"Am I dead?" asked Harry.

"Not quite, Harry, but you are very close," said Dumbledore. His voice was calm, yet firm, making Harry focus completely on him. "What happens next is very important."

"I... what's going on, sir?"

"I'm afraid it's rather complicated, Harry, and I need to be sure you are prepared to hear it."

Harry felt as though everything else was fading away, and the only thing left in the universe was himself and the man in front of him, who, by all rights, should not be there.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"I am talking about the truth, Harry. I need to know that you are prepared for the truth."

Harry stopped and reflected on the events of the past hour... the past year... the past ten years... his whole life. What did he know about his life? He had seventeen years' worth of memories about a terrible life in which he was an orphan and there was a war, followed by ten years of bliss, family, friends and joy.

"It wasn't real, was it?" he whispered.

Dumbledore took a long, hard look at Harry. The elder wizard's face betrayed no emotion, but his eyes showed sorrow, as though the next thing he was going to say was the gravest pronouncement he could make.

"No, Harry, I am afraid not. But it is good that you were able to realise that on your own."

Harry stopped for a moment. He could feel the tears coming down his cheeks as he thought back on the happy memories. Leaving school, games with Caerphilly, being married to Ginny.

"I remember everything, just like it was yesterday... and none of it happened..."

"I did not say it did not happen, Harry, just that it was not real."

"What?" Harry's head snapped up as he looked Dumbledore in the eyes.

"Quite the contrary, Harry, it all DID happen, it just wasn't real."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Harry, what is the last thing you remember from your 'real' life?"

Harry thought back, trying to make sense of everything. "I... it was... I was at the wedding."

"Yes, Harry, very good. What do you remember about that night?"

It could have been 10 minutes ago, or 10 years ago, Harry wasn't certain. But as he stopped to consider it, the memories suddenly came back clearly. "I was avoiding everyone, up in the tree."

"Yes, you were. I always did have a preference for trees, they made excellent hiding spots. But where you were hiding is not in question Harry. What were you feeling?"

Everything came flooding back to Harry. The murder, the war, the quest. "I felt like I couldn't do it."

"You were feeling despair, Harry," said Dumbledore gently. "You were feeling hopeless and overwhelmed. And your mind was at its weakest. And, you were never a very good Occlumens. All of which made that night the perfect night for Lord Voldemort to attack you."

Harry panicked. "Voldemort attacked the Burrow? Is everyone all right? What happened?"

Dumbledore raised a hand to stop Harry. "Your friends are fine, Harry. Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters did not come within a hundred leagues of the Burrow. They did not have to." He stepped forward. "You forget, Lord Voldemort has a much more intimate connection to you."

Harry's hand reflexively went to his forehead. His stomach dropped as his hand went over the familiar patch of skin that had defined him all his life. He had nearly forgotten, but his scar was unmistakably back.

"Voldemort attacked my mind?"

Dumbledore looked down sadly at Harry. "Yes, I am afraid he did."

"How did he do it?"

"To be perfectly honest, Harry, I am not certain. He is a very powerful wizard. Do you remember watching his visit to my office to seek a teaching position at Hogwarts? He claimed that he had pushed the barriers of magic further than any other wizard. I believe he made a similar claim the night he regained his body from what you told us. I am afraid it was not idle boasting. Voldemort truly is a powerful wizard. He has been able to unravel the secrets of some of the darkest magic known to wizarding kind. And, using that knowledge, he launched his attack on you that night."

Harry began to absorb some of what Dumbledore was explaining to him. "That night... Professor, how long ago was that?"

"That is another interesting question Harry. One without a straight answer. You have experienced 10 full years since that night in your own mind. In truth, scarcely more than ten minutes have passed. If you were to wake up right now, everything would be the way it was before you fell asleep."

"And, if I didn't?"

"If you chose not to wake up, Harry, you would go on living this life here in your own mind. You would go on, watching your newborn son grow up, perhaps having more children. Carrying on with your career, growing old with Ginny. All the things that you would expect from a normal life. You would live a full sixty to seventy years. Perhaps eighty to ninety if you cut back on the treacle tart and chocolate frogs. And then, you would die."

"And then I'd wake up."

"Harry, what happens in your mind is real to you," said Dumbledore gravely. "There is no difference."

Harry felt as if reality was crashing down around him. "So, that was his plan?" Images of his happy life flashed before him. It was all a deception. "He wanted me to fall asleep and die?"

"Yes, Harry. Voldemort used Legilimency to restore the connection. And he used that connection to cast his spell."

"What spell did he use, sir?"

"This is merely conjecture, Harry, but I believe he used the Imperius curse."

"He... he could do that while he was inside my mind?" The thought gave Harry pause.

"Voldemort is very powerful, Harry, especially when it comes to the Dark Arts. Your connection is most unique. It makes many things possible. It also made it possible for you to fight him."

"I fought him? How?"

"By using the power you have that he knows not, Harry. Voldemort may have pushed the boundaries of Dark Magic further than any wizard in history, but he is still woefully ignorant of the power of love. A power you have in greater quantities than I have seen in my many years."

Harry had never been quite comfortable with Dumbledore's opinion of his capacity to love. Nor did he fully understand what that power was. As if he could sense Harry's confusion, Dumbledore spoke again.

"You may not appreciate this power, Harry, but rest assured, it is your surest defence against Voldemort. This is the second time that Voldemort has attempted to possess you. The first was at the Ministry. It pains me to admit that I was bested in my duel that night. I was not able to stop him from possessing you. And yet you were able to force him to leave. Do you realise that no one has seen Voldemort since that night, Harry?"

This came as a shock. "He's not -"

"No, he is still very much alive. But he was greatly weakened. In spite of the fact that The Greatest Dark Wizard in nearly half a century possessed your mind, you were still able to feel love, Harry. You must understand how truly remarkable that is."

The Greatest Dark Wizard in half a century had occupied his body, and he was forced out... by love. Harry began to slowly understand what Dumbledore was telling him, what he had been telling him since his first year at Hogwarts. Suddenly, Harry felt as though he understood what his life meant.

"I'm sorry, sir. This is... I still don't understand everything that has been happening. And how exactly are you here, sir? I... I saw you..."

Dumbledore looked kindly upon Harry. "You are in good company then, Harry. As I said, I do not fully understand everything that is happening either. But what I have been telling you is a good deal more complicated than O.W.L. level transfiguration theory. Perhaps we should start from the beginning. This may take some time, so perhaps we should make ourselves more comfortable. Please sit, Harry."

Harry looked down to see a pair of very comfortable chairs set on either side of a table. On the table was a pair of mugs and a steaming kettle. There was also a plate with some very fresh looking biscuits.

"Sir... you don't have a wand. How... where -"

"It would be best to take a seat, Harry," interrupted Dumbledore again as he took a seat. "There are many questions I am sure you wish to ask, and I assure you that there are many more you do not know to ask, and you would still not know everything there is to know. I will do what I can to answer those questions you do have. Please, sit. Eat and drink. It has been too long since we have been able to sit and share together. Let us relish this opportunity. We may not have another for some time."

Harry's mind was still reeling, but he did take a seat. As soon as he did, he felt as though the chair had wrapped him in a warm hug. It was quite comfortable. He reached for the kettle to pour himself a drink of what turned out to be some splendid hot chocolate, which perfectly complimented the fresh biscuits. The warmth penetrated his whole body, and despite the many questions in his head, he was much more at ease. Sensing his relaxation, Dumbledore began his story.

"I needed no wand to conjure our current comforts, Harry because there is no need for wands in this place. We are not in, what you would call, the real world. This is a sort of in between place. A crossroads of sorts."

"Crossroads between what, sir?"

"Between the world of the living, and what lies beyond."

"What lies beyond? I... am I dying, sir?"

Dumbledore took a sip from his own mug before giving Harry one of his familiar piercing looks from over the rims of his spectacles. "I will not say dying, Harry. But your life does indeed hang in the balance. What you decide next may well determine whether you survive or not."

For the first time, Harry truly began to feel fear. He had grown so accustomed to his happy life that he had almost forgotten what it meant to fear. He decided to push on with his questions to ignore some of the fear.

"Sir, if this place is... in between... how did you get here?"

Dumbledore smiled. "I had some help, Harry, from a rather unexpected source. Why don't you come on out, Dobby?"

Harry heard a crack behind him and saw the familiar form of Dobby appear.

"I'm sure when Dobby first appeared to you, you were quite surprised, Harry. I felt rather the same way when he appeared to me the night Voldemort attacked you at the Burrow.

"What? Dobby found you the night... but that would be after..." Harry rounded on Dobby. "How did you do that?"

"Dobby is feeling that something is terribly wrong with Mr. Harry Potter, so Dobby goes to try and find help, sir. Dobby can feel that He Who Must Not Be Named is performing very Dark Magic, so Dobby must find someone who can help. Dobby doesn't know who can help except for Professor Dumbledore, so Dobby must find Professor Dumbledore. And Dobby finds him, sir! Dobby finds him and brings him!"

The elf's story didn't do much to help Harry's understanding, so he turned to Dumbledore. "What does he mean, sir? How did he find you? How could he find you... on the other side?"

"You forget, Harry, Dobby is a Free House Elf. That is another remarkable thing. There has not been a Free Elf since before Hogwarts was founded. The reason elves were enslaved to begin with was because wizards feared their power. And the first enslavement was easy because elves loved so freely that Wizards were able to exploit and trap them. It has been so long that no one even remembers how powerful Free Elves might be. Dobby, too, has the power to love and he loves you, Harry. He loves you in the pure way that only an elf can. That is very powerful magic."

Dobby looked down, feeling rather modest. "'Tis true, sir. Dobby cares very much for Mr. Harry Potter. Dobby does everything he can to help him, he does!"

Harry felt a little guilty. He had always taken Dobby for granted, and even been cross with him for being too earnest. "Thanks, Dobby." Dobby beamed back at him.

"To answer your question, Harry," continued Dumbledore, "Dobby is the reason I am here. He formed a kind of bridge for me to be able to reach out and touch your mind. I have been able to study what is happening to you, and what exactly Voldemort is doing to you. From what I have been able to piece together, Voldemort realised how dangerous you were after his failed attempt to control you at the Ministry. He gave the Death Eaters free reign to terrorise the Wizarding World while he himself went into hiding, issuing orders remotely. I don't believe any of the Death Eaters even knew how weak he had become. It seems they are used to receiving secret orders without ever seeing their master. In the meantime, Voldemort has been recovering and planning his next attack on you. As far as I can understand, Voldemort used Legilimency to reforge the connection. And, as I said before, I believe he used the Imperius curse to try and lull your mind into permanent sleep. You may remember, from having the curse placed on you previously, that Imperius blanks the mind of the victim, placing them in a tranquil state, and making them susceptible to suggestion. Something similar happened when Voldemort cast his spell while inside your mind. I believe that was his purpose. To relax you, and lull you into permanent sleep."

"But I fought him."

Dumbledore smiled and sat up straighter. "Indeed you did, Harry. If memory serves, you have always had the capacity to fight the Imperius curse. Something to do with a rather stubborn, independent streak you have," he said with a wink. "You did keep fighting him, which gave Dobby a chance to reach you. Your temptation was rather severe, and the spell that Voldemort used was quite powerful. It seemed as though it might work, that Voldemort would be able to seduce your mind into permanent sleep. But once again, he underestimated the power within you."

"Love?"

"Yes, Harry, love. Just love. You see, to keep you asleep, Voldemort decided to tempt you with visions of your heart's deepest desire. He assumed that your desires would be the same as his, power, and that you would be motivated by greed. He cannot, and will not see that not everyone is like him. He was unprepared when your heart's deepest desire was to be happy and loved. As your mind created visions of happiness, you were once again able to force him from your mind."

"That's how you were able to get to me?"

Dumbledore regarded Harry for a moment before continuing. "Actually, Harry, the story becomes a good deal more complicated here. You see, you were able to force Voldemort from your mind. But that is not what brought you here. You were actually able to force Voldemort out very quickly. But still, you did not wake up. Your own mind preferred to stay asleep and enjoy the world you had created. You forgot all about the war, and you even forgot me. It seemed your mind was best able to cope by blocking everything else out. Voldemort's spell almost worked, but not by his doing."

Harry felt the familiar feelings of despair return to him. Just ten minutes ago, he had been holding his newborn son; or had he been crying himself to sleep in The Burrow? He buried his face in his hands, trying to make sense of everything.

"Harry, I realise that this is difficult. I will not pretend that I understand what you are going through. But you must understand what comes next. You must make a choice."

This time, Harry felt hot anger bubble up inside him. He rose out of his chair and started screaming, "What choice is there? I have to fight him, don't I? I'm the only one who can!"

Dumbledore remained seated, calmly regarding Harry. "That is not true, Harry."

"What?"

"I don't blame you for being angry with me, Harry. Your whole life I have been meddling in your affairs, seemingly grooming you for a mantle you never chose. In some ways, even before you were born, I have been interfering with your life." Dumbledore's head dropped, and some sadness entered his voice. "Your parents were very much in love, and wanted nothing more than to raise a family in peace. But their loyalty to me made that nearly impossible."

In spite of Dumbledore's apology, Harry remained very upset. "You said I have a choice, sir."

Dumbledore looked back up at Harry. "Yes, you do. You can wake up and go back to your old life, or you can stay asleep and continue living this life."

"That doesn't sound like much of a choice. Who's going to stop Voldemort if I stay asleep?"

"Anyone, it does not matter. There is no reason that you must be the one to stop him, Harry."

"What about the Prophecy?"

"Indeed, what about the Prophecy, Harry? As I said, Voldemort chose to take stock in it, and as such, made himself a very powerful enemy. But he is not so powerful that he can only be defeated by you. The only true barrier to stopping Voldemort is eliminating his Horcruxes. And you are not the only one who knows about them, nor are you the only one who has ever destroyed one."

This did nothing to ease Harry's anger. "Then why all the secrecy? Why did I have to keep this from everyone?"

Dumbledore looked sadly upon Harry. "Because I meddled in your life, Harry, as I have been since before you were born. Betrayal is an awful thing Harry. Look at what it did to your parents."

An image came to Harry's mind, the photograph of the original Order of the Phoenix, with Wormtail sitting between his parents.

"You see, Harry, I hoped to avoid betrayal. The Order is full of powerful witches and wizards who would prove useful in locating and destroying the Horcruxes. But the more people know, the greater the chance of Voldemort discovering our plans. This is our only chance of winning this war, Harry. Therefore, while I was alive, I chose to keep the circle small. If you and I can no longer continue the fight, then the circle must be widened. The risk is greater, but so too are the tools and resources. The war is far from over. And it does not need you specifically, just as it does not need me. I am sorry if you have been burdened with questions of destiny and fate, Harry, but you must understand, you do have a choice and that choice makes all the difference."

Just as quickly as Dumbledore made his pronouncement, the bedroom reappeared around him. Harry once again saw Ginny on the bed holding his son, with his parents sitting on one side, the Weasleys and Ron and Hermione on the other. Dumbledore stepped between Harry and the others.

"You must decide."