A/N: Thanks to everyone who read this story and a special thanks to those who reviewed.

Thanks to excessivelyperky this chapter went through beta and revision.

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CHAPTER 7 – THINGS DIDN'T GO AS PLANNED

PERCY

"Oops? That definitively isn't a professional attitude." Mr. Roarke chastised his companion.

"What I can say, boss? This isn't what I expected."

"Tattoo, you know how much I detest it when a guest dies in his or her fantasy, don't you?"

"Yes, boss, I know. But it's not my fault!"

"It's never your fault, Tattoo," Mr. Roarke answered and walked toward the limp body on the floor.

Mr. Roarke pulled out a wand from his robes pocket and waved it over Percy's body. He levitated the body and walked out of the room, completely ignoring the frozen scene. Tattoo ran to keep up with the bigger man.

They walked quickly toward a nondescript door and entered a very bare room. There was a single bed and two chairs. The walls were white, like the door, and the windows were covered by white drapes as well.

Mr. Roarke put Percy on the bed, canceled the Levitation charm, and sat by his side. Tattoo seated himself on the other chair and tried to regain his breath.

"That was unexpected."

"Well, he didn't change as much as we might hope but this last act should count for something," Tattoo answered.

"Well, let's take care of this pesky little problem of Mr. Weasley's death," Mr. Roarke said and started an incantation in a different language.

Tattoo closed his eyes and concentrated, murmuring along with the other man.

The room seemed to fill with magic. The air became more dense and heavy. Movements were slower and demanded more energy. Then a white light shone from Percy's body and started to detach itself from the young man. It was like a very thin layer of cloud floating away from his body. The wisp rose all the way to the ceiling of the room, and disappeared there.

Mr. Roarke and Tattoo finished their murmured incantations and watched as Percy woke up, startled.

Percy recognized he was lying down and was intrigued to feel that his glasses were still perched on his face. He moved one hand to touch them and then turned his head toward the pull of magic he could feel by the side of the bed. He encountered the grave expressions of Mr. Roarke and Tattoo.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Weasley?" His host asked quietly.

Percy took a few seconds to gather his thoughts. "I should be dead," he answered, hoarsely.

"Well, if you do that in any other place than on Fantasy Island, you certainly will die," Tattoo said in his mischievous tone.

"You can't die on Fantasy Island?" Percy asked, surprised and a bit scared.

"Of course you can!" Tattoo answered, looking torn between being amused and aghast. "But we do try to protect our guests, whenever possible, Mr. Weasley."

Percy kept looking toward the two men, feeling completely lost.

"The people you interacted with weren't really alive. Magic and technology made possible for us to create the exact world necessary for any fantasy." Mr. Roarke started to explain. "So the spells you saw or cast in the fantasy weren't real. But, sometimes, if a person really believes that he or she will die, that can happen even in a fantasy environment. The mind is a very powerful thing, Mr. Weasley. So, because of the kind of fantasy you chose, we used a very powerful protection on you. And we were close by when you were hit, so we could act immediately. You thought you might die, but you couldn't believe it was true. That's the main reason we could help you." Mr. Roarke ended the explanation and fixed his stare on the young man's face.

"Ah… Well… I don't know if I understand." Percy was still lost and took a deep breath. "I don't know if I want to understand."

"Maybe it would be better if you don't try, son," Tattoo said in a condescending voice.

Mr. Roarke shot a reproachful glace to his companion and paid attention to Percy again.

"Mr. Weasley, your fantasy is obviously finished. You think that you got what you expect from it?"

Percy closed his eyes to think better. Mr. Roarke had the most penetrating eyes and it was difficult not to feel naked in front of him. Even without direct contact with those eyes, Percy felt compelled to tell the truth.

"I think I made most of the same choices. I helped a bit with Umbridge but I still chose the Ministry before my family and friends," he answered in a sad voice. "I had these feelings that I couldn't understand and they made me doubt my choices… But, in the end, I had to follow my head first."

Percy kept his eyes closed as long as he was able. But the silence was biting at him and he had to look at the other wizards.

Mr. Roarke was staring at him with clear and intense eyes. Tattoo was looking at him with a bit of pity and a bit of contempt, like he had known all along how Percy's fantasy would play out.

"Mr. Weasley," Mr. Roarke started. "Fantasies are a way to learn something about oneself, a way to retrace some steps and learn better from them. Don't regret what happened there. Learn from it."

"If you can, of course," Tattoo completed.

"We will let you rest for now, Mr. Weasley." Mr. Roarke stood up and started to walk toward the door, followed by Tattoo. "When you are ready to leave this room, just turn to your left and you will be in front of the main building of the hotel."

The two men left the room without another glance toward Percy.

The young man closed his eyes again and turned to pay attention to his own thoughts. His mind was a mess. Memories from his fantasy were mixed with his real life and Percy was starting to have difficulty in separating them. He stayed there, not moving, for a long time, lost in memories and thoughts, without being able to understand or decide what any of them meant.

Finally his stomach groaned, shaking him out of his musings. Percy stood up slowly, rearranged his clothes and walked out of the room, following Mr. Roarke's directions automatically.

He was walking in front of the main building, thinking about going inside directly to his room and requesting some dinner to be served there, when an unexpected voice shook him out of this thoughts once more.

"Percy?" Ron asked astounded. "What are you doing here?"

Percy turned to encounter his younger brother and his new wife, looking at him in surprise.

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HERMIONE

The couple stayed embraced for some time with no need for conversations, just enjoying the feeling of being together and connected again. Until Ron plunged ahead with some Gryffindor courage.

"What does this really mean, Hermione?"

"I don't understand, Ron."

"Are we going back to the way things were before and pretending these last days never happened?"

The girl was stricken silent. She had some difficulty in looking into the young man's eyes.

"What…" Hermione gulped and took a deep breath. To stutter or to not know what to say wasn't like her at all. "What do you want, Ron?"

The redhead stood up and walked toward the window, running a hand through his hair.

"Right now I want everything back the way it was." He turned to look at Hermione. "I just don't know if I can just forget what happened here."

Hermione wrangled her hands nervously. "Maybe we shouldn't forget exactly. Maybe we should try to learn something from it."

"So, Hermione," Ron couldn't stop a smile. Then he was serious again. "What is the lesson here?"

"That none of us should take the other for granted." She kept breathing in and out, an exercise to keep calm. "I must learn to look beyond logic and book knowledge to live my life. And you must learn to control your temper, to listen before jumping into conclusions. I wasn't planning to do anything shameful with Viktor. I just wanted to have some fun."

"I might have jumped to conclusions here, but with the leads you gave, it was the logical conclusion."

Hermione humphed but conceded. "If I had tried to explain better, we might not have been in this situation."

"If you had tried to explain at all!"

"Ron!" she responded, exasperated.

"Mione!" Ron exclaimed back to her in the same tone but with amusement in his voice.

They stared into each other eyes for a moment and then they exploded in laughter. Hermione jumped out of the bed to hug her husband and Ron held his wife really tight.

"Don't leave me out ever again, Mione…"

"I won't, Ron, I promise I won't."

The couple only left their room at lunchtime. They walked calmly toward the restaurant by the pool and they sat to eat in the midst of the afternoon sun.

The situation was still a bit awkward between them. Without talking about it, both Ron and Hermione reverted to their behavior in the beginning of their relationship. They held hands and talked hesitantly, none of them wanting to step on a forbidden or uncomfortable subject.

The rest of the day was spent like the vacation Ron dreamed about when they first arrived. Some hours basking on the sun by the beach. A leisurely walk through the beautiful tropical garden. Their conversation was a bit strained but both were making an effort to smooth things between them.

They watched the sunset with a group of old people that seemed much more enthusiastic and energetic than the young couple. Afterwards they walked back to the hotel, planning to eat at the restaurant. But they stopped short of the entrance of the building because they had encountered a person that neither of them could imagine seeing on Fantasy Island.

"Percy?" Ron asked astounded. "What are you doing here?"

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SEVERUS

Severus opened his eyes to find himself in a white room with three chairs. Mr. Roarke and Tattoo were already seated. Snape forced his trembling legs to carry him to the last chair and fell on it without a second thought about grace. He closed his eyes and tried to even out his breath. The silence stretched until it became almost another presence in the room.

"Why finish your fantasy at this point, Mr. Snape? You could have a few more months worth of good times," Tattoo asked genuinely curious.

Snape took a deep breath and started to answer without open his eyes. "There were too good memories. I have to go back to my real life and these memories will only make it more difficult."

Severus couldn't believe how open he was with these two strangers. Or maybe he could be open with them exactly because they were strangers and when he left Fantasy Island he wouldn't meet or talk to them ever again.

The silence was becoming uncomfortable and Snape opened his eyes to meet the sharp stares of the two wizards.

"You thought you could exchange some memories from others, Mr. Snape?" Mr. Roarke asked.

"I don't know what I was thinking anymore. I… I thought I could just breeze over this entire fantasy and confirm all my beliefs and then go back to my life happy that I was right all this time."

"Well, if you had told us that beforehand, we could have explained that this isn't the way things work," Tattoo answered with a malicious glint back in his voice and his eyes.

"Fantasies are supposed to be like lessons or entertainment, Mr. Snape," Mr. Roarke said, ignoring Tattoo's comment. "If you don't have doubts about something, you don't need to do something else to confirm it."

Snape nodded and closed his eyes again, slouching against the back of the chair.

"I don't know if things could have happened this way in reality, but the possibility hurts." Deep inside his mind Severus was screaming to his mouth, 'Shut up and stop saying these damned things out loud and to people that could use it against him'! But he really couldn't help himself. He needed to talk, to understand.

"And now I would walk around thinking about these possibilities and seeing them wasted in my real life."

"If you take the lesson into your heart, maybe something can be salvaged." Mr. Roarke's voice was soothing. "You may not have the close and profound relationships showed in your fantasy, but you can try to approach the ones still around and build something new and different."

"The times have changed," Tattoo still had the glint in his eyes, but his voice was serious. "No more spying, no more pretending about what you want or to whom you pledge allegiance. You can offer a friendly hand to anyone you choose to."

"But do I have the courage to do so?" Snape asked quietly.

"Well, you did live on your courage and nerves for quite some time," Tattoo answered smiling. "Maybe it's time to use the experience for something that will give you real rewards and not risk your life."

Once again Snape opened his eyes to find the compelling stares of the other two men. There was hope and trust in both stares. Tattoo still showed a bit of malicious in his eyes, but also laughter. Mr. Roarke was a bit more serious, but also transmitted a happy expectation through his stare.

"The possibility of 'what if'. If you did learn something from your fantasy, Mr. Snape, then you will be able to use this knowledge away from here. You can make more of the possibilities you learned about here." Mr. Roarke declared and stood up. Tattoo followed him quietly.

The tall man stopped by the door and turned to give one last commentary.

"And Mr. Snape, when ever you desire to fly free, you just have to spread your wings."

Mr. Roarke and Tattoo left the room with wide spread smiles on their faces.

Severus was surprised. After a moment he searched deep inside himself. The knowledge of the Animagus transformation. The information shone through his mind, startling the Potions Masters even more.

'How this is possible?' he thought, but quickly gave up looking for logical explanations. He had accepted early in his fantasy that nothing about this place was logical.

Snape stood up and walked toward the window. He opened the curtains and the window itself, breathing deeply the smells of the day. The brightly blue sky lured him, and Severus allowed the wings of his Animagus form to spread, popping into a raven, flying out of the room and soaring over the beautiful tropical garden.

A few laps over the place and a keen sense of freedom swept over Snape. Together with this feeling came the need to act on the knowledge of the 'what if' he gained through the fantasy. He let his instincts take over and was pulled to a hidden solarium on the back of the main building. He flew into the room and found a table and four people talking.

'Here I choose my new allegiances," Severus thought and landed on the back of the chair where a black-haired man was seated.

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ALBUS

After a relaxing bath and a complete breakfast, Dumbledore felt his was prepared, again, to try to enjoy his vacation. He asked at the entrance of the hotel and was directed to a solarium. An isolated room open to a small but flowered garden, with a nice and comfortable chaise and drinks easily available.

Dumbledore sat on the chaise, his book again in his hands, and let the warm air around him dictate the rhythm of his reading and sometimes napping happily.

But one more Albus was awoken by the sound of footsteps approaching. The old man almost jumped out of the chaise and thought about running away, but age and dignity held him in place.

'I'll just say no to anything they suggest', Dumbledore thought and grasped his book more firmly, trying to convey the image of someone totally engrossed.

"Good day, Mr. Dumbledore," the deep voice of Fantasy Island's host claimed his attention.

Dumbledore abandoned his book and turned to find Mr. Roarke smiling at him. By his side was that short man, Tattoo, with a hard glance and arms crossed over his chest. And the biggest surprise of all was the dark haired young man with them.

"Harry!" Dumbledore stood up quickly and advanced to embrace one of his favorite students.

But Harry took a step back to avoid being touch. "Headmaster…" it was said in a very cold voice.

"What are you doing here, my boy? I thought you would be too busy with the plans for the orphanage to take a vacation. But you sure need one! Maybe we can enjoy this peaceful time together and…"

"Professor Dumbledore," Mr. Roarke interrupted the unending barrage from the old man's mouth.

Dumbledore turned to meet the man's eyes.

"Maybe we should sit and talk. There are some things that need explaining." Mr. Roarke made a gesture and the chaise disappeared to be replaced by a round table and four high back chairs.

Feeling really lost, Dumbledore nodded and chose the chair closer to him. Harry waited until Mr. Roarke and Tattoo were seated to finally descend over the last chair.

"Headmaster Dumbledore," Mr. Roarke started. "I must explain that your time here, on Fantasy Island, wasn't supposed to be a simple vacation. You were invited because you were the central part of someone else's fantasy."

Dumbledore heard the explanation as he looked directly into the other man's face. When the meaning of it filled his mind, he turned to look at Harry Potter.

"You planned this, Harry?" Albus asked in his grandfatherly voice.

"Well," the young man answered, letting a crocked smile show. "I asked for a fantasy and Mr. Roarke and Tattoo here planned and executed it."

"And how I am involved in your fantasy?" Dumbledore asked quietly, a bit afraid of the answer.

"Mr. Potter wanted you to have a taste of his life," Tattoo answered happily. "You know, never a moment of peace, people deciding what he should do even if it was against what he wanted… Things you did to him." The short man finished with an evil smile.

"But…" Dumbledore looked into the hard green eyes. "But all I did was for the greater good. I did what I thought was best for you, dear boy."

"Maybe your definition of 'good' should change," Tattoo said unforgivably.

"Tattoo…" Mr. Roarke reprimanded.

"What all this means, Harry?" Dumbledore asked as if disappointed.

"I wanted you to taste a bit of the way I lived for so long. I still live like that because of things you do," Harry answered calmly. This was really the last chance to make the old man change his ways. "Then maybe you would listen when I, or other people, told you to let us do something in our own way."

"But I just advise, I don't really interfere anymore. What I did before was because of the war."

"You do what you're used to do. You can't believe that anyone else might know the right thing to do in a given situation. You don't listen to other people. You haven't in a long time. This has to stop."

Dumbledore smiled benignant. This was just a bit of youthful rebellion. Easily dealt with.

"My dear boy, I just want to help. I do have years of experience and some developed wisdom," the Headmaster answered in his best grandfatherly voice.

Harry raised one eyebrow and turned to look at Mr. Roarke.

"Professor Dumbledore," the host started. "We are trying to achieve an understanding here. We all know how experienced and knowledgeable you are. And yes, wisdom may come with age. But youth also needs its space. And how can someone acquire experience and wisdom if not by going ahead and making his or her own mistakes?

"Ah, Mr. Roarke, of course youth should try new things and grow up." Dumbledore smile grew. "But I like to think that I can smooth their road a bit. I have a lot to offer and I want to see the younger generation achieve the best of their potential."

"Well, you're not!" Harry said.

"What I'm not, Harry?" Dumbledore asked still with this maddening smile.

"You're not smoothing the road. You're not helping us achieve our best. You're in the way."

Dumbledore lost the smile and put on a thoughtful expression. "How is that possible?" he asked in a low voice.

"Because you interfere with the plans and changes. Because you're too used to the ways things are and can't see how we can change them. Or maybe you just fear change." Harry answered.

Dumbledore shook his head in denial. "No, no, Harry. I don't fear change. I know it's necessary. I just want it to happen in the right time and with the right pace."

"And why should you be the one to choose the right time and the right pace?"

"Ah, because I know best, my dear boy." Dumbledore relaxed in his chair, smiling happily, the twinkling in his eyes almost blindly. He rested his hands over his belly, completely assured of his position and his beliefs.

"I told you so," Harry said toward Mr. Roarke.

Before anyone else could say anything more, a black raven flew inside the room and chose to perch on the back of Harry's chair. The young man turned to examine the bird and locked eyes with it. None moved for a moment but then Harry just shook his head and turned back to his host.

"He's right, boss," Tattoo said with laughter in his voice. "He did warn you that this talk wouldn't help. You should have let his fantasy play to the end."

"Sometimes I must look beyond the wishes of a guest and see the bigger picture, Tattoo," Mr. Roarke answered his companion, but with his eyes on Harry's face.

"I should have known that this wouldn't work either." Harry just shook his head as if he had accepted defeat. "I'll go back to my original plan." And he started to move.

"Wait, Mr. Potter! I believe we can still salvage this situation." Mr. Roarke put a hand over Harry's arm.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Dumbledore asked, looking into each men's face. "I know young people are in haste to do things, but I'm here to guide them."

"This is exactly the problem," Tattoo said impatiently. "Your guidance."

"What?" Dumbledore was lost.

"You don't guide, Dumbledore," Harry answered aghast. "You interfere. Too much."

"No, no, my boy. I'm here to impart my wisdom and help you."

"Well, you're not helping anymore. You're in the way."

A light seemed to shine through the old man's eyes. "Ah! This is about your plans for the orphanage? Because I made some comments and changed some things?"

Harry only answer was to squeez his eyes and press his lips into a thin line.

"My dear Harry, I made some corrections on your plan. Put your boat in the right course, you may say. But I wrote to the Ministry yesterday and told them that you're the one taking care of this project," the old man said smiling as if this wasn't a problem at all.

"You interfered." Harry said with purpose. "You changed important parts of the project. And because people respect you too much or even are afraid of you, I can't make this project work anymore."

"It's not like this. People do respect me. After all, I taught most of them. But there is no reason to fear me. And what I changed was for the best. You're going too far too fast, my boy."

"I give up!" Harry exclaimed, throwing his arm in the air and surprising the bird perched on his chair.

Tattoo scowl deepened and Mr. Roarke made a gesture to try calm the young man.

Harry stood up and turned to face the others at the table, his hands closed over his hips.

"You'll never listen, Dumbledore. I just hope you don't destroy many more lives. I'll try to live away from your control and wait for a time when I can contact my friends without fear that you will leash all of us."

"What?" The Headmaster asked bewildered.

Before Harry could walk away, the raven jumped out of the chair and popped into a man's form.

Harry jumped backwards, surprise. Tattoo smiled broadly and Mr. Roarke sighed. Dumbledore watched the transformation and couldn't control a comment.

"Why, Severus, you never told me you were an Animagus."

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