Darkness everywhere around me is what I came to. Total darkness that I never experienced before; not even when I was at the Dursleys locked away in the cupboard was it ever this dark. But then, a light pierced that darkness just barely in the distance. It is as if someone opened a door to a pitch black room with only me in it. I recall someone once telling me that when you die, go towards the light away from the darkness. To take that advice carefully, I check to make sure there are no other light sources in the rest of the darkness around me. Sure enough, there is none. So, with this light being the only way to go, I start walking towards it.
I walk for what feels like forever towards the light and yet, I make no progress. Then, as if the afterlife senses my distress, it gets closer and closer. I just start running and soon enough, I'm almost at the light when I notice there are voices up ahead. Quiet, peaceful voices, maybe that's heaven! I break into a run and the voices get a little louder but nothing bigger than the chatter before a class starts.
I can finally make out what appears to be a door. I was right from the beginning! Someone really did open up a door. Before I can progress any further, I hear a whistling sound that I have yet to hear. Kind of like a strong gust of wind coming through. Sure enough, the gust gets louder and out of the corner of my eyes, I see movement.
The darkness was moving towards the light!
Then, the darkness gains what appears to be a slight hue around it but it's not just the only one. There must be hundreds, if not thousands of almost orbs of light appearing out of nowhere!
I'm stunned to say the least.
'Do I look like that? Am I just an orb of light heading towards a peaceful afterlife? But if that were the case, why does it feel like I'm walking, running, and standing around?'
While contemplating this development, all of these orbs suddenly move extremely fast towards the light coming from the doorway. 'How do they move so fast?' I wonder.
I start to run towards the light in the door again and it almost rushes to meet me. I'm about to reach for the handle when all of the orbs around me stop flowing through. All of a sudden, it's quiet. An eerie, something's not right, kind of quiet.
Grabbing the handle of the door, I gently open it and immediately I'm assaulted by this rush of sound. It's almost deafening with how loud it is! I close my eyes as well as the amount of light is blinding it seems. 'Focus, I've got to focus. Adjust Potter!' I think to myself.
As I'm getting adjusted to the sounds, I begin to make out familiar ones. A phone is ringing. There's loud chattering from people nearby. I begin to focus a bit more and make out a child speaking to what seems is her father.
"Daddy, when are we going to be seen? I wanna see Mommy!" she cries.
"I don't know yet dear. We've got to check in first, and then I'll ask if she's here with us. I want to see your mother too. Maybe she's already been seen and is just waiting for us to get there." he replies with a reassuring tone.
"Okay Daddy." she says as if it made her happier.
Now that I'm more adjusted to the sounds, I feel comfortable enough to try to open my eyes a little. I keep my head down and barely open my eyes only for it to still be very bright. 'Focus more, Potter! Imagine your pupils re-adjusting to the light after all of that darkness!' I think again to myself.
Slowly, as if meeting my thought process, the light gets less and less blinding. Like a camera beginning to focus on the picture that it's trying to capture, I start to make out images.
The floor tiling, the door that I just opened, my own feet, and my own legs are what I see first.
'So I do have a body!' I exclaim inside. 'If all of that's there, then I wonder what I'll see as I lift my head?'
With my confidence growing and feeling more comfortable, I open my eyes wider as I raise my head. I can make out my arms, my torso, a couple of people in front of me, and-
"Merlin's hairy beard!" I yell.
I'm still in the doorway all the while just in shock by the view. If I thought that the amount of orbs around me in the previous darkness was staggering, this sheer amount of people in front and all around me is utterly ridiculous. What were maybe thousands of orbs in that darkness turned into an endless amount of people in this room alone! "There must be hundreds of thousands of people everywhere I look, if even that! It's as if I walked into a lobby of sorts thousands of times larger than the great hall with a thousand times more people than the busiest time of the year at King's Cross!
"Are you new to this place young man?" I hear from the side of me.
I look in the direction of the voice and see an elderly man sitting down next to the door.
"Yeah, I just got here. At least I think so. I don't even know how long I've been here to tell you the truth." I reply.
"Ah, yes it's quite disorienting at first but once you get used to it, it's kind of funny." he finishes with a chuckle.
"Yes, it was a bit hard to concentrate at first with all of the sounds and light in here. But why is it funny?" I ask.
"It's funny to me because we're dead. I mean, I figured that since I died all alone, I would be alone when I arrived in the afterlife. And yet, here I am, talking to a young man and feeling better every second thanks to you!"
"Well, you're welcome, I suppose. I'm sorry that you died alone. Maybe we can keep each other company until we figure out where we are going." I say smiling.
"Thank you, young man! You don't know how much that warms my old soul to experience such kindness. What's your name? Mine is George David Williams III."
"My name is Harry James Potter, sir. It's nice to meet you." I outstretch my hand. We shake hands and it makes me glad that I've found an acquaintance or rather a friend to speak to.
"Excuse me sir, but what exactly is this place, if you know?" I ask curiously.
"Call me George, Harry! None of that sir business is necessary. I appreciate the respect though. Whoever raised you should be proud." He boasts happily.
"It's no problem sir, I mean George. Sorry. I never really was raised; I sort of just learned to be more respectful of life around me."
"Well, didn't you have parents or a family even? I can't imagine you becoming what looks to be a nice, young man by yourself."
"I did have a family and parents, at least I did once. My parents were killed when I was a baby and the family that was supposed to raise and take care of me, they only just despised me. I never really felt that I had a home growing up." I softly reply.
"Oh, I'm so sorry for you. That must have been terrible! Well, you're here now. There's no need to worry about any of that. There's only peace and happiness ahead for us. Maybe even a younger me once I reach heaven." he finishes in thought.
"Wait, you mean that this isn't heaven? Where are we then?"
"Forgive me young man; I forgot to answer your question. We are in the afterlife, yes, but do you see that line? That is the line to be judged by the fates. The fates determine whether we go to heaven or hell. I'm just not sure exactly how it is that we're judged or even by whom."
I follow where he's pointing and see a line just off to the side. People are just waiting around either by themselves or chatting with someone near them as I am doing with George.
"Wow, I wonder how long a wait that will be?" I wonder out loud.
"Well, I figure that since we both won't be alone in that sense, we should get in line and get it over with, eh Harry?" he says with a smile.
Returning the smile, I insist on him going in front of me since he's been here longer than I have. 'At least it won't be too boring now that I have George. I just wonder where Hermione is. We can't be too far away from each other as we died shortly apart.' We reach the line and I decide to ask George about this.
"Say George, if someone died right before me, how far away would they be?"
"Were you expecting someone else to be here with you then, Harry?"
"Yes, my best friend Hermione died a minute before me and I don't even see her."
"Ah, I can tell that you're worried, but I don't feel you should though. Your love is probably further ahead as a minute on Earth is like almost days here. She may have already been seen and sent to the afterlife."
"Hold on, why did you say that Hermione is my love? We were only best friends." I say not even noticing a blush forming on my face.
"Well Harry, if your worry wasn't enough, then you blushing is a dead giveaway. No pun intended." he chuckles with a knowing grin.
"But I….I never….what? I'm so confused George."
"Ha-ha! You really didn't know? Ah, this is rich! I remember being that age and that clueless of love. Everyone else around you could see it but you are almost always blind to it. That is until you or someone else points it out to you and realizes what those feelings are inside. I remember fondly the time my best friend Paul telling me how gone in love I was with my wife Jenny. I was just a tad older than you are now, in fact." he says with a deep smile as if he is re-living those happy times.
'Do I really love Hermione? Well, yes, as a friend I suppose. She has always been there for me since back in first year after Ron and I saved her from that troll on Halloween. I guess that I've always felt safe and happy with her more than I did with Ron. I wouldn't have to try hard to hear her voice, see her smiling face, or be reminded by how great a person she is.'
'Wait….Have I been in denial all this time and just didn't see it?'
As I'm discovering my love for Hermione and questioning myself, George is starting to smile even more. He even looks to his watch and begins a countdown "3…2…1…"
"Holy Merlin, I'm in love with Hermione!" I realize with a great finality. I'm startled when George starts to clap happily.
"Great job Harry, you've figured out the greatest gift in life: love."
"I-I didn't know. Or rather, I was too dense to see it for myself. I always thought I loved my best friend's sister, but maybe that was just a crush…" I trail off in thought. 'Was Ginny just a crush like Cho? I don't know, something doesn't feel right about this. Regardless, I shouldn't bother about it too much now. After all, once I find Hermione here in the afterlife, I'll have the rest of eternity to be happy with Hermione. I love Hermione!' I think to myself as a sheepish grin grows more onto my face.
"Ah, there's that look I was waiting to see! That's the smile of someone who could care less about the world. Just so long as they have the love of their life with them. I'm so glad that I got to see another person find their true happiness. I myself can't wait to reunite with my Jenny."
"If you don't mind me asking, how far apart are you two in here?"
"Oh she died about 10 years before I did. For a while, I was sad, depressed, and lonely because my best friend had gone on without me. But after some time passed and my grief waned, I realized that we would meet again soon enough in heaven. Once that became evident in my mind, I just pictured it as if she went on a vacation with the rest of our family and friends while I'm working for us. Living that short period of time between seeing her would be like having a job again. I relaxed at home and enjoyed my time so I could be happy when I rejoin her. When I mentioned earlier that I died alone, I didn't mean it in a sad way, but rather a patiently waiting way, if you follow me." I nod as he enlightens me with his wisdom.
"You see Harry, life is like this line we're in, for instance. We wait and wait for it to hurry up, but don't realize until it's too late that the wait is better than we make it out to be. We go through life just to get somewhere or to get something, but did we really live while we impatiently rushed it?"
"….No, I don't suppose we do. I know that I've been my fair share of impatient. I always wanted my time with my relatives to end so that I could see my friends again. I always wanted to hurry through classes just to spend time with them and have fun. I didn't see the lessons that I missed along the way. I guess that's also partly why I missed seeing that I love Hermione."
"You've got it Harry. With Hermione though, you were just being innocently clueless. After all, if one doesn't understand love, how can one feel it or know that it's there?"
"You're right George. I've missed so much all this time but I won't anymore. Thank you for opening my eyes to this. This is the happiest day of my life. Or it is until I see Hermione again."
"Well done Harry! Oh my, look at how the time has gone by. We've almost reached the front of the line!"
He's right. All this time that we have been talking, we've unconsciously been moving with the line. We reach the front of the line where a big desk has been placed. Sitting at the desk is a middle-aged woman typing away at a computer and occasionally marking something on the various papers in front of her.
"Next!" she says.
"Well, I guess that's me." George says.
"Please state your name so that I may correctly assign you to your appointed fates."
"Yes ma'am, my name is George David Williams III."
"Thank your Mr. Williams III, please go to room 5B at the end of the hall sir. Have a great judging. Next!" she says as if reading from a script.
Turning to me, George says "Well Harry, I believe that this is where we part ways. It has been an honor and a pleasure to meet you and help you along your path as you've helped mine."
"It's been great meeting you George. I wish that we knew each other sooner and that we had more time."
"Well perhaps we will meet again sooner than we think. After all, we have all of eternity to catch up, right Harry?"
With a smile, "Yeah, I suppose that we do George. I hope that you meet your Jenny soon so that you're not alone again for that long."
"Oh I'm never truly alone Harry. She's always been and always will be in my heart and soul. I believe that you will share that sentiment with your Hermione. Give her my regards on what a fine husband she will have in you."
Blushing I say, "Thank you sir. Please do the same with your wife as I'm sure that she knows how great a husband that you are to her."
"Indeed young Harry. Best of luck to you and I hope we meet again soon." he finishes with his hand outstretched.
I shake it and give him a thankful smile. "The same to you George. When we meet again, we should have lunch or something."
"Indeed we shall. Well, I'm off. What was it again? Ah, room 5B. Goodbye Harry."
"Goodbye George." I say waving to him as he walks away.
"Next!"
I forgot all about the lady waiting patiently at the desk for me.
"I'm sorry ma'am. I got all caught up in a conversation."
"It's alright, I understand. Now please state your name so that I may correctly assign you to your fates." she finishes without missing a beat.
"Yes ma'am, my name is Harry James Potter."
"Thank you Mr. Potter. One moment….well, it seems that there's an issue with your fate going through. I'm being told to refer you to room 25A. A representative of the fates will meet you there."
"There's nothing wrong, is there ma'am?" I ask in slight fear.
"Oh there's nothing to be afraid of Mr. Potter. There are just a couple of options available that I'm seeing so it automatically refers you to a sort of counsel here in the Bridge. It's all according to policy so there's no trouble at all."
"Oh, ok then. So this place is called the Bridge? Where do I go to reach 25A?"
"Yes, it's called the Bridge because this is the place in between being a mortal on Earth and the eternal afterlife in either heaven or hell. As to how to get to room 25A, you take a right down that hallway, go up 3 flights of stairs, and it will be the last door on your left." I listen as I follow her directions to my room.
"I see, thank you ma'am. Have a great day."
"You do the same Mr. Potter. Have a great judging. Next!"
I walk away and as I'm walking to up the 3 flights of stairs to room 25A, I begin to wonder what exactly will be awaiting me. Again, time catches up to me as I reach the floor that I'm supposed to arrive on. I open the door to the hallway and remember to take the left as told after I read the sign on the wall.
15A-25E to the left, 26A-35E to the right
A few minutes later I'm reaching the door that reads 25A. There's no office name or anything else on it that I can tell. I can only begin to wonder what I will see and find out inside this room. Taking a moment to breathe, I tell myself that "Gryffindor's charge forward!" and open the door.
Author's Note:
Ok and that's chapter 2! I didn't expect to write it this soon. I hope that you are enjoying this story as much as I am. Whenever you like, please be sure to leave any constructive feedback if you have any opinions, suggestions, or If you just want to talk. Hopefully I'll get to chapter 3 tomorrow. As always, I thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read this. The story can only be as good as the people enjoying it are. Until then, have a great day and I hope that you're doing well.