Albus heard Harry scream as he fell back, the anguished cry of a boy that really shouldn't care that much about his death. But Albus knew….hoped at least, that he had done the right thing as he watched the green spell from Severus' wand glide towards him. He closed his eyes and let death take him. It was time for his next great adventure….finally.
[][][][][][]
Albus opened his eyes to see a bright, white expanse. He was nearly startled a bit when an angelic man appeared before him with no visual warning.
"Hello, Albus Dumbledore."
"Hello…"
"Jerome Emiliani. Patron Saint of Orphans."
"Oh?"
"We are going to have a long discussion about one Harry James Potter, among others."
"Oh…"
"And just *exactly* how you failed them."
"Oh.", this 'oh' holding the weight of a truly exhausted old man behind it.
"You, Albus Dumbledore, are going to *fix it*, after our discussion."
"I take it I am not yet allowed to drift on?", Albus spoke with a sigh.
"No."
Two chairs appeared in the white void, on either side of a small table with Tea. Albus took a seat across from the saint and sipped from the cup on his side.
"Good tea…"
"It was always my favorite as well. Shall we start?"
"At your leisure."
"Why don't we start with Tom Marvolo Riddle."
"Ah...a tragic story."
"Yes, though it didn't need to be, did it?"
"I don't know what you-"
"Yes, you do."
"It wasn't my place."
"No, it was your duty."
"Tom made his choices, who was I to deny him that?"
"It's funny that you afforded those choices to Tom, yet allowed yourself to take all liberty from young Harry with impunity."
"Harry….it hurt me, to take what I did from him, it was agonizing to bind his free will, but what I did was necessary to defeat what Tom had become."
"A man that became what he did from your lack of intervention. Even so, did you need to do everything you did? Let's make a list.
"You bound his magic to the point he barely survived his childhood."
"I couldn't risk an Obscuria-"
"You kept him, knowingly, in an abusive home for 11 years, never checking in on him."
"They were his blood."
"You kept his godfather in prison for 11 years."
"I had no idea Sirius was innocent-"
"DO NOT lie to me."
Albus was silent for a minute.
"What else could I have done? Sirius...he was not made to raise a child, let alone one as famous as Harry."
"You talk as if he would have been alone."
"Harry couldn't know who he was, arrogance was already James and I's downfall-"
"Arrogance. An arrogance that led you to believe you could control Tom Riddle. Arrogance to believe your order could win a war without killing. Arrogance, to believe you could manipulate Harry Potter into your perfect mold."
"His father-"
"A child is not their parent."
"Harry proved not to be, how could I have known?"
"It wasn't your choice to make."
"I….I know. It was a choice I did make though, and at that point, it was too late."
"You're amazing at making excuses for yourself, aren't you?"
That statement struck a cord, and Dumbledore's remaining confidence broke."
"I can see all of your transgressions. Humans are not perfect, Albus, I do not expect perfection. But I do expect better. I cannot send you back to save Tom Riddle. I can't even send you back to Save Harry from his aunt and uncle, but I can send you to the most monumental moment in Harry's development."
Albus sat for a long time, thinking about what Jerome had said….the truths.
"How can I do it?"
"That is not my task."
"I...I accept."
"Now who told you it was your choice...goodbye, Albus."
And Dumbledore's world went black.