A Magical Life:

By Tumblequ
With love

"You can't expect to give your life to someone, and not leave a little part of yourself behind" – behind the grave, no one is ever truly lost to us forever.

He must not float upon his watery bier
Unwept, and welter to the parching wind,
Without the meed of some melodious tear.

- John Milton, Lycidas

Interlude

In which we are given an observers gift…

Today, wonderful things were going to happen.

But that did not change the fact that James Potter was not having a good day. A minor cause of this bad feeling was the sudden appearance of his old Headmaster in the Council Chambers.

Albus Dumbledore had appeared with very little warning, looking highly disturbed and extremely mournful. Not really an unexpected emotion, considering that the old man had just passed from the Land of the Living to the Land of the Dead.

What had surprised James, as he sat back and watched Albus in a languid fashion, was the fact that the man's face did not immediately begin to calm; his jaw did not slacken, and his eyes did not dull. After he had been standing in the middle of the conference room, watched by the sixteen adults present, for five minutes James decided to make a move, confused about why Albus was not becoming the type of drone that was an automatic response to death.

James stepped forward.

"Albus, what a… surprise" James said while attempting a smile, and failing miserably. It wasn't that he was unhappy about seeing Albus, although the man's death signified many things for everyone present in the room, he was unhappy that something had gone wrong in the transfer between worlds.

And as James's job was to make sure that there were no problem with that same transfer he was greatly displeased to find that, at now of all times, there was a problem.

Albus's eyes focused vaguely on James and a look of confusion crossed his face.

"Harry? Is that you, my child?" Albus took a step towards James, who took a quick step backwards and shook his head.

"Albus, it's James. James Potter. I'm afraid that even now… dead… you will not see Harry" James took a step forward and escorted Ablus to the chair he had vacated "Souls at an uncomprehensive stage are Dissolved. Harry no longer exists" which was one of the reasons he had taken this job to begin with.

Albus seemed to be gaining an understanding of what was going on around him, rather the opposite to what should be happening. The old man now had a familiar twinkle in his eyes, even if he fully allowed James to help him into the comfortable chair.

"Ah, James. It has been a long time indeed" James felt himself nodding in agreement, despite his worries for Dumbledore's resistance to the spells automatically placed on all who die without consulting oracles.

"Yes, but fifteen years has passed very quickly here, Albus. Longer for you than I, I think" James said softly as he looked around for a chair to position himself in. Dumbledore smiled serenely, his previously lost composure back in working order.

"We have much to discuss, James. Much to discuss."

To be continued… (soon – as this was incredibly microspcipacally small-like)