Chapter 27:

"We dream to escape, we dream to let go,

To feel what it's like walking streets of gold.

Turn grey skies blue, turn hope into truth,

Yeah, some days, sometimes all you can do is;

Dream from small towns to big city lights,

Turn a heartbreak into love at first sight.

When we look at the world and we don't like what we see,

We close our eyes and we dream."

From the Prophecy of Dreamers. Compiled by Morgan Evans; Earth, 21st Century.

Daphne's body vanished. It winked out of existence, leaving a faint outline of steam, before that too disappeared. At the same time, the thumping, which had been growing louder and louder by the second, ceased. About two dozen witches and wizards hid in the forest beyond Harry, Gabrielle, Merlin and Emily's perimeter, and they all stopped firing spells at the same time. They had heard it too.

Mak and Marilyn fluttered over to the flower bed beside the pool, Carellia, Emily's faerie, teleporting to their side. Apparently, she could do that.

"Where'd she go?" Harry called to them.

"Everywhere," Mak said mysteriously, and Harry rolled his eyes. Then, as one of the wizards stepped out of the forest, he vanished. Poof. Gone into thin air. Gabrielle started in surprise. What? Several other exclamations of shock echoed through the woods until, finally, even the sounds of police sirens faded away. Gabrielle let the Charge Force slip away and sighed.

"I need a really long sleep," she said flatly.

A soft pulse rippled through the grove, rustling the trees, and Gabrielle felt a faint echo of serenity wash through her.

"Anyone else feel that?" Harry asked.

"Yep," Merlin said.

"What was that?" Emily said, rubbing her arms through her jacket.

ME.

Gabrielle eepped, jumping backwards in fright.

"Who said that?!" She demanded, looking around frantically. Something had just spoken in her head.

SORRY GABRIELLE. The voice was followed by soft giggling. Wait… she knew that voice.

"Daphne?" Harry asked, looking around the same as Gabrielle was.

HI EVERYONE. I'D COME AND VISIT, BUT I'M KIND OF BUSY AT THE MOMENT.

"What?" Gabrielle repeated.

THIS POWER. EQUALITY. IT'S NOT OMNIPOTENT, OR OMNIPRESENT. I HAVE A LIMITED ABILITY TO SEE INTO THE FUTURE. BETTER THAN IMAGINATION COULD AT ANY RATE. BUT THE REALLY COOL THING IS THAT I CAN REACH BACK INTO THE PAST.

"What, like time-travel?" Emily asked warily, looking up at the sky.

NO. MORE LIKE WHISPERING. HARRY, THE VOICE YOU HEARD WITH THE DEMENTORS, THAT WAS ME. I'VE BEEN SPEAKING WITH GINNY. GUIDING HER THROUGH HER CONFRONTATION WITH ODIUM TWO-YEARS AGO. I'M… LIMITED. I SUPPOSE YOU COULD SAY THAT I'M A BIT TRUE NEUTRAL. EQUALITY ISN'T GOOD OR EVIL. IT'S ABOUT BALANCING THOSE TWO ASPECTS. I CAN REACH BACK AND TIP THE SCALES TO A DEGREE TO HELP HER, BUT I CAN'T JUST BLAST TOM RIDDLE INTO NON-EXISTENCE, BECAUSE THAT WOULD SIMPLY TILT THE BALANCE THE WRONG WAY.

Gabrielle shivered, repressing that horrible ache in her chest she didn't have time for. Though the longer she held it, the worse it would be.

"At least someone was there for her," she whispered. Harry just nodded, saying nothing.

"What happens now?" Merlin asked.

I HAVE RAISED A BARRIER AROUND THE PERPENDICULARITY TO HIDE THE GROVE FROM OUTSIDERS, MAKING IT APPEAR AS THOUGH THE TOR IS STILL INTACT. HUMANITY ISN'T READY FOR WHAT'S OUT ACROSS THE COSMERE. NOT YET. IT NEEDS TO DEAL WITH ITS OWN INEQUALITIES FIRST. HOPEFULLY, WITH THE AXIAL TILT HEALED AND EQUALITY RESTORED, BALANCE CAN RETURN. I… I DON'T WANT TO INTERVENE TOO GREATLY. THIS POWER, IT'S DANGEROUS. IF I TRY AND INFLUENCE ONE PERSON, I COULD END UP DESTROYING A CITY BY ACCIDENT.

"But you can talk to Ginny," Gabrielle said.

I KNEW GINNY. I HAD A CONNECTION TO HER. MAKES IT EASIER TO FOCUS. I NEED TO LEARN MORE BEFORE I MAKE ANY GRAND DECISIONS. BUT I CAN TELL YOU THIS. MY LIMITED VIEW OF THE FUTURE TELLS ME THAT, WITH EQUALITY RESTORED, MY POWER IS ONCE AGAIN PERMEATING THE EARTH AS IT SHOULD, INSTEAD OF POISONING IT. WHICH MEANS THE NUMBER OF MUGGLEBORNS BEING BORN IS GOING TO GO THROUGH THE ROOF. THE WIZARDING WORLD HAS PERHAPS TWENTY YEARS BEFORE IT CANNOT HIDE ANY LONGER. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE MORE VARRIED THE FURTHER OUT I LOOK, BUT THIS I AM CERTAIN OF. YOU MIGHT WANT TO PREPARE.

Daphne's voice softened slightly, and Gabrielle had the distinct image of Daphne's visage forged of rainbow light looking down on them from the clouds. She glanced upwards, but nothing was there.

HARRY, I WAS ABLE TO TAP YOUR CONNECTION TO THE BUNKER.

"The Bunker? What about it?"

I RESTORED THOSE LOST IN THE AURORS ATTACK AND HEALED THE MEMORIES OF THE PEOPLE OBLIVIATED. I'VE ALSO UPGRADED THE FACILITIES, TRIPLED THE SIZE OF THE BUNKER AND ADDED TWO EXTRA FLOORS WITH PRIVATE ROOMS, CLOTHES AND FURNITURE. I ALSO LEFT A COUPLE MILLION DOLLARS IN NYLAH'S ROOM. IT'S NOT MUCH WHEN IT COMES TO FIGHTING THE INEQUALITY, BUT ITS ALL I CAN DO AT THE MOMENT. I KIND OF ACCIDENTALLY MOVED THE COURSE OF THE THAMES A FEW HUNDRED METRES OR SO. YOU THINK ANYONE WILL NOTICE?

Harry, Gabrielle and Emily all laughed.

"What's the Thames?" Merlin asked, Marilyn perched on his staff once again.

AH. MERLIN. I'M SORRY, BUT I CAN'T SEND YOU BACK TO YOUR TIME. HOWEVER, I COULD USE A PAIR OF EYES AND EARS? THERE'S A WHOLE COSMERE OUT THERE TO EXPLORE. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S OUT THERE. WHAT IS ODIUM DOING? AND WHAT OF RUIN? THESE ARE THINGS WE MUST LEARN.

Merlin grinned. "A jaunt across the cosmere hmm? Seeing as how I haven't gone outside in a millennium, could be a nice change of pace. What do you think, Marilyn?"

"I think we're going to have lots of fun," the faerie said, grinning.

EXCELLENT. GABRIELLE, YOU SHOULD RETURN TO HOGWARTS WITH MERLIN. I WILL GUIDE HIM TO MY PERPENDICULARITY IN THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS FROM THERE. INFORM PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL OF MY… ASCENSION. LET HER KNOW THAT I'LL BE IN TOUCH. THERE ARE OTHER MATTERS I MUST SEE TO. THERE IS ONE HERE WHO DOES NOT BELONG.

Daphne's voice was silent for a few moments, then it returned.

HARRY, I MUST ASK ONE FINAL TASK OF YOU BEFORE YOU REST.

Harry and Mak stepped out of an elevator in the British Ministry of Magic, revealing a dark corridor with a single door at the far end. The Department of Mysteries. They followed a thread of rainbow light in the air, leading down the hallway and beyond. Harry opened the door, entering a circular room full of identical doors. The thread led to one on his left. Harry followed it, opening the door and stepping inside. The room was thick with steam, the same kind released from the mud in the Valley. In the distance, Harry could hear several voices. Including two he recognised.

"I don't know what to tell you, Minister. The Heart-Stone has been like this for almost a hundred years. No matter how we've tried to clean it, the mud crusting on it just returned. Now its evaporated, and we can't banish it."

"Is it still working at least?" Minister Fudge asked. "Almost all of Britain's wards are bound to it! The magical sensors, the underage magic restriction, the Wizengamot enchantment, the Pact of Truth! If it broke under my watch, my career would be over."

"Who's Fudge talking too?" Harry whispered.

AN UNSPEAKABLE. A MAGICAL SCIENTIST. A POOR ONE BY THE STANDARDS OF THE MODERN NON-MAGICAL WORLD, ESPECIALLY BY COSMERE STANDARDS, BUT A SCIENTIST NONE THE LESS. IT'S NOT ENTIRELY THEIR FAULT. THE ICW BANS MOST MAGICAL RESEARCH. THEY COULD HAVE BEEN ON THE MOON BY NOW.

Harry suppressed a laugh. Mak did not. Pulling the Strength Force into his veins, Harry glided forward on frictionless feet. He emerged from the fog to find Fudge, Kingsley Shacklebolt and a half dozen wizards with bald heads standing around a giant diamond easily the size of Big Ben, and that was only the half he could see. Most of the gemstone was submerged beneath a veritable beach of sand.

One of the Unspeakables spotted Harry and pointed in shock. Kingsley and Fudge spun towards him, and Kingsley drew his wand. Harry stopped a few metres from the diamond's edge and folded his hands behind his back, adopting a haughty look.

"I come on behalf of the highest one," Harry announced, "She is not pleased."

"Who?" Fudge asked stupidly. A bright flash of rainbow light illuminated the room, and the figure of a majestic woman with hair of every colour, dressed in shimmering raiment brighter than the sun, appeared floating above Harry, hands on his shoulders.

"I AM GOD. YOU WILL OBEY MY WILL CORNELIUS FUDGE, OR I WILL END YOUR EXISTENCE."

Fudge fainted, and the six Unspeakables began prostrating themselves. Kingsley started firing spells. Harry hit him with a lightning bolt again, then dropped his unconscious body into a Division rift. The Unspeakables saw the action, but Harry didn't make any gestures, so they associated the act with God standing above him instead and began crying out prayers asking to be spared. In his mind, Daphne snickered.

Harry walked up to the diamond, Equality vanishing, and glanced at Mak.

"You ready," he asked her. She nodded, then flew into the diamond. Harry summoned the Decay Force, then pumped as much of it as he could into the lattice of the diamond. Deep within, Mak's blue form began to pulse as the magic inside the crystal – pure Enchantment – tried to force itself away from her. Harry shifted the Decay Force solely into his left hand.

"You sure this will work?" he muttered.

YES.

Harry summoned the Strength Force with his right hand, and immediately the Decay Force tried to pull away from him, the power tapering off. Harry, wincing at the strain, forced his hands to slide together. A sharp cracking sound echoed from the diamond, and the layer around Harry's hands began to sizzle with heat.

"What are you doing?!" One of the Unspeakables exclaimed.

"Undoing a wrong," Harry said. He placed one hand over the other, and compelled the Decay and Strength Forces into one conjoined stream, working together. Mak squealed with glee in his mind, and the diamond vibrated under his hands.

'Water!' He thought to the surface, and then, with a soft popping sound, the diamond transformed into liquid water. The water lost its shape, displacing tonnes of frigid H20 through the room, saturating Harry, Fudge, the Unspeakables and Kingsley, who reappeared from the pocket dimension Harry had sent him too, screaming his name. Finally, a wisp of rainbow light escaped where the diamond had been. It merged with the fog, which then vanished. Reabsorbed into Equality's essence.

Transfiguration. The one thing he'd never been able to do. It wasn't so hard after all. He'd just needed God to teach him.

Mak burst free of the deluge as it settled over the sand as a layer of water that came up to about Harry's knees.

"Yahoo! Can we do it again?!" Harry just laughed.

"What… what have you done?!" Fudge cried, "All the spells… you've destroyed them!" He had, evidentially, returned to consciousness.

Harry turned to him. "What was right." Then he strode out of the room with Mak by his side.

Ginny blinked back into awareness, stumbling to her knees in the Chamber of Secrets. Or… was it actually the Chamber of Secrets? Yes, it was, but it was like out of a dream, a shadow version. One she'd seen before.

The ground around the beam of rainbow light beside her was comprised of bubbling water, as were the walls stretching up in an identical shape to the Chamber she remembered. Only the places alongside the walls, the fountain ponds, were not made of water. They were instead were made of Black Obsidian.

She was in the Valley. The realm of thoughts and minds. And spirits. Why wasn't it covered in mud anymore?

A burst of flame erupted from the water, then solidified into Ember. She stood equal to Ginny's height, wearing a gorgeous black gossamer evening gown. Her skin was still ash white, but her hair was made entirely of fire now.

"Ginny," Ember beamed, and the two women rushed together, kicking up water. They pulled each other into fierce hugs, and for once, Ginny could genuinely appreciate how warm and physical Ember felt on this side.

"You did it. I'm so proud of you," she whispered into Ginny's shoulder.

"We did it. I never would have made it without you." They continued to embrace for what felt like an eternity, until someone coughed behind them.

"Urgh, how utterly repulsive." Ginny and Ember turned towards the voice, a boy of perhaps sixteen sitting on the rock ledge, feet in the water. He wore Hogwarts robes and had pale skin and black hair.

"Killed by Ginny fucking Weasley. Isn't that ironic," Tom said, rolling his eyes. "At least I finally got to watch you die yourself." Ginny blinked in confusion, staring into the face of the thing that had ruined her life, that had haunted her dreams for so long she could no longer remember sleeping without his voice in her mind. He looked… sickly. His form was starting to blur. Even on this side it was becoming transparent.

He rolled his eyes, then stood up. Ember, eyes blazing with hatred, stormed towards the disembodied spirit. How was he here?

"I promised you I would destroy what remained of your pathetic mind Tom Riddle," Ember hissed. Then she grabbed Tom around the throat. He didn't resist. He just sighed in what felt like relief.

"My bond to the girl died with her body. I'm more than willing to finally rest." Ember spat at him, then her hands caught fire. Tom's body burst into flames, and he screamed in pain as what remained of the Diary… which she had thrown into the pool… was finally exorcised. His spirit blurred, before being pulled towards the beam and getting absorbed by it.

Ember sighed, then turned back to Ginny, smiling softly. Then she lifted up her hand. The skin there was cracking, breaking into pieces. Even as Ginny watched, golden particles began tearing away from Ember's entire body. Her heart lurched.

"What's happening?!" She exclaimed, rushing forward, but Ember held her hand out to Ginny to stop her.

"It's okay. I knew this was how it would end for me. I'd do it all again. For you," she said in a soft voice, twin tears sliding down her right cheek. No. No way. She would not let Ember go now. What could she… Ginny glanced down at her own hands. They were blurring, becoming transparent like Tom's. She glanced again to the beam, and this time she could feel… a tugging. Something was pulling her towards the beam… towards the Beyond.

"We're dead, aren't we?" she realised.

"Yes," said Daphne's voice, "You don't have long now." Ember waved to someone behind Ginny, and she turned around to see Daphne standing before her in rainbow trimmed robes, glowing as radiantly as the beam.

"Daph?"

"Sort of," she said, then held out her hands, "Come with me." Ginny, mind racing, took Daphne's offered hand, and instantly her body stopped fading. Ember did the same, and her body seemed to reconstitute itself somewhat. The Chamber of Secrets vanished in a heartbeat, replaced with an ocean that stretched across the whole horizon.

The mud and slime were gone here too. She could clearly see the black stone island that was the Black Lake on the other side, and she could see thousands of tiny bubbles floating around on one side of it, each one reflecting with an inner light. People. That was where Hogwarts was. To their side was the beam of rainbow light. It was sick no longer, soaring powerfully into the sky, emitting waves of energy from its structure. The sky was a deep blue, and the sun, though still small, was yellow rather than red. But now, something else swirled in the air. A storm of power that rippled around the peak of the beam, swirling around itself like a lazy cyclone.

"I can't hold you for very long," Daphne said, "I freed your mind from the Perpendicularity… but diving into it like you did… well, you don't have a body to send you back to."

Ginny swallowed.

"So this is… what, heaven?"

Daphne chuckled. "No. This is… a way stop if you'd like. Your body is dead, disintegrated when you dove into the Perpendicularity in the middle of the axial tilt. But your mind was stuck in a sort of… limbo. I let you out, but you have to take the final step soon."

"What about Voldemort? The real one?"

Daphne's face darkened. "His new body, like yours, was destroyed. I have what remains of his soul, trapped where it can never see the light of day." Ginny breathed a sigh of relief, gazing out over the tranquil ocean. She was dead. She supposed she should be more shocked at that. But she didn't feel shocked, or disturbed, or even dejected or pained. She just felt an overwhelming sense of… disappointment. There had been something she'd been trying to gain the courage to do, and now she'd never get the chance.

"How is he?" she asked softly, taking Ember's hand as her skin began to crack once more.

"He blames himself," Daphne said solemnly, "he tries not to, but he can't see past it."

"Can I speak to him?" Daphne looked thoughtful, and Ginny finally saw the thin tendrils that connected Daphne's body to the storm of energy high above. Why was Daphne of all people here to greet her?

"I can send him a message for you."

And so Ginny told Daphne what she wished she'd been able to say in life, until, finally, the tugging began to pull her up into the sky, and her form began to blur. She glanced to Ember and hugged her friend one more time.

"Goodbye, sweet one," Ember whispered, "Goodbye." Ginny, tears streaming down her face, let go of her friend, and her form dissipated into golden dust. Ginny turned to Daphne, who was watching her with a sad smile.

"Thank you," Ginny said.

Daphne bowed to her, and Ginny let herself fade away, pulled towards that place Beyond.

One month later, Gabrielle found Harry back in the forest grove, staring at the pool of water. It was daytime now, but the pool still looked as though it were reflecting moonlight. With the Pact of Truth destroyed, faeries had begun returning to Earth in droves. Most of them had come here, drawn to Imagination's Perpendicularity, and dozens of flittering lights of all different colours and shapes now moved between the trees and flowers. According to Aerith, the leader of the faeries – who was a light-faerie like Carellia – two other conclaves had popped up on Earth so far. One in Ireland: ancient faeries returning to their ancestral homes. And one in New Zealand.

Harry had gone back to the Bunker and marvelled at how Daphne had changed it. Over five-hundred people were sheltering there now, and more people were coming every day. They had room, beds, food, money. It was everything Harry had ever dreamed of those years on the street. Emily, Nylah and Sammy had returned there with him, and together, Emily and Harry had told their story to all the kids. Both of them were officially superheroes now in their eyes. Take that Iron Man.

Professor McGonagall had been elected as the new Headmistress of Hogwarts, the Wizengamot had been disbanded when Harry destroyed the spells granting noble peerages, and Fudge was on track to be deposed. Odds were, Amelia Bones would be his replacement, and the Death Eaters who escaped justice at the end of the War would finally be sent to prison. Merlin had cleaned up and restored the Chamber of Secrets before his departure through the Perpendicularity. And, most importantly to Harry's mind, Ginny had been hailed a hero for defeating Voldemort once and for all, as well as helping to expose Dumbledore's sinister plots. The old man was in a holding cell now, being prepared for trial. The mystery woman who'd been in the secret cells had vanished. Ginny had been declared the winner of the Triwizard Tournament in absentia. Harry and Gabrielle had made sure the money was given to Fred and George – the only family members that had stood by her. They promised to use the funds well, intending to finally start up their joke shop. Maybe they could bring some well-deserved happiness to the world. Harry wished them both well. He'd also resisted the urge to punch her parents. Ginny's mother hadn't even shown up for her funeral, though her father and other brothers had. Even Ron.

Finally, a half dozen new Imagineers had already appeared in the vicinity of Glastonbury. Harry and Gabrielle had begun training them, and Emily, Susan Bones and a boy named Arron had already gotten a solid grasp of the magic of Design.

It seemed Daphne's promise was actually coming true. With Equality restored, the world was changing. After so much evil and hate and fear permeating the world for so long, there was a lot of good to go around. Even things in the human world were looking up.

So why did Harry feel so empty? He had everything he'd ever wanted. This was the start of a new beginning. Yet he couldn't shake the shadow, the feeling that somebody else should be there to enjoy everything with him. She wasn't there.

Harry hadn't realised how much he'd come to rely on Ginny being in his life. She provided a warmth that invigorated him, refreshed him. She had given him a purpose beyond just missions and protecting the Bunker. She'd been something to strive for. A goal. For once in his life, he'd actually thought only about himself. Had a dream for the future, instead of just reacting to the present.

He'd never see her smiling face again. He had saved the world, three times over, yet it seemed pale in comparison to that simple daunting fact.

Gabrielle stepped up behind him, following his gaze to the pool.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" she asked softly.

"How did you know?"

"Because I was thinking of doing the same thing," she said. "I loved that girl. Maybe not in the same way that you did, but I loved her. She was more of a sister to me this year than Fleur ever was. Now I'm trying to do my part to put the world back together, one shit piece at a time, but it all seems… pointless, because she's not there to see it. You know?"

Harry sighed. "Yeah. I know." Gabrielle stepped up to the pool, backpack slung over her shoulder, Vel in her breast pocket.

"What will you tell your parents?" he asked.

"I left a note. Telling them I had to leave. Figure things out on my own. My Veela powers are getting out of control," she admitted, "Fleur and Mum have felt it too, but they're used to having to dampen the Veela Allure. I'm not, and quite frankly, the stares are freaking me out." Harry chuckled slightly. He glanced at Mak, who nodded wistfully, then stood up and grabbed his own pack from where it was hanging off a tree branch.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked nervously, "You're a hero. A legend in the making. You could play a key part in rebuilding this fractured world."

Harry sighed. "I honestly don't think I'd be very good at it. I'm a fighter, and a damn good one. I don't really know what to do with peace, with reconstruction. I don't have a mission here anymore. Maybe… maybe I can find one out there."

She nodded, satisfied with his answer. He grabbed Gabrielle's hand, and together they stepped into the shallow pool.

Harry closed his eyes and focussed on transitioning. On transporting to the Valley. The water at his feet began to ripple, then it surged around them like a wave, though he didn't get wet. The water abated, and Harry opened his eyes. The grove was gone. In its place was an ocean that spread out as far as the eye could see. Gabrielle stood beside him, appearing once again as she had that night when Daphne had ascended, and beside them were Mak and Vel. Mak was her full size, enormous feathered wings folded around her like a cape, blonde hair falling in waves down her back. Vel's skin was even darker on this side than in the real world, and his hair was bright electric green, matching his tattoos and eyes.

Daphne stood in the ocean in front of them, rainbow light rippling off her form. A thin tether led from her humanoid form up to the sky, where a storm of energy sat, temperate and serene. The real Daphne was up there, this was just an image she created for them to see.

"If it makes you feel any better," she said with a light smile, "I'm leaving too." Harry and Gabrielle both frowned.

"How can you leave?" Gabrielle asked, "You're… God. You're watching over the planet and everything…"

"Most of me will remain here. Watching. Working. But a part of me… a sliver if you will, can leave. Merlin reported back yesterday. There is another Shard of Heaven nearby. Merlin spoke to this 'Harmony' on my behalf and has arranged a meeting. I hope to learn from him. Maybe the truth of where these Shards come from in the first place. At the very least, he can teach me how to intervene in the world without destroying it." She paused, looking thoughtful.

"You could come with me?"

Harry glanced up at the bright yellow sun, then back down to Gabrielle. She shook her head.

"Maybe we will eventually," Gabrielle said, "But for now I think maybe we'll just explore a bit. There's a whole cosmere out there, who knows what we'll find." Daphne smiled at them.

"Well, regardless, I have something to tell you before you go." She looked to the ground, and Harry realised she was crying slightly. It was incredibly humbling, the idea that a god, even one that was his friend, could cry.

"I found Ginny," she said, looking back up with tears in her eyes.

Harry blinked.

"What do you mean?" Gabrielle asked, hand trembling in Harry's.

"She was trapped in the Perpendicularity. I was able to save her mind, but her body… She had too much Imagination flowing through her. Passing through my Perpendicularity destroyed her. She… I spoke to her as she died. Her and Ember both. She left a message for you."

Daphne held forth a hand, and an image of Ginny swirled into being.

"Harry, Gabi… I don't have long," the image said, and just hearing Ginny's voice was enough to make Harry start crying. "I just wanted to say thank you. Both of you. You managed to pull me out of the spiral I'd been trapped in. Something… I never would have believed possible a year ago. Honestly, without you, I don't think I would have made it this far. You helped me hold up the weight of the sky, just like you promised Harry, and because of that, I got to extend my time far beyond what was due me. I got to mend my wounds, to really come to believe in myself again." She sniffed, wiping her nose with her arm, eyes red. Harry latched onto Gabrielle like a lifeline, and she held to him just as tightly. Behind him, Mak circled Harry's waist with her arms and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I got the sister I'd always dreamed of having…" Gabrielle made a soft mewling noise in the back of her throat.

"And I fell in love. I got the chance to experience that before I died… and there isn't much more someone can ask for." Ginny's visage smiled through her tears, and Harry felt his heart crack just a little more.

"Don't suffer because of me. Please. I ended my life in the best way imaginable. I saved you. If I had to do it again, I would. Every time. So please, for me, move on. Don't hold yourself back. Be happy. Be free. I'll be watching and cheering from the sidelines. And Mak? Vel? You keep these two numbskulls safe you hear me?"

The two faeries, both of whom were balling, nodded solemnly to the image.

A tear slid down Ginny's face, and she held up a hand to them.

"I love you."

Then she blurred away, and the image vanished.

Gabrielle and Harry pulled Daphne and the two faeries into a fierce hug, and together they stayed for a long time. Finally, they parted, all their tears spent.

"Thank you," Harry whispered.

"It was the least I could do." They nodded, and Gabrielle sniffled, blinking away the water in her eyes.

"Good luck. I hope you find what you need to," she said.

"Until we meet again, my friends," Daphne replied softly. She raised a hand in farewell, then dissipated into mist, the tendril receding into the sky.

Harry glanced back at the Perpendicularity one last time. He could still see the pool, but on this side a beam of silver energy rose from it, piercing the sky. He turned away from Earth and grabbed Gabrielle's hand in his right, and Mak's in his left, and together they began their journey across the sea into the unknown.