I've decided to do another chapter focusing on Albus Severus Potter and his "journey" into the Forbidden Forest. I hope you all like! I kind of tie in this story with that of my other story, "The Wake of a New Beginning." Nothing too big, if you haven't read the other one, you're not completely lost in this one.

Albus Severus Potter could not believe that he had gotten detention. He was the good kid compared to his older, more mischievous brother, James Sirius Potter, who has made quite a name for himself at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Albus was a good boy and did his homework before class, never copied from anyone and did quite well in his classes, although maybe not to the point of his Aunt Hermione. He longed to be as good at school as she was, especially with a name like 'Albus.'

At a mere 15 years old, Al, which he preferred to go by, felt like he had a lot to live up to. First, his father is the legendary Harry Potter, saviour of all wizard-kind. It was weird whenever Al's parents would drop him and his younger sister off at the train station because everyone stared. It also didn't help that of him and his siblings, he was the one who inherited the green eyes from his Grandma Lily. He was learning all about how his father, his uncle, and his aunt were pretty much the three who brought down the most evil of all evil wizards, Lord Voldemort. Second, his name was Albus, after the great wizard, Dumbledore. No need to look further than a Chocolate Frog card to know how important he is in magical history. And third, his middle name was Severus, after probably the most brilliant professor and headmaster at Hogwarts and the most bravest person his father knew.

As Al headed towards Hagrid's hut to serve his detention, he stopped at the memorial that his father helped construct on the Hogwarts grounds and gazed at a few names that he was accustomed to staring at. James Potter. Lily Potter. Sirius Black. Fred Weasley. Remus Lupin. Severus Snape. Albus Dumbledore.

He recalled a story that his older brother had told him a couple of years ago, when James was a fifth year. It was about these very people. James had said that he believes that they are all with them, with him, with Albus, and with Lily, every day of their life. Albus scoffed at the memory. He believes in no such thing. Those who have past are long dead and gone. There is no logical way they could be with him. He knows better than his older brother, who has always relied on instinct and games.

Al knows that there is a sort of afterlife for some wizards and witches. He sees the ghosts gliding through the halls of Hogwarts every day that he's been there and has even spoken to them on occassion. But he also knows that there is no way to bring back the dead, so there is no way that the very people who were so important to his father, could be with him. Truth be told, he was deathly afraid of what was to come after this life. At this point in his short life, death was his biggest fear. So he immersed himself into knowledge, wanting to grasp everything he could learn about this life and what was to come.

"Hagrid!" called Al, as he knocked on the door to Hagrid's hut. "I'm here to serve my detention."

"We', I'll be, Albus," Hagrid said, opening the door. "When I 'eard it was detention, I din't think it was yeh."

Al shrugged. "I got caught out of my dormitory after hours. I was in the library. Don't you think this is a pretty harsh punishment? I mean, couldn't I have gotten lines or something?"

"Oh, yeh wouldn't wan' lines, Albus," laughed Hagrid. "No' after wha' yer father 'ad to go through, writin' lines an' all."

Al shrugged again. "Can't believe everything you hear, I guess."

Hagrid looked at Albus, seemingly unsure of what to say next. "Well, let's get ter move on. Professor Longbottom 'ill be wantin' those 'erbs fer tomorrow."

For the third time, Al shrugged. "Whatever you say, Hagrid."

The two of them traipsed to the Forbidden Forest in silence.

"Do yeh think yeh'll be okay, alone, Albus?" Hagrid grinned at him.

Al knew why he was grinning. Hagrid always grinned at him every time he said his name. He knew it was because of Hagrid's deep love and respect for his namesake. Hagrid was the only who still called him 'Albus.' "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll just use my wand and call you with red sparks."

"That'er boy." Hagrid ruffled his hair, making it more messy than when it was and headed off into one direction.

Al sighed, glad to be working by himself, but afraid at what might've been out in the forest. He had heard of different creatures living in the forest and a number of different thoughts ran through his mind. 'What if a centaur's arrow is shot and I am killed? What if an Acromantula carries me off and eats me for dinner? What if a basilisk comes out and Albus doesn't cover his eyes fast enough? What if a thestral mistakes him for food?' He couldn't even see those things.

He sighed and trembled a bit before he pointed his wand to another direction and whispered, "Lumos," allowing his wand to light up. Al walked around the Forest and started to cut the sprouts and herbs that he knew Professor Longbottom needed. There were a lot of interesting things in the Forest and Al wished the light emanating from his wand was brighter so that he could see more.

After about a half an hour, Al gathered what he thought was enough sprouts and was ready to head back to the castle. He looked around and didn't exactly know where he was. Al sighed and performed the Four-Point spell, directing him to the right way. He gathered the sprouts in his basket and proceeded to head in the correct direction, but something caught his eye.

"Hmm," he thought. "That's an odd-looking rock." Al picked it up and examined it closely. It was very old, but that wasn't surprising. The interesting thing about the rock was the imprint on it. Al wondered where it came from. He looked at it closer. It had a jagged line down the middle and saw a circle and a triangle surrounding the line. He remembered seeing this in the storybook that his Aunt Hermione would read to him and Rose, his cousin. He traced his finger down the lines and turned the rock over in his hands three times, wanting to fully examine the stone.

Al froze upon hearing rustling in the trees around him. He did not want to move in fear of alerting the creature to his whereabouts. Albus slowly turned to face what was coming towards him and his mouth dropped open in surprise.

The sight before him was none that he would have ever imagined. The faces, the people that he saw were only seen in old photographs.

"What...what-what-wh-"

Sirius Black laughed. "Is that all you could say, kid? Wh-what...what?" He looked over at a familiar-looking face. "You need to teach your grandson some new words."

James Potter laughed. "Oh, do leave him alone, Sirius. He is, after all, a grandson of mine that is named after a Slytherin. Don't know what Harry was thinking with that."

"He was thinking that Severus had done a very noble thing!" Lily Potter said, haughtily. She turned to face her grandson. "Now, let me look at you." She grinned at her grandson. "Very lovely."

"I have to agree with Lily on this, James," Remus Lupin said. "Right when we thought Severus was on the other side, we were wrong. We were wrong the whole time."

The four of them stopped talking and surrounded Al, who turned in a circle to look at everyone.

"Well, hello, Albus," James said. "It is nice to actually see you out and about and not buried in a book."

Al furrowed his brow. "I'm not always in a book," he said, defensively. "And the name's 'Al'."

"Of course you're not, dear boy," Lily said. "You have grown to be so handsome. And your proper name is Albus."

"Nothing can bring back the dead."

"Of course not, Albus," Sirius said.

"We're not really 'back'," added Remus.

"Then what are you? Am I dreaming? This seems so real. Did I fall and bump my head?"

"No, no," James said. "This is all real. You are in the forest. You see us, as you should, since you used the Resurrection Stone."

"Resurrection Stone? Nothing can resurrect the dead."

"We are not resurrected, Albus," James said, gently. "We are merely-"

"Shadows," supplied Lily. "We are shadows of what we once were, living in this time."

"But does that mean that you have not moved on? I asked Nearly Headless Nick about you all once before, but he said that you all would have moved on. I keep expecting you to come gliding through Hogwarts..."

"We have moved on, Albus," said Remus. "We have completed all that we set out to do."

"But...we need you. My dad...he misses you guys. All of you."

"And we miss him and love him, too," said Sirius. "But...we weren't afraid of death. And you shouldn't be either."

"I'm not," Al said automatically. He noticed that his grandparents and their friends looked at each other before saying anything else. "I'm not afraid."

Lily nodded. "We are so very proud of you! Top of your class and prefect to boot!"

"What's a prefect like you serving detention?" A new voice echoed in the forest.

Albus turned his head at the new shadow that appeared. "Uncle Fred?"

"Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"I think the two ears might've gave it away," Sirius joked.

Al nodded slowly. "Yeah. And the fact that I'm going crazy talking to dead people. This is just not logical."

"You're not crazy," Lily reassured. "And not everything has to be logical. Some things are better served as instinct, or feeling."

"Yeah," James said. "In fact, when your older brother was also 15 years old, serving detention for Longbottom in the forest with Hagrid, we met him just like we are meeting you now."

Al eyed them suspiciously. "My brother is a prankster. Are you working with him?"

Laughter echoed throughout the forest.

"And he's a pretty good one, too!" exclaimed Fred.

"And no, we are not working with him," added Remus. "This is us. We are real, we are true. We are not actual bodies, but we have come."

"Come for me?" Albus' eyes opened in shock.

"No," said James. "We have come...let's say for a little visit."

"And how did you get here?"

"I believe I could answer that question." Al turned at the sound of another new voice. He looked at who it was immediately knew who this revered wizard was.

"Professor Dumbledore?"

"Yes, yes, Albus." He smiled warmly at Albus through the forest light. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes. How we came to be here, with you. It starts with the stone that you are holding."

Albus instinctively looked down at the stone, still clenched in his fist. "What about it?"

"That is the Resurrection Stone. Have you ever heard of it, Albus?"

"Only in myths, sir."

"Very well. Have you heard of the Tale of the Three Brothers?"

"Yes, sir. Aunt Hermione read us that story from her book...but I don't see what it has to do with this. She's the most logical person I know."

Dumbledore smiled over his glasses. Al stared back into Dumbledore's eyes. He's heard the many stories from his father and felt like Dumbledore was looking at him much like he looked at Harry while he was alive. "The second brother was the owner of the very stone you are holding. And your dear Aunt Hermione had to also learn that not everything can be taught from books. There are things that are done out of feeling."

Albus furrowed his brow, thinking hard. "But...that doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?" asked James.

"This stone...nothing can bring back the dead. If anything could...I'm sure my father would have found a way to bring you all back. He wouldn't have had to grow up an orphan." He looked at Remus. "Teddy wouldn't have been an orphan, too." He looked at Fred. "Uncle George would have his closest brother." He looked at Sirius. "My father would've had some guidance while he was fighting Voldemort." He looked at Dumbledore. "And the greatest headmaster of Hogwarts would've lived on."

"That's nice, Albus," started Sirius, "but...would we have wanted to come back?"

"Yes, of course. What could be worse than death?"

Sirius shook his head.

"Ah, young Potter," said Dumbledore. "There are many a fate that is worse than death."

"But this stone...it isn't logical. If this stone is that of the tale, than surely, the other two-the wand and the cloak- are real, too."

"And so they are," said Lily.

"And your father, the young Harry Potter," said Dumbledore, "is the master of all. That is why you are able to master the stone as well. His blood runs through your veins."

"My father is the master of death? That surely means that he cannot die, right?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "It's not that simple, Albus."

"As I have had to learn," said Lily," things are not always right or wrong, black or white, logical or illogical. There can be things in the middle."

"And things that are even muddier that cannot be seen to the naked eye." Al turned and looked at the new person who approached them.

"Severus Snape?"

"Indeed."

Al was more confused than ever. Standing before him with gleaming white smiles were his grandfather, grandmother, their two best friends, his uncle, and his two namesakes. "This whole...everything is nuts. This is crazy. You all are not standing before me." He shut his eyes, but did not release the Stone from his grasp. He opened his eyes and saw everyone there.

"We are here for you, Albus," said Lily. "You need not be afraid. Nor do you need to look at everything with just one answer."

"And don't be afraid of death," James said. "Look at us. We're all perfectly happy."

"We're all perfectly peaceful," corrected Remus. "A fate worse than death? An afterlife without peace."

"Like Nearly Headless Nick. The Bloody Baron. The Grey Lady. Moaning Myrtle," added Sirius. "Death is...a long, peaceful sleep after a lifetime of work."

"Does it hurt?"

"No. Not at all."

"Why are you afraid of death, Albus?" James asked.

"Because...because I don't know anything about it. Nearly Headless Nick couldn't tell me anything. Anything that made sense."

"Ah," said Dumbledore. "Fear of the unknown. It is probably one of the greatest fears around."

"Albus," said Lily. "You are a brilliant wizard-"

"And even though we haven't come from one of those books you love to read so much," continued Fred.

"We can teach you something, also," said James. "You have heard stories about us, stories from when we were alive, am I right?"

Al nodded, but didn't say anything.

"You see us here, tonight," said Remus. "And that is through the help of the Resurrection Stone that you hold in your hand."

Al looked down at his hand, still tightly wrapped around the Stone.

"But the Stone," said Sirius, "only helps you 'see' us. We are always here." He looked at each of his friends, his former headmaster, and his former enemy. "All of us."

Al looked at them confused. "Are you always together? Just there with me?"

Lily laughed and shook her head. "We are not necessarily always together. But we are and will always be with you, your brother and your sister. Your father."

"My brothers and sister," added Fred. "And my nephews and nieces."

Al looked at Snape and then at his grandfather and his two friends. "My dad said you guys didn't even like each other. Why am I to believe that you are friends in death? That isn't-"

James smiled. "Again, not everything has to be logical, Albus." He looked at Severus. "Snape, here, has earned my utmost respect. I owe him the life of my son." He glanced briefly at Snape again and leaned into Albus. "And he never lets me forget it," he whispered, eliciting the first smile from Albus.

Severus furrowed his brow before speaking. "And I feel as if I had changed in death, Albus Severus." He moved closer to Albus. "I lived my life the only way that I knew how. I knew not how to befriend others. I knew not how to stay away from the dark arts. I knew only to take care of myself. To keep me alive."

"And Harry," added Dumbledore. "Severus did know one thing during his lifetime."

Al looked at Snape expectantly. "A secret potions-"

"No, no, dear boy." Dumbledore and the others laughed. "Severus knew how to love."

"My dad always says that love is the answer to any of our problems. When my brother or sister and I don't get along, he always says that every problem is small if we still have the love for each other."

"And he is right. To love is to be human. The one thing that saved Severus and your father was the love for your grandmother. The one thing that saved the wizard world is the love your father feels for the world that he feels home in. The world that his children are raised in, the world that he lives in, and the world that his future descendants will live in. When you forget to love, you forget to be human."

"Like Voldemort?"

Dumbledore nodded. Al took a step back and looked at each of the people in front of him. He took his time before saying anything, digesting everything that he had just heard. He noticed a glow coming from each of them. His grandfather, grandmother, Sirius, Remus, and Fred looked very much like the photos he saw of them. Dumbledore looked exactly like the portrait hanging in the headmaster's office. But Snape...Snape looked the most different of all.

"You all-you all look so peaceful. I didn't see it earlier. Or I guess I didn't notice it earlier. I'm sorry for-"

"No need to apologize," Lily said happily. "Just know that we love you. We will always love you."

"Yeah," agreed James. "Even if you decide to drop out and become a wizard clown."

Al's eyes widened as he shook his head. "No, I couldn't do that. I'm up for the Potions award."

Snape couldn't even hold his smile in as everyone laughed. "An award worthy of the name 'Severus'."

"See, Sev?" Lily said. "Gryffindors aren't all brawn. We've got some brains, too."

"Do you miss us?"

"Every day," said Fred. "How I wish I could be there with all of you. With George when he and Angelina got married and had children. But I am happy to know that he knows that I am there. He is my twin. We've never had to live without each other. And we never will now."

Everybody quieted down as they heard Hagrid call for Albus.

"It is time for you to return to the castle," said Dumbledore.

"I don't want to," Al said. "I think I've learned more tonight than I've ever had in classes."

"We'll be waiting for you," said Sirius. "When you are ready. We will see each other again."

"But do not seek us out," said Remus.

Al nodded. "I remember in the story from Aunt Hermione...the brother goes mad and kills himself."

"And we do not want the same fate for you. Come when you are at peace with your life."

Al nodded again. He looked at each of them before him. "There's so much I want to know. So much I want to ask."

"Your thirst for knowledge is everything a teacher could ask for," said Dumbledore. "To love is to be human. To feel is to be human. Do not rely on your books. Trust your instincts. It is what makes you human."

"And your father..." started Snape. "He says that I am the bravest man that he knows. Tell him that he is the bravest man I know. A true son of his mother."

"Tell my parents, my brothers and my sister that I love them," said Fred. "Tell your cousins, also."

"And please...let Teddy know that I am truly proud of him," added Remus.

"We are always here, Albus," said Sirius. "Loosen up a bit," he added grinning. "You don't have to read your life away! Your Aunt Hermione learned that. You should, too. Go on and steal some food from the kitchens."

"Sneak out after hours," added James. "Have fun at Hogsmeade. Your dad knows the way."

"Just, don't go with a werewolf," said Remus. "And I do believe that James stole the Map from Harry after we told him about it."

"The Marauders' Map?" asked Albus. "It does exist?"

Sirius, James, and Remus nodded. "Have fun a bit," said James. "We will love you no matter what."

"And you have nothing to fear," said Lily. "If you do not know something, trust your instincts, your feelings. We will be here to guide you on your way."

Hagrid's voice grew louder and Al looked back. He held the stone in one hand and his wand in the other. He looked down at his feet at the sprouts and herbs that he had gathered and glanced up at the people before him.

"Thank you," he said. "I love you all."

His grandmother smiled and raised a hand. "We love you, too."

Al smiled and looked down to pick up the sprouts and herbs, dropping the stone as he did so. As soon as it left his hand, he could feel them physically leave. He stood straight up and looked around and smiled. "Nox," he whispered to his wand and the light immediately went out. He heard Hagrid calling for him and in spite of the darkness, began to walk towards where he thought Hagrid and the castle were.

"Yeh were out there wi'out your wand light, Albus?" Hagrid asked, flummoxed. "Wha' were yeh thinkin'?"

Al smiled as he handed Hagrid the things that he gathered. "I was thinking that I didn't have to know where I went. I just felt like I was going in the right direction. I trusted that I would find my way."

Hagrid clapped a hand to Al's back, but didn't say anything. "Well, yeh have a good nigh', Albus. I'll see yeh in class tomorrow."

"See you Hagrid!" Al left Hagrid at his hut and ran back to the castle. He opened the doors to the castle and ran into someone, knocking himself and the other person down.

"Watch out, Al!" his older brother yelled, pulling himself to his feet. He helped his brother up, brushing the dirt off of his clothes. "Was my little, perfect brother serving detention in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid?" James smirked.

In spite of their two-year age gap, Al stood almost as tall as James. He grinned at his older brother. "You have the Map."

James furrowed his brow. "What do you know of a Map?" James crossed his arms and stood toe-to-toe with his younger brother.

Albus didn't back down from his older brother. He, too, crossed his arms and stared into the brown eyes that he saw earlier on his grandfather. "And the cloak."

"What cloak do you speak of?" James smirked.

"You know which cloak. And the Map. Does Dad know that you stole it from him?"

This time James grinned. "Are you asking about a midnight run to Hogsmeade? Or a midnight snack to the kitchens?" He put his arm around his younger brother. "Are you approving?"

"So does Dad know you have it?"

James slightly shook his head. "I found it in his desk after...you saw them, too, didn't you!"

Albus nodded. "How come you never said anything?"

"I did. You didn't believe me." James led his brother to the Gryffindor Tower. "Come, Albus, we have much to discuss over a butterbeer at the Hog's Head."

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