The hall floated on the bed of clouds. There were no walls, just golden columns going up into infinity. I looked down and saw that I was barefoot and wearing a white, flowing dress. I wiggled my toes against the warm, white stones on the floor. Where was I? Was I dead?

"Jennifer."

My head snapped up and I stared down the room, unable to see the speaker. I started walking towards the voice calling my name. I felt as weightless as the clouds, floating along over the white stone. I couldn't see anything beyond the clouds, but that didn't stop me from trying.

"Jennifer."

Suddenly, I was at the end, and leaning against golden railing was a man, tall and dark-haired. He wore a white garment similar to my own, a sort of tunic straight out of mythology. I know that he's been the one calling my name. He turned to face me.

"Lance?" I asked cautiously, both because I wasn't exactly sure if that was Lance, but if it was, then I need to back away. Even if we were both dead, I didn't want to deal with him.

His face broke into a smile, kind and radiant and not at all like the Lance I know. His hair was combed and neat, his grey eyes warm and welcoming. His expression really threw me off, though. That smile… it wasn't hungry, or snide, but genuine. My heart seemed to glow. I hadn't seen that smile for years.

"Yes," he said, holding out a hand to me. So it was him. But… how? "Don't be afraid," he added when he saw me hesitate. "I'm not going to hurt you." Slowly, I placed my hand in his, and he took it lightly, his hand warm around mine. "I want to show you something."

He started pulling me towards the railing, and I didn't resist. "Where are we?" I asked.

"Somewhere special," he responded, tugging me to the railing. As I gripped the rail with my spare hand, I leaned over and gasped.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Lance asked brightly, examining my expression.

"It's… beautiful."

Spread out before us, under the clouds, was an expansive white city. There was a golden mist covering it, with trees and flowers springing between buildings and along streets, and in the middle of the city was a great domed building with elegant statues along the roof. Even from this distance, the whole place radiated warmth and a sweet perfume. I had to be dead. But at least this meant that Lance was dead, too. So I guess that was alright.

"Do you want to visit it?" he asked, and I nodded eagerly. I was insanely curious, too much for my own good. He waved his hand over the rail and it dissolved. He led me onto a cloud and we started floating down into the city.

"What is this place?" I asked again, turning my head to try and see everything we passed. I reached out and let my fingers skim through the fluffy cloud.

"You know it," Lance replied with a small, mysterious smile. "Let's go."

Our feet touched down on the stone street and we started walking. The stone was warm and a soft grey colour, smooth beneath my feet. As I looked around, the architecture fascinated me. No building was the same design, but everything was made of some sort of beautifully coloured stone. Light green limestone, black and white marble, tan sandstone – everything was columns and arches and spires, creating wondrous houses and shops selling the most exotic foods, clothing, spell books and potion ingredients anyone could imagine, far beyond what I knew.

"How… ?" I couldn't finished my question. I couldn't form it in my mind. If this was the afterlife, this wouldn't be so bad.

"Let's keep going," he said, pulling me onwards.

"Is this a wizarding city?" I asked. I thought so, but assumptions were too convenient.

"Yes. Look." He pointed just ahead of us, a sort of town square within the expanse of houses and shops. There was a great fountain in the center with statues of the four founders of Hogwarts, standing tall and proud and each facing a different direction, turquoise water streaming from their wand tips and into the pool. And sitting on the edge of the pool were three people, talking animatedly.

"Harry?" I asked, approaching him, Ron and Hermione, but he didn't turn. "Harry!" Still, no response, and I was just a few feet from him. My heart rate spiked. They were dead too? Why, how?

"They can't see or hear us when we're in this state," Lance explained, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

"In this state?" I asked, not turning from my little brother. I could have easily reached over and brushed the black hair from his eyes like I had so many times before when we were younger. "Where are we? What's going on?" I demanded.

"This is the future. Our future," Lance said, eyes still watching my face.

"Our future?"

"Yes. Everyone is here, safe and sound, thanks to us."

"What about Voldemort?"

"Voldemort?" Lance laughed. "He's dead. He's been dead for years."

I looked carefully at Harry. He didn't seem any older than he did last time I saw him, so how could that be? None of this made any sense.

"Who else is here?" I asked, wanting to continue my investigation.

"Lots of people," he responded, casually leading me around the fountain and down another street. As we walked, the city seemed to wake up. More and more people came out of their houses or opened their shops, and I recognized almost all of them. Fred and George had a brightly coloured joke shop, and Ophilia was on a poster advertising a ballet. We walked through the twisted streets, and I felt the urge to smile. I got up the courage to start looking in windows for more people, and near the end of the fifth street, I gasped.

"Cedric!" I yelled, pressing myself against the window of his house. He was smiling, laughing, and swinging a child around in his arms. I didn't need to see it - I just knew that underneath his shirt, he had no scars. But who the child was, it could only be his… but who else? I called his name again, slapping my palm on the window. Why wouldn't he just look at me?

"Jennifer, he can't see you," Lance reminded me, pulling me back from the window. His fingers touched my face and I realized then that I was crying. "Let's go."

"But… I…"

"Does he look happy?"

I hesitated. "Yes." I wiped tears away with trembling fingers. Is this what heartbreak felt like?

"What more could you ask for then? We are separate from him, from all of them."

He took my hand again and we walked on through the city.

Through the haze of golden mist and some unknown time, we were sitting at a table across the street from the huge domed building. I was holding a coffee in one hand and Lance's own hand in the other. The coffee was smooth and rich and warm, sending comforting heat through my entire body.

There was no warning or even a thought for it; Lance leaned across the table and kissed me. It was soft and kind and warm and perfect. The best kiss I'd ever experienced. He pulled away slowly, and as he brushed hair from my face, whispered, "I love you."

"I… I love you, too." I didn't know why I said it, but it felt true and like my own words. If Cedric would be happy with someone else, then I could be, too.

He smiled into the second kiss, and when he pulled back, he motioned to the domed building. "Know what that is?"

"What?"

"That's the library."

I tore my eyes away from Lance and marveled it, wondering what it was like inside. The façade itself held enormous grandeur, highly decorated with intricate stone work, inscriptions, and statues. I had never seen a more beautiful building, and I had no doubt that the inside was just as splendid. I longed to go inside, to spend hours among the shelves, exploring and learning.

"It's the most sacred building in the city," he continued, sipping his own drink. "Everyone goes there."

"Who built it?"

He raised his eyebrows at me, but it was playful, not condescending. "Haven't you figured it out yet?"

I frowned. "No? And what about Voldemort?"

Now he frowned. "Don't you remember?"

"What?"

"Jennifer, we killed him. Together."

"We… what?" I couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth.

"Together," he repeated.

"And this city…" I had a realization. "This city is ours?"

He grinned, the first grin I'd ever seen on his face. It was beautiful, reaching his grey eyes and lighting up all his features. "Actually, it's yours. I just helped a little."

I couldn't speak for a moment. "M-mine?"

"You designed it."

And everything made sense. The architecture, the people, the atmosphere, the library—all of it was just how I dreamed the future would be. Peaceful. Beautiful. It was… dare I say it… perfection.

"There's one last thing you should see," he said, and he pulled me up and started walking briskly through the streets. There were many more people now, and it was almost hard to maneuver. Lance led me down some side streets, through several turns, and then to outside a secluded house with a bay window out front. He dropped my hand and motioned to the window for me to look in.

I covered my mouth with my hand, pressing my fingers into my cheeks as if that would stop the tears. In the living room sat a man and a woman, the man with black hair and glasses and the woman with dark red hair and green eyes that seemed almost impossible. Lily and James Potter. It was impossible. I felt my knees grow weak, and Lance caught me before I could collapse in the street.

"I brought them back," Lance said, putting an arm around my shoulder. "We figured it out together, and I wanted you to be happy."

I looked up at him, my eyes swimming with tears. I started to say something, but couldn't. The words stuck in my throat. I glanced down at my left hand and saw something I hadn't noticed before – a glittering black and gold ring on my ring finger, and a silver band just above that.

"Time to go."

Back through the streets we walked. I stopped crying, but he didn't take his arm off my shoulders. We made it back to the place where we had entered, and ascended into the clouds, floating… floating…

I have conquered the beast that is finals week and am back! I plan on having the final two edited chapters up next week, which means we will have new content coming in the new year! Woo! I have a lot planned, and I will be (finally) keeping to my update schedule.

Thanks for hanging with me, send me reviews to let me know if you liked something, and don't forget to vote on my profile! The poll will be going down next week.