Chapter Two: Talking with Dumbledore.

Harry Potter's eyes went wide as he was struck by the killing curse, not from Voldemort, but from Bellatrix. He was not alive to feel his body slam against the tree. All was silent. Harry figured that, since he understood what Silence was, he must not be totally gone. As this dawned on him, so did the fact that he was sitting down. Surely, he reasoned, if he was sitting, he must have had a body with which to sit. As everything fell into place, he opened his eyes and, with an astonished gasp, saw Dumbledore.

"H-hello, Dumbledore," he said, utterly bemused.

"Hello, Harry," said the late Albus, smiling. No, he was positively beaming at the boy, his eyes twinkling with delight.

Rage filled Harry as Dumbledore smiled at him. Yes, smile at the pawn you've sacrificed, you barmy old twit, he thought bitterly. Dubledore saw this, and frowned again. "What is troubling you, dear boy?" Before harry knew it, he was standing and shouting. "Stop smiling at me like that, you damnable old fool!" he shouted at the ex-headmaster. Dumbledore looked taken aback, but quickly hid it. "You just want to pretend that this will all work out for the best, don't you!" continued the enraged boy. "But Voldemort is still alive, and people will continue to die!" Harry's eyes filled with tears as pictures swam in his head of Ginny, falling in a flash of green light. Then Hermione, and Ron, and the rest of the Weasleys.

Harry fell back into the chair he had been sitting in, shaking. Dumbledore thought for a moment, before speaking. "Harry, I'm sure you're quite upset, but let me explain," he said, calmly. Harry shot him a nasty look. "You see, what was killed was not you, but the part of the soul still inside you," he carried on.

"S-so I'm not really dead?" Harry asked, his eyes widening. "No, dear boy, on the whole, I think not." Dumblecore smiled. Harry felt relief fill him, then doubt. "But Voldemort wasn't the one who killed me." Harry said, looking hopeful. Dumbledore, on the other hand, looked frightened. "What did you say, Harry?" he asked, and the shock did not leave his face.

Harry looked taken aback, but answered. "It was Bellatrix. I involuntarily raised my wand, and she killed me." Dumbledore was positively livid at the news. "Dumbledore?" Harry asked uncertainly. "I-is everything all right?" he asked, fearing the worst.

Dumbledore got up and paced back and forth. He muttered things Harry could not hear. Harry watched him for a moment, and took in his surroundings. He was sitting in Dumbledore's office, much to his surprise. The portraits that lined the walls, however, were completely empty.

"Dumbledore?" harry asked again, and Albus looked up. "What is going on?" Dumbledore sat back down, behind his desk, and sighed. "I am so sorry, Harry. It was supposed to be Voldemort that killed you. I should have foreseen the possibility that it might be someone else." Dumbledore let out a shaky sigh. "The Horcrux has not been destroyed."

Harry swallowed hard. "What does that mean, professor?" he asked, shaking himself.

Dumbledore looked up at Harry, then back at his desk. "You are dead, Harry. I'm so sorry," he said, a tear streaking down his lined cheek. The rage that Harry had before was long gone now. "Surely there can be something?" he asked, sounding hopeful. Dumbledore shook his head, and gave a small sob. Harry fell back against his chair.

Both Harry and Dumbledore jumped when a soft knocking came from the door.