Chapter Twenty One: Redemption

"How long do you think it has been?" Grindelwald asked.

"There is no way to tell," Dumbledore said. "That is, I think, the point."

"Dobby thinks it has been long enough, sir," Dobby said.

"You mean you are going to leave now?" Lily asked sadly. She had become very fond of the elf during his time here.

"Dobby thinks so, miss," squeaked Dobby. "Though Dobby has loved to talk of Harry Potter with Harry Potter's family, Dobby wants to know what will come next."

"How do you know there is anything next?" Lily asked. "Sometimes I wonder why everyone doesn't just stay here."

"Dobby can feel it, miss," Dobby said. "And Dobby thinks you will be about to feel it too."

"Not yet though, Dobby," Lily said.

She got down on her knees and pulled the elf close to her. Dobby hugged her back happily.

"Dobby will see you on the other side, miss," Dobby said, and then added, "Don't cry." For tears were running down Lily's face.

James put an arm around Lily as she stood up.

"Dobby wants a hug from you too, sir."

And James let go of his wife's shoulder to lean down and hug Dobby.

"You were the best not-master a free elf could ever want," Dobby said to Dumbledore once he had let go of James. "Dobby is thanking you for taking Dobby in. sir."

"It was my pleasure, Dobby," Dumbledore said. "I am just glad you thought to come to me." His smile was warm as he looked down at Dobby.

Suddenly Dumbledore leaned down so low he was almost sitting; he went down till he was Dobby's height.

"No wizard should look down at you, Dobby," Dumbledore explained his actions.

"Please stop, sir," Dobby said. "You is freaking Dobby out!"

Dumbledore smiled and a slight laugh escaped him, but he did as Dobby asked and stood up.

"You should not be freaked out, Dobby," Dumbledore said. "You fought like a wizard to save a friend. You were not a slave fighting for a master. And best of all you are here! No other house-elf, as far as we know, has ever come here. It is we who should be bowing to you."

"Now you is really freaking Dobby out, sir!"

"My apologizes," Dumbledore said. "But I thought you ought to know."

"He is right, Dobby," Ted said. "Be proud of who you are."

"Dobby is thanking you, but Dobby is still…Dobby."

Ted smiled, and said, "And so you should be." Then he leaned down and hugged the elf too.

"Don't I get a hug?"

"If you want one, sir," Dobby said, turning from Ted to Sirius.

"Now I just feel unloved," Sirius said.

"Dobby is sorry, sir, but Dobby only has so much space in his head for remembering of things."

"You forgot me!" Sirius said, sounding annoyed to Dobby, but James could tell he was kidding.

"Sir must not be upset," Dobby said. "Dobby didn't mean—"

And Dobby stopped talking—this was partly due to the fact that James had started roaring with laughter and partly because Sirius's expression had changed from annoyed to slightly apologetic while still amused.

"Dobby does not understand."

"He was kidding," James said, no longer laughing. He could not keep up the laughter with Dobby looking so confused.

"Sorry, Dobby," Sirius said walking over to Dobby and leaning down. "I just couldn't help it."

"That is alright, sir," Dobby said. "Dobby is not mad."

"Good," Sirius said. "Because the last thing I want is you being mad at me."

Dobby smiled, and Sirius hugged him.

"Lily," Dean said, running up to Lily and pulling on her robes to get her attention.

"What is it, Dean," Lily said. Though she spoke sweetly enough, there was an air of no-longer amused parent in her voice.

"Everyone is ignoring me," Dean said. "I don't like it. Make them play with me again."

"I can't make them do anything," Lily said, picking up Dean to stop him pulling on her robes anymore. "Maybe later, okay?"

Dean did not look happy about this. He had been spoiled by the attention of otherwise bored adults for too long and was now relearning what it was like to not be the center of attention.

"Dobby is pleased to have met you even if Dobby knows you didn't used to be nice," Dobby said to Grindelwald.

"Thank you," Grindelwald said sincerely.

"Me next!" Dean yelled from Lily's arms. "ME!"

And Dean half jumped out of Lily's arms to go hug Dobby too.

"Goodbye," Dean said when he had let go of Dobby.

"Yes," Dobby said.

Then he turned to address the whole group.

"Dobby must say goodbye now. So goodbye, my new friends; I will see you on the other side."

And he vanished.

"I think I should go too," Grindelwald said. "I have no reason to stay"—he turned to Dumbledore—"I will see you on the other side as well. Or at least I hope I will."

Suddenly there was a heart-breaking scream. It had come from Grindelwald.

Everyone looked at him with horror on their faces, everyone that is except Dumbledore who looked at his once co-conspirator with grief, pity and remorse.

"I'm sorry!" the voice was Grindelwald's, though his mouth never moved. It was as though his soul was crying out.

All at once, the screaming stopped and Grindelwald was gone.

"What happened?" James and Sirius said at once. Lily was still too shocked to speak. Dean was clutching her leg. Ted was also looking to Dumbledore for an answer.

"Those who have done great wrong have more to fear from death than the innocent," Dumledore said sadly.

"You mean there is a hell?" James asked.

"Hell? Heaven?" Dumbledore said. "They are just meaningless words we humans have created. We like to name everything it seems."

"You know what I meant!" James said. "And we haven't seen that happen to anyone else!"

"During the height of his power Gellert Grindelwald was second only to Voldemort himself," Dumbledore said. "No one else who was ever truly evil has been here in the last sixteen years."

"There was that Death Eater that came with you," James said. "He didn't go like that!"

"How do you know?" Dumbledore said. "Were you watching?"

"I thought not," Dumbledore said, reading the answer in their faces. "And besides, a lowly Death Eater could never match the evil of a true dark wizard like Grindelwald."

Dumbledore sighed. He seemed to be letting more than just air out of his lungs. Though of course there was no air here and his lungs no longer functioned; the illusion the mind creates can communicate just as well.

The soul remembers its body and thus can mimic its ways. But a soul damaged by evil will not shine so bright.

"Didn't you notice," Dumbledore said, "that Grindelwald didn't look like us?"

"What?" Ted said.

"He did not look young like us," Dumbledore said. "He looked far older here than he did the last time I visited him in prison."

"And when was that exactly?"

"Three years before I died," Dumbledore said.

"You don't age that much in three years," James said.

"Not physically, no," Dumbledore said quietly.

"What do you mean by that?" Sirius said.

"Must you ask me to explain all the inner workings of my mind?" Dumbledore asked Sirius.

"Yes."

Dumbledore sighed.

"Souls do not age with the body," Dumbledore said. "Your soul ages with destruction, grief and evil. It remains young through love, innocence and joy. How else can life be explained?"

"Life?" Sirius asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore said, and left it at that.

"Oh no," came a young female voice from behind them. "This means I am out of the fight."

"You are far too young to be fighting," Dumbledore said, turning around to face the girl.

"I am of age," the girl said defiantly. "And I made a choice!"

"What are you talking about," Dumbledore asked and then suddenly gasped. "I know you! You are a Hogwarts student! Why are you here? What is happening to my school! Who is killing my students?"

"Hey," the girl said. "We aren't your students anymore! You died on us, remember?"

"Answer my questions!" Dumbledore said with so much force, the girl stopped speaking. Dumbledore's eyes, no longer blue, but still able to make you feel as if you were being x-rayed, stared into the girl's face.

None of the people standing around Dumbledore now had ever seen him so intense upon the answer of a question.

"Her!" Dean suddenly yelled and, wriggling out of Lily's arms, he ran to his oldest sister.

"Dean!" the girl cried. "Mum would be so happy to know you are okay."

"I am dead," Dead said. He was standing right beside her now and looking up at her with a huge grin on his face. This did not help to give his words more gloom.

"Yes," the girl said. "But you are happy and free; that is what matters." She smiled.

"So you know you are dead then?" Lily asked.

"Of course," the girl said. "I am surrounded by dead people right after agreeing to fight on the losing side of a wizarding war against the most evil wizard of all time."

"Well, when you put it like that," Ted said.

"What is happening at my school!" Dumbledore shouted.

"Harry Potter came and inspired a revolution."

It had not been Dean's older sister who had spoken. Another young person had appeared in their midst.

"Hi," the boy said.

"So they got you too, huh," Dean's sister said.

"Yep," the boy said.

"Her," Dean said, looking at his sister, "you shouldn't be here. Mum will be sad."

"She will be okay," the girl said, cradling her little brother in her arms.

"Why does he called you 'her'?" Lily asked softly.

"When he first learned to talk he couldn't say Iona, but he did notice people refer to me as 'her' sometimes, so he decided to call me that," Iona said happily.

Lily smiled warmly. She thought that was adorable.

"What's happened since I died, Theo?" Iona asked.

"Not much," Theo said. "I died and some more people fought."

"Clouds?" came a very stupid deep voice.

"Crabbe?" Iona said, half laughing. "Who got you?"

"Fire," Crabbe said.

Dumbledore was freaking out now.

"This is not how it was supposed to happen," he said. "I tried to protect my students, not get them killed fighting a hopeless battle."

"That's where you're wrong, Professor," Theo said. "It isn't hopeless. Harry Potter is at Hogwarts right now on a mission."

"Yes, yes, I know," Dumbledore said. "I was the one who gave him the mission."

"Then there is even more hope than I thought," Theo said, undeterred.

"Her," Dean said, looking up at his sister, "will you stay, please?"

"Stay?" Iona asked. "There is a way to go?"

"Oh, right!" Dumbledore said. "I had totally forgotten."

And he recounted the choices once again.

Crabbe just started stupidly at him. He still hadn't grasped the fact that he was dead; let alone how he was made of cloud.

Iona looked down at her little brother. "Why have you been here so long?" she asked.

Dean pointed at Lily, "She is nice," he said. "And they"—he pointed at James, Sirius and Dumbledore—"are fun to play with."

Iona smiled and hugged her brother. He wrapped his arms around her neck and didn't let go.

"What were the options again?" Crabbe asked.

"I will tell you," Sirius said, "if only to make sure you leave."

"Where am I?" Crabbe asked.

"Hell," Sirius said, so only Crabbe could hear him.

Crabbe looked scared now. He backed away from Sirius.

"What did you say to that poor boy?" Dumbledore asked.

"Nothing," Sirius sniggered.

Iona joined in laughing, "I don't know what you said, but the reaction you got out of him was great!"

Sirius looked at Iona with new interest.

"Got a sense of humour then?" he asked.

She grinned fiendishly.

"Yes!" Sirius said, almost to himself and then added, "Do you wanna hear a joke?"

James roared with laughter, "She is WAY too young for you, mate."

"Hey, we are all young here."

Iona had just figured out what was going on, and burst out laughing.

"Sirius—Black," she said between laughs, "is—trying—to—flirt—with—me!"

Sirius looked a little put out.

Then another laugh joined the group.

"That was great!" the newcomer said. "Now I have a question. If I am dead then where are my 100 virgins?"