Protect our wand.
This letter was now hidden safely in Dumbledore s desk. The Headmaster himself was standing on the top of Astronomy Tower and talking with young Malfoy. He was waiting patiently for Severus to show up, to end it all. He wanted to be there already Maybe he could see his sister once again?
And maybe, oh, maybe, the sunny moments, that happiness from those 2 months would return.
The Death Eaters had arrived. Now, the only thing that mattered was to protect Harry.
He tried to concentrate his ex-student s attention on himself, by starting a conversation. If Harry had enough discipline, he would remain silent Dumbledore s eyes started to search for Severus.
It hurt, to be insulted by the people whom he remembered as children. He taught them, he observed them, he knew them for seven years He laughed with them, he helped them with their teacher troubles, he was proud of them. And now? That bond was severed, the children turned into hateful adults, fanatics. Against his will, his mind became filled with memories form his fight with Grindelwald.. It was almost the same kind of betrayal, it hurt almost equally. Almost.
At last, Severus had shown up. Dumbledore could see, that Snape is against it, that he tries to run, to change his master s mind. But one last time, Dumbledore decided to be selfish. He asked, he even begged, and finally, Snape gave in.
The explosion of green light and it was over.
He wakes up in whiteness. Literally. He feels, that he exists, but when he opens his eyes, the only thing he can see is something that resembles a fog.
After a while, it begins to fade and Dumbledore can see a branch, and man sitting on it. Dumbledore moves closer. The man has raven hair and he is young, handsome He has the face of someone Dumbledore once knew But before reaching him it would be a good idea to get dressed. Before he can think of obtaining something to wear, he feels a silk robe on his body. Curious.
He moves to stand in front of the sitting man.
Hello, Dumbledore.
Hello, Sirius. You didn t go there? He asks, looking fondly at the young Black, who returns his smile. He looks exactly the same as he did when he was James Potter s best man. There were no traces of those 12 years that he spent in Azkaban or his entrapment in his own house, before his death.
Oh, I ll go, but I m waiting for someone. Answers Black, grinning like he was still in school and done some brilliant mischief.
For Remus? It may take years! It is a strange decision, even for Sirius.
I don t think so. By the way, you may have not noticed, but time here doesn t exist. Replies the raven-haired man, pointing at something behind Dumbledore s back. Suddenly, a wall appears as if summoned, with a big board on it, that resembles Airport Board in Muggle s Airports.
Dumbledore finds his and Sirius names on it and checks their status.
He moves his gaze higher and sees the names of Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Colin Creevey, Nymphadora Tonks, and more of his students, all with the same status: Arrival soon
You re right. But how?
The battle over Hogwarts. It s already been almost a year since your death, Told you, that time here doesn t exist. It usually takes a while before you gather yourself into some shape. When I died, I woke up in my animagus form and I met that boy you know That young Diggory. He said that he had just woken up. And he died a year before me! It s really strange, that you don t feel how the time flows because there s no such thing! Sirius is, in Dumbledore s opinion,really excited by the fact, that something is different from the world in which almost everything is possible.
And Death Eaters ? They have a different dimension, or something, right?
I guess so. So I m really surprised to see that name on it. He points Snape s name on the board. And from Voldemort s hand, no less
Sirius doesn t see the sadness in Dumbledore s eyes.
How do you know? Asks Albus quietly.
Oh, when you want to, it shows you. Just think about the information you want to gain. By the way, not only Snape s name surprises me Hell, we were lear okay, we were taking notes from Remus about this guy! I thought, that if there was anyone more evil that Voldie, it would be him. And yet, he dies and goes here
Dumbledore immediately looks at the board. Like Sirius said, there s a very familiar, dear name on it, with a status, Arrived. Waking and Death Cause: Tom Marvolo Riddle .
There are no words to describe what Dumbledore is feeling right now- the mix of happiness, sadness, stess, pain and euphony It all ends, when he feels a piece of paper in his hand,
Approval for a meeting with Harry Potter.
Give him a choice he can go, or he can stay.
~ Boss'
That is getting more and more interesting And here he thought he had figured everything about the world out He smiles to himself and bids his farewell to Sirius. For a moment, he wants to stay, to see... But, there s still greater good that he must ensure. And after all, he should explain everything to Harry, to the young, brave Harry, who decided to end his life for his, Dumbledore s ideals. Dumbledore stops tears that are threatening to spill and,suddenly, he disappears.
Now he s watching all the events from the Harry s point of view, like he is in the boy s head or maybe he really is.
He is so moved by the boy s bravery By his talk with his parents, and Remus, and Sirius. It really is weird; to see a person that was soon-to-be-dead, dead. If he was alive, he would do his research, but for now, he waits to talk to the boy properly.
The talk goes smoothly, it turns out that, from the very beginning, Dumbledore was right, that Harry was the seventh horcrux and that he would survive, if Voldemort struck him with a lethal spell. The only thing he didn t predict was that Harry would tell him about Gellert s death In the end, he can t stop his tears, while he tells Harry the story of his family and Gellert.
When Harry disappears, Dumbledore expects to appear in that Board room again, but he still remains at the King s Cross (really, if Harry hadn t told him, he would have no idea).
After a moment he hears the sound of a train arriving at the station. When it stops, Dumbledore, with hesitation goes in In the corridors, he passes by familiar faces Colin Creevey, Fred Weasley, who is making a ruckus, arguing with the ticket controller, demanding to be allowed to return right now, or else Dumbledore tunes out the threat, smiling to himself. Afterlife can be as entertaining as normal life He passes the compartment in which Remus and Sirius are sitting and holding each other, with a very amused Tonks looking fondly at them.
Finally, he stops in front of a compartment that seems empty apart from a blond haired young man sitting there and reading a book. When he sees Albus, he smiles and waves his hand, gesturing for Albus to come in. When Dumbledore opens the door, he sees his reflection- he s a young man, the same age that he was in 1899.
He sits in front of the blonde and smiles shyly.
Told you, it was a phoenix. Says Gellert and a warm smile spreads across his face.
Albus isn t even trying to stop his tears. But this time, they re the tears of happiness.