AN: Going to keep this AN short and sweet, enjoy chapter one and special thanks to my reviewers; BelvaRoze, AndreaLion, Hermione Voldemort Riddle, BrightestWitchOfHerAge16 and sks.

Disclaimer (Because I feel I should put at least one somewhere in my story in case any of you actually mistook my mediocre writing as J.K. Rowling's): I do not own Harry Potter and I am making no money from this Fanfiction. Everything you recognize is not of my own creation and belongs to their respective owners, the only things I can claim are the ideas that I plucked from my mind.

Reviews to anonymous replies can be found here **just remove the spaces** fanfiction . net/topic/120357/74491747/1/#74491747

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living

I Dreamed a Dream - Les Miserables

*ยท*

Everything is black and I feel like I'm floating in an ocean of nothing and everything. Memories flood my mind filling me with every emotion I had ever felt; happiness, sadness, frustration, pain, anger, love and so much more. My senses are overwhelmed and yet starving for something, anything that is more than a memory. My skin touches nothing, no breath enters or leaves me, I am alone and can sense everything yet nothing at all.

I cannot comprehend fully what is happening, and honestly, I don't even care. Perhaps this is what death is, this anxious emptiness mixed with such deep longing that for once I can empathize with Voldemort's desire to live forever. Here everything seems pale, there is no vividness of life or passion, just the fleeting dreams of days gone past.

Someone once said that heaven was the landscape of ones own soul, and if this is true, mine must be bleak and lonely.

I have no idea how long this lasts for I cannot count days or keep track of time, it could have been seconds or it could have been centuries, I know not. Eventually, thank Merlin, something changed. It started like a tugging in my midsection and I was slowly pulled up through whatever I was in, it felt similar to surfacing from a lake after you had nearly drowned to death.

When I first came to my whole body was swamped with pain, such unbearable, real pain that for a second I thought I might die all over again just from the shock of it.

My eyelids were heavy and refused to open, my ears strained harder to try and catch bits of the conversation going on around me but no matter how hard I tried my limbs wouldn't obey me and stayed firmly unmoving on what felt like a mattress. Not the most comfortable one but soft enough that wherever I am it couldn't be a dungeon of some sorts. Not unless they started treating their prisoners nicely, I could just imagine Voldemort inquiring after my health and offering me tea and biscuits. If I had the ability to function properly past the basic needs to stay alive I'm sure I would have been unable to stop myself from laughing, and considering how much pain was throbbing in my body, would have caused me even more agony at his expense.

Eventually the pain and bone deep weariness took over and I drifted off into a painless sleep.

"No, no, no. Not there, over here." A stout woman with black wavy hair was pointing at a man carrying around a giant grandfather clock. When he made it to where she was point he set it down and moved it until she was satisfied with it's position.

"Excuse me." I tried to call out to the pair, but neither looked my way as the woman seemingly changed her mind and made the man pick the heavy monstrosity back up and once again move it to another position in the clearing.

"That's good William, right there." The womans voice was commanding and loud and the whole situation was just leaving me confused. What was going on here? Actually, how did I even get here?

"Excuse me!" I tried again, calling out even louder to the couple and sighing in relief as they stopped what they were doing to turn around and look at me.

The man remained expressionless but the woman lit up like a muggle light bulb as she came bounding towards me in order to envelope me in a motherly hug.

"Oh dear, oh dear, you're here." She was brimming with excitement as she looked me over, "Finally. We've been waiting a long time for you don't you know." She pointed to the man, or perhaps it was the clock, before grabbing my hand and pulling me over to the two. When I was no more than a foot away from the lot they strange woman spoke up again, "William, tell her how long we've been waiting for her."

"We've been waiting a very long time." The man intoned, practically monotonous in his answer. They were an odd bunch to be sure and I couldn't help but want to get away from them, even though I felt no hostility I had a foreboding that wouldn't shake itself from my being.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you wait." I apologized, wishing I knew why they were waiting for me specifically.

"All in good time dear, all in good time." The woman grabbed my hand and patted it warmly, "For now though I need to show you something. Yes, yes, show you it I must. Come along now."

Once again I found myself being led away, this time it was towards a ledge I had never seen before. I could have sworn I was in a clearing surrounded completely by trees before, but now it was a half clearing with trees on one side and a cliff on the other.

"What are you going to show me?" The words came out slightly cracked as we neared the ledge, I really didn't want to go near it but my legs were not mine to control anymore. A sense of panic started to flutter through my stomach and rise up, nearly choking me.

"That you need to let go." The woman replied, cheery as ever, her gray eyes merry as she pushed me over the cliffside.

With a start I woke up, eyes blinking as they tried to adjust to the brightness of the room. As my eyes slowly became used to the room I carefully took in my surroundings only to realize I was in a very familiar room, I had spent a lot of my time in here through the years. But why was I in the Hogwarts infirmary and why did it look different? Sure the overall layout and feel of it was the same but the furnishings were changed, older looking. Perhaps the hospital wing had been ransacked and they couldn't repair all the furnishings, leaving them to take these out of storage?

Shaking my head I gingerly sat up, the pain from earlier was almost completely gone leaving just a twinge of pain in my midsection accompanied by a wave of nausea, I was really going to be sick. Leaning over the bed I retched and dry heaved but nothing came up, making me once again wonder how long had it been since I had last eaten. As if it could hear me my stomach growled as I slowly laid myself back down on the bed, perspiring a little from the exertion. I hated being weak like this, my body must have expired all its energy trying to heal as fast as possible and I was now dealing with the consequences.

"Miss, you're awake." The voice was feminine and laced with surprise and I turned head to take in an elderly woman with steely gray hair and kind, blue eyes, "You gave us quite a fright."

The woman made her way towards me, pulling out her wand and casting spells at me. I recognized a few of them, they were diagnostic and healing charms, one minty green color in particular was a welcome relief as it instantly cleared up the queasy feeling that had remained a persistent bother ever since I woke up.

"I did?" My confusion must have been evident because the older witch gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze before handing me a vial I had not even noticed on the night stand.

"Indeed, we were all very worried when you showed up, and quite puzzled as to how you came to be in your condition." She handed the now uncorked vial to me and waited expectantly until I choked the nasty concoction down, you would think someone would have come up with a way to make these things taste better by now. With what was sure to be a face full of disgust I handed the thing back to her, and she took it satisfied.

I wonder, though, why the woman would be surprised about her condition, there was a war going on. Surely some collateral damage was to be expected, and where exactly was Madame Pomfrey? She couldn't be? The vile thought that the matron had died during the battle rose in my throat and nearly choked me, surely she was okay and this other woman was just an assistant? Something was wrong.

"If you'll just wait here dear I must get the Headmaster, hes been quite adamant about wanting to ask you a few questions as soon as you were better." With one last kind look the elderly woman bustled off towards her office, most likely to floo whoever was now Headmaster of Hogwarts, which verified that I was indeed in the school. What surprised me though was that Professor McGonagall was not the Headmistress last I had seen her she was perfectly healthy and fine, but then again Voldemort would probably want to make an example of her.

A cold chill made it's way down my spine, I had died in that field right in front of him and his Death Eaters, I know I had. The niggling feeling at the back of my mind didn't like being silenced and it rose again telling me that something was wrong. I honestly didn't want to listen to it, just for once I wanted to have a moment of normalcy or peace, to pretend everything was okay. For now I wanted it to let me remain blissfully ignorant for a moment, at least concrete proof before I make any rash or inaccurate decisions.

The Headmaster must have received an owl or perhaps a floo from the nurse, because in walked two wizards and I felt myself grow still as panic rose inside me.

It looks like I found my proof.