Disclaimer- Definitely J.K. Rowling's…. Especially the parts actually from the books.
Author's note- Sorry it's taken me a while, but as I predicted, school always interferes. What is with giving homework on the first day anyway? Well, here's chapter two, hope you like, and thanks to any and all reviewers for your comments and criticism:
Lily Laurelinn- If only I knew exactly what I was doing! I still haven't figured out everything. Dumbledore is such a difficult character to write because he always knows everything, and I can't know everything because I'm not J.K. Rowling. I don't think it'll be all through his perspective, which is why I again beg that you'll bear with me! Carey Miles- I was horrified too, which I guess is why I'm writing this story; to get my speculations out. Not to mention that it's quite entertaining. Thanks. Alex202- Well, thank you! J. Rolande- Wow, I appreciate that, thank you. I hope I can live up to your praise. George Heichelheim- I don't know how much I'm going to include about Hell yet, but I certainly will consider that; sounds like a good idea. Firewall- Well, I'm glad that you did decide to read it and even happier that you enjoyed it, thank you! Excessivelyperky- Yeah, that should be interesting (I say that because I don't even know where exactly it's going in regards to Snape yet, but I'll definitely go into it somehow.) sari5156- Thank you very much. Mog-everything- I'm glad that you enjoyed it! KillinBuddy- You'reinsane, and Dumbledore did not deserve to die … stop hitting him with a fish. Laubo Giden- Coming from a non-Harry Potter person, you give some of the best praise I've ever gotten. Thanks for the support. Cows kick ass! Blusugar2- Thank you so much. Your comments were wonderful and I appreciate them more than I could say. I would never dream of making you mad, but you should know better than anyone how much school can suck beyond the telling of it. Are we really up to three games! We need lives. Thanks to all the anonymous reviewers as well!
The Next Great Adventure
Chapter 2
They continued to move down the path, which had now begun to wind around more and more exotic looking plants. Brilliant patches of colorful pansies and petunias now grew amid wild bushes and rows of what could only be mandrakes.
"I think this is where plants come after they die too," said Sirius, sounding slightly disgusted as he ducked beneath the low branches of an avocado tree. "I could swear I've seen a fern here somewhere that I had forgotten to water…."
"Sure you did, Padfoot," sniggered James.
"Don't use that tone with me," said Sirius with a look of indignation that faded slowly to a smirk as he continued, "Like you can really talk anyway, making me help you follow that stupid cat around that you thought had belonged to your grandmother."
"It had very similar markings…." James muttered.
Sirius turned to Dumbledore, laughing now, and said, "By the time we tracked it down, it was curled in the arms of a ten year-old little girl who had apparently died the previous day. She looked terrified when James asked if he could see her cat."
"I'm sure she was fine after we left," James grumbled while Dumbledore began to chuckle.
Sirius recovered himself slightly as James threw him a dirty look and Dumbledore said, "Well, it certainly seems as though you two are happy here."
James shrugged slightly and responded in a rather unconvincing tone, "I suppose."
Dumbledore looked at him questioningly, silently prompting him to continue.
"Heaven is," James began tentatively, "well, it's-."
"It's boring," interjected Sirius.
"To put it bluntly," James nodded. "Don't get us wrong," he said to Dumbledore, "it is great here. I mean, no pain, peaceful surroundings, and basically everything wonderful that you could ever imagine. It's just, we'd rather be down there, fighting, helping."
"It's so frustrating," said Sirius, "being able to see everything going on and being so helpless to do anything about it … almost like life in Grimmauld Place, only prettier and with better company."
Dumbledore gave them a small smile. "But if you're so attached to life on Earth," he began, "if you're so desperate to return, then why did you not become ghosts when you died? What is the dividing line between staying and moving on?"
"Fear," said Sirius simply. "People who die and become ghosts only do so because they are afraid of letting go. Most people fear death, of course, fear the unknown, but ghosts simply have an intense trepidation of abandoning the world. The fear of what lies beyond keeps the imprint of their souls firmly attached to Earth."
"You see, we understood that death would happen, that it was an inevitable part of life," James added. "So, we were ready to die in a sense."
The path had started to open up now, and a glorious stone courtyard was visible through the long, swaying branches of a massive willow tree, which overshadowed the path's end.
James stopped before this and turned to Dumbledore once more. "However shocked or surprised you are when you die, for most people, there is this understanding. They may resent death - hate it, fear it - but somewhere inside them they always knew it would happen. With this acceptance they begin to develop something else in their lives, something they may not even be fully aware of."
"Faith," said Dumbledore quietly.
James nodded. "Some type of faith within them that lets them know that whatever happens, ultimately everything will be alright."
He started off again toward the end of the path, now following Sirius who had moved forward to take the lead through the forest of tendril-like willow branches.
As they stepped out into the courtyard, the golden light that had brightened everything with a daytime glow began to fade, revealing a number of sparkling stars painted onto a soft, periwinkle sky.
"Time is really shifty here," said Sirius to Dumbledore. "It's almost as though it doesn't even exist. One moment it'll be day, and in the next it'll be nighttime. There may be three feet of snow on the ground when you wake up, and five minutes later the sun'll come out and the whole place will be filled with those annoying chirping birds."
"The only way we can really keep track of how long we've been here is by watching what happens down on Earth," said James, as they made their way to the center of the courtyard, where stood what appeared to be an enormous birdbath. "And we do that by using-."
"Albus!" the rest of James' words were lost as a delighted squeal rang out from the direction of the birdbath structure. A figure sprinted toward them, her shining red hair fanning out behind her like a brilliant curtain. Lily Potter stopped before them and embraced Dumbledore who hugged her in return with the care of a father.
"We were absolutely mortified when we saw it happen!" she began, relinquishing her hold on him. "I mean, that he would, well, that you could actually … and that poor boy, he's supposed to be married! That note – R.A.B. – it's all so overwhelming! You-you, well, I wasn't even sure you could die. Oh, and if I could get my hands on Severus Snape-."
"Er, honey," James broke in, "maybe just one thing at a time. And, you know, it might be nice if you spoke in a language we could all understand."
"Oh, yes, sorry," Lily breathed, but Dumbledore merely smiled down at her. "It's wonderful to see you, Lily," he said. "Although I suppose the circumstances could be better."
"Yes, well, come sit down," said Lily, leading the way. Sirius and James followed behind them, rolling their eyes at her slight insanity.
As they drew nearer to it, the object in the center of the courtyard began to resemble more of a Pensieve than a birdbath. It was a low stone basin set on a pedestal and encircled by several elegant wooden chairs. A soft, shimmering silver light emanated from its contents, which flowed as if neither liquid nor gas.
They each took a seat in one of the chairs and Lily, seeing Dumbledore's transfixed gaze on the object before him, began once more, "This is how we see everything down on Earth. Though, I expect the guys have already filled you in on that…."
"We were about to, dear," said James, smiling, "but then you so enthusiastically made your appearance and all thought of doing so was wiped from our minds."
Lily gave him a playful scowl and then continued, "Well, we don't really have a name for this, but I assume you've already gathered that it works rather like a Pensieve?" All you have to do is to think of someone whom you'd like to see and it'll just … show you. Of course, it never shows anyone truly evil – not their plans or anything. It's almost as though it guards itself against things like that."
"I suppose that's why we didn't even know what Snape was planning to do," said Sirius. "We never really saw him much when he wasn't at Hogwarts or at headquarters … not that we tried very hard, mind you," he added with a look of revulsion.
"So how does this work when multiple people wish to use it?" asked Dumbledore, avoiding the topic of Snape for the moment.
"Well," said Lily, "they simply see different things if they are thinking of different people. And if they aren't, one person can think of someone, and the rest can just look on, watching the same as them."
"For instance," said James with a rye smile, "if I were to think of Harry, then you could sit back and watch, if you wanted to.
He gestured toward the basin as he said this, and Dumbledore peered into it, where the silvery mass had now begun to swirl. It cleared slowly, and then focused on a dimly lit room which he realized with a jolt was his office … or it had been anyway. He was surprised, at first, to find that it was rather crowded, considering he was no longer there to occupy it. But then, of course, reality struck as he looked down upon Professor McGonagall, surrounded by Hagrid, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Professor Slughorn, and Harry…. He was dead, what would happen now?
"- for the Hogwarts Express to come tomorrow if necessary," Professor McGonagall was saying briskly.
"What about Dumbledore's funeral?" asked Harry.
Dumbledore watched him sadly. He couldn't help feeling guilty for leaving Harry alone, however helpless he had been to do otherwise.
Professor McGonagall faltered slightly. "Well … I-I know that it was Dumbledore's wish to be laid to rest here, at Hogwarts-."
"Then that's what'll happen, isn't it?" Harry implored.
"If the Ministry thinks it appropriate."
Dumbledore couldn't help but smile as he distinctly heard Sirius mutter, "Who gives a damn what the bloody Ministry thinks," in response to Professor McGonagall's statement.
"No other headmaster of headmistress has ever been-."
"No other headmaster of headmistress ever gave more to this school," said Hagrid, causing Dumbledore to glow with a thankful happiness. He had always appreciated Hagrid's irrevocable loyalty.
"Hogwarts should be Dumbledore's final resting place," said Professor Flitwick.
"Absolutely," said Professor Sprout.
"And in that case," said Harry, "you shouldn't send the students home until the funeral's over. They'll want to say-."
"Good-bye," finished Professor Sprout.
A hard lump rose in Dumbledore's throat. He watched as the others agreed, and then as Harry left his office before the Ministry delegation arrived. The image faded on the dark and lonely corridors of Hogwarts, but the resounding notes of Fawkes' song echoed loudly within him, seemingly shaking the very boundaries of Heaven, before they too eventually dissipated.
Dumbledore glanced up at James who said simply, "You were loved by a lot of people."
He turned to Lily, whose emerald eyes were brimming with tears, and asked her with a sudden, burning curiosity, "What happened after I died? What happened to Harry, Lily?"
"We can talk about that later," she sniffed. "You've traveled a long way, your soul needs to rest." And without even allowing room for protest, she rose from her chair, apparently waiting for him to follow.
He consented, only after recognizing her mom-ish desire to take care of him. It was rather like being in the company of Molly Weasley, which meant, of course, that there would be no argument.
She led him around to the edge of the courtyard while James and Sirius remained behind. An endless array of buildings and doors lined the cobbled walkway down which they now strode, each seemingly identical to the next but for the names emblazoned above every entrance. Dumbledore glanced at these as they passed, every now and then feeling a slight twinge as he spotted names like Emmeline Vance or Florean Fortescue, which were certainly more familiar than others.
"These are our quarters," said Lily suddenly. "Where we stay while we're here. They look sort of dull from the outside," she smiled, "but the inside of each is designed as the one place you were most comfortable on Earth; the one place you were most at home. James and I live in Godric's Hollow."
Lily sighed. "Everything here seems to be made of the purest form of magic, Dumbledore," she said. "It's like this is where it all began. Hope, loyalty, love- all the things that Earth has too little of are right here; they started it all. You've always believed that love is the most powerful form of magic, and here's the proof. You can feel it here, vibrating off of everything. I only hope it can help Harry in the end."
"It will," said Dumbledore.
Lily smiled again. "Even in death, you still know everything?"
"I don't," he said, also smiling down at her. "My heart simply tells me that it will."
They walked on a little further until at last they came to a plain looking door with 'Albus Dumbledore' etched in the stone above it. Two doors down was Lily and James' door, which stood beside Sirius'.
"Well, here you are," said Lily. "You should get in, go to sleep. Although it's mainly your body that needs to eat and sleep when you're alive, they're good for the soul too, which I suppose is why we still do them here."
"Thank you, Lily," said Dumbledore.
As she turned to leave, though, Dumbledore called her back. "Just tell me," he said, "was anyone else killed during the fight?"
"No," she said reassuringly. "That boy – Bill Weasley – he was mauled by Greyback. "He'll be pretty scarred, but he's alright."
Dumbledore let out a small sigh of relief. "Thank you," he said again.
Lily smiled and turned to meet up with James who had begun to walk their way.
Dumbledore slowly turned the knob to his room, not quite knowing what to expect. When the door swung open, it was to the most astonishing sight he had ever seen, both on Earth and in Heaven. It was the entrance hall to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Before him stretched the grand marble staircase, and on the right, two vast doors opened into the Great Hall with its velvety black, star strewn ceiling.
Dumbledore silently closed the door behind him and stood back to gape at his surroundings. Everything was exactly where it should be and he knew, somehow, that he was home.
He had started toward the staircase when something suddenly caught his eye. He could see, from a window he had not noticed from the outside, the shimmering light from the basin in the center of the courtyard. Silhouetted in its glow was the lone figure of Sirius Black.
Author's Note- Thanks for reading! No idea when Ch. 3 will be up, but I hope you enjoyed, and any reviews would be dandy!