He gasped aloud, goggling at the tall Hufflepuff, looking exactly as he had the first time he had seen him before the Quidditch World Cup.
"Hey Harry! How've you been?" The seventeen year old's face was relaxed and happy.
"Fine. Well, really good actually. I feel great right now. And you are-"
"You're supposed to!" Cedric interrupted joyfully. "And I'm great! This place is beautiful and peaceful and well… amazing. And dad showed up a little while ago. It was nice to see him again."
There was the sort of silence that would have been terribly awkward in life, but in death was a pleasant break in conversation as they sat on the soft grass.
"You know, there are more people who want to say hello to you."
"Really?"
"They've been waiting for a long time. Almost seventeen years."
Harry's eyes widened in realization and he looked around almost frantically, as if he could draw them to him.
"Can I-"
"Of course you can! They're actually right over there," he pointed to two figures who were sitting on a hill a short way behind him. Seeing Harry's slightly anxious face, he continued. "You can wait if you really want to. Time doesn't have much meaning here and, even if it did, a few more minutes wouldn't hurt."
"It's not that. Not at all… I just- just don't know…"
"Don't know what to say?" asked Cedric understandingly. "I totally understand. Just remember that actions speak louder than words sometimes. Nice seeing you!"
He winked and walked away, leaving Harry to make a choice. Hesitantly, the black-haired boy stood up and headed toward the grassy mound. Despite the distance, he arrived only a few moments after he had started the journey. The two stood up, and he was face to face with his parents for the first time he could remember.
They smiled at him, his mother looking up slightly and his father looking down. Harry examined every inch of their faces, seeing the way his mother's mouth crinkled into dimples at the corners and the way his father's hazel eyes sparkled with mischief, even in death. He had seen them only moments before – or had it been minutes? Hours even?- but he couldn't get enough of seeing them in front of him, present and tangible.
"You've been so brave."
His mother broke the silence as she echoed her earlier words, and reached out to stroke his cheek, running her smooth fingers over his skin, making contact for the first time in sixteen and a half years. "So brave."
Harry leaned into her warm hand, relishing in his mother's caress. Without truly realizing it, he took a step forward and wrapped her in a hug, resting his head on her shoulder, tears of joy flowing down his cheeks.
"I can't-just can't-I-"
"Shh. It's alright. Shh, my little Harry. You're safe."
In life he would have felt uncomfortable. Even Mrs. Weasley's hugs weren't so warm and inviting and safe. She didn't radiate love and happiness in the same way as his mother did. Having never been hugged in such a way, he would have tried to escape, tried to lock his feelings away so he wouldn't have to think about them.
In death all was accepting, all was beauty and comfort and joy.
A strong hand rubbed his back and soon he found himself in his father's arms.
"Couldn't let Lily have you all to myself, could I? You're my son too, you know." His grin spread over his whole face.
At the words 'my son', Harry had to wipe a few more happy tears out of his eyes. He embraced his father as well, enjoying the feeling of strong arms around him, holding him tightly.
"You're here," James whispered simply into his ear. "You're here and now we're all together again."
Harry hugged his father even closer, feeling the beating of his heart and the warmth of his body.
They could have stayed there for the rest of eternity, but for another pair of men who sprung up behind James.
"What about us then? What are we, chopped liver?"
Sirius' voice caused Harry to straighten up, surprised. "Sirius?" he whispered, disbelieving. "Remus?" he continued, seeing the man next to his godfather.
"Of course it's me! I only saw you about five minutes ago- is it that difficult to believe that I'm here? That would only happen when pigs fly. Actually, only if Hell froze over. I could make a pig fly any day."
Harry grinned, a chuckle escaping his lips. Looking to his parents for permission, he inched a bit closer to Sirius and Remus. His mother smiled indulgingly, nodding with her head. "You don't need our permission, so go!"
Smiling wider, he ran into the arms of his godfather, breathing in his musky, dog-like scent once again. "I'm so sorry-" he started, but was cut off almost instantly.
"Don't give me that," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "What do you take me for? That's exactly how I would've wanted to go down. Fighting for you and the light. You could even throw in fighting Bella, though it wouldn't be a necessity. Any Death Eater would do, really. My only regret is that I didn't finish her off."
Harry smiled into his chest, laughing silently at the slightly disappointed air that Sirius spoke with. "I'm still glad to see you, though," he said, looking at his godfather.
"I'd be quite disappointed if you weren't," Sirius said, pouting slightly. "And disappointed, and distraught, and sad, and… Mooney! Help me! I don't know any other sad-sounding words!" He called suddenly to Remus.
Harry, his parents and Remus all laughed.
"That's your own fault, Padfoot," he said, rolling his eyes. "If you had only paid attention in school-"
"If I had paid attention in school, I'd be a shivering wreck," Sirius retorted. "It would have been utterly unhelpful. Much easier to just ask you when I need something."
Harry smiled at their antics, but grew anxious as he thought about what Remus had said before.
"Earlier you-you said Tonks was, well, heretoo?" he asked, dreading the answer, hoping he was mistaken.
"Certainly," Remus said, his smile fading slightly. "She's with her father right now, but she's here."
"But Teddy-"
"Again Harry, he will grow up knowing what we died for, knowing that we died so he could have a safe future, without having to worry about the war."
"It's just- now I'm gone and he doesn't-"
"Andromeda will take care of him," Remus assured him, stepping forward to place a hand on Harry's shoulder. "And I'm sure Molly will love the chance to dote over another child, not to mention the rest of the Weasleys." He smiled at the thought.
There was silence for a moment, but it was quickly broken by Sirius. "Well now that you're here, we need to have a welcome party! We'll need cake, balloons, streamers, ice cream, treacle tart, music, Parcheesi-"
"Parcheesi?" Harry asked incredulously. "Seriously?"
"It's my favorite Muggle game!" Sirius said defensively. "There's nothing wrong with it! Stop laughing!"
The other four were laughing heartily, all having been introduced to the game sometime in their lives.
"Out of all the games you could have chosen- Parcheesi?" Harry asked after he got his giggling under control. "Not Monopoly or Pit or something?"
"Monopoly was alright," Sirius said grudgingly. "But Parcheesi is so much better!"
"It's because he always wins," James whispered into Harry's ear. "But he is almost definitely cheating." He said it all quite seriously, causing Harry to lose himself to another fit of laughter.
The four adults looked on happily, glad that the boy who had been so serious and focused on the war during life could finally relax without the need to look over his shoulder constantly.
"But seriously," Sirius continued as the five of them set out after Harry had recovered, simply walking together. "Could we dosomething special? Maybe some shepherd's pie or a turkey dinner? I've heard they're quite popular for celebrating Thanksgiving in the Americas."
"Thanksgiving? That holiday where they celebrate the refugees from religious persecution in Europe going across to the Americas? They didn't even achieve anything."
The four adults stopped and looked at him, dumbfounded. "Hermione," he said shortly, grinning broadly again at the looks on their faces. "You can learn a lot if you just listen to her talk sometimes. Even if it does get annoying sometimes, she knows a lot of random knowledge."
Remus and Sirius laughed at learning the source of his information. "Know-it-all Gryffindor in Harry's year," he informed James and Lily. "Worse than I was, even."
The two laughed at that, continuing to walk with the group, with no real direction or destination in mind. The grass field extended as far as they could see, allowing them space to walk forever if they wanted to.
They walked in silence for a long while, smiles on all of their faces, the warm sun and slight breeze pleasant on their faces.
"I'd still like a turkey dinner," Sirius announced suddenly. "Where do you think we could find one?"
Cute little one shot, hope you liked! Please tell me what you thought! It was originally inspired by the What if? Competition, "What if Harry decided to get on the train at 'Kings Cross', instead of waking up?". I had to use two of the five prompts: trick or treat, when pigs fly, turkey dinner, "if you've got it, flaunt it", and Parcheesi. I am quite proud to say I used three! :D
This was also written for:
The Greenhouse Competition: Poppy
HP Potions Competition: Angel's Trumpet Draught