Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 04: The Other Side
Harry opened his eyes again, and his view became filled with... white.
He should be panicking right now. He should be shouting bloody murder, as he had just been hit by a Killing Curse. Thrown by a very angry and disappointed Lord Voldemort.
"I'm dead, right?..." He had to be.
His eyes began to adjust to the new sights. He was sitting on a bench, and everything around him was so… white. It was to such a degree that it didn't seem like a real place. At least not a place that belonged in the world of the living.
It took him a little bit, but Harry realized that… he knew this place. It was hard to tell at the beginning because of the lack of color.
"This is the King's Cross Station…"
His eyes moved all around. He was sure of it now. Everything was there, but… white.
This was the magical side of the station, the one that required crossing the fake wall.
His eyes went to the rails. The Hogwarts Express would arrive through here and take him to school every year. This whole area would always be filled with students and parents.
Although now it seems completely empty, except for himself.
"Why am I here?" Harry stood up from the bench. He could not see anyone around, nor hear any noise.
The situation should have been unsettling, but for some reason, he was completely calm and at peace.
"Harry."
He was suddenly startled by the sound of a female voice. One that he felt was familiar, but couldn't quite recognize.
"Hello? Who is there? What is this place?... Am I really dead?"
"You have many questions, and I will try to answer what I can. But we don't have much time."
Harry's eyes moved from side to side while his ears tried to work into finding the source of this voice. It appeared to come from everywhere at the same time, and no matter how much he looked, he only saw the white walls of the station and nothing more.
"Where are you? Who are you?"
"I am close by, and at the same time… very far away. I cannot enter the place where you are right now, so only my voice can reach you. As for who I am… I am someone who loves you very much, my dear Harry. As for your other question… you are not exactly dead, at least not yet. But you must make a decision, and you must hurry, for time is running out."
"I'm not dead? No, that's impossible. I heard Voldemort calling the Killing Curse, I… felt it when it hit my body. There was a sudden pang of pain and then… nothing but darkness."
"I am very sorry that you had to go through that. No child deserves that fate." The owner of the female voice sounded truly apologetic and sad as she spoke.
"Look behind you, Harry. Down at the bench where you had been sitting."
Harry did as the voice told him. He looked below the bench, not sure what he was trying to find.
Until he saw it…
"What is that?!" Harry stared in shock at something that looked like an extremely deformed baby. It was quite a horrifying sight.
The 'creature' was laying on the ground and was not moving one bit. It appeared to be dead.
"That… is Voldemort. At least part of him," the voice told him.
"That's Voldemort?" After hearing this, Harry took a closer look at the face of the dead creature… and he saw it...the resemblance.
It wasn't much, but it was there.
It definitely reminded him of the man he saw tonight.
"It really is him…"
"Indeed. Voldemort found a way to separate his soul into pieces, and somehow… one of those pieces ended up inside you. That piece is what you are now seeing. It is now dead… killed by his own hand, much to his ignorance."
"That thing was inside me?!." It then occurred to him. His hand moved towards his face.
"My scar… those visions." Harry began to think about all those odd things that occurred to him every time he was close to Voldemort. His scar always began to hurt, and this year, he had all of those dream-like visions.
"There was a piece of him, inside my scar." He instinctively raised his hand to touch his forehead, but there was nothing there anymore.
An eery thought came to his mind. "Did Dumbledore know about this? Did he know from the beginning?" The Headmaster was always speaking in riddles to him, and half the time, Harry had no idea what he meant.
But he always had this nagging feeling that the old Headmaster was hiding something from him… an important secret that he refused to share.
"Harry… I'm afraid we do not have time to have this discussion."
"What do you mean? What's the hurry?" Harry looked confused.
"Look towards the end of the station," the voice said.
Harry did just that, turning his head around. His eyes opened widely when he realized that the pristine white walls from before were starting to disappear, consumed by an endless darkness.
It was moving slowly but steadily towards him.
"What is happening?" Harry asked.
"As I said before, you are not yet dead, but you will be soon. Once that darkness consumes this place, it will be too late. You must decide before that happens."
"Decide what?"
"You must decide if you wish to return to the realm of the living, or if you wish to move on...to the next realm of existence. Right now, you are nowhere… a place in between places. But no one can remain here for too long. If that darkness catches up to you...your soul will become trapped in an endless void. A terrible fate that must be avoided at all cost."
As she said this, a train appeared at the station.
Harry didn't even see it approaching. One moment, there was nothing, and in the next… the train was there.
The doors opened, and he could see an incredibly beautiful light coming from inside the cabin.
Without thinking, Harry started to walk towards the train.
"Harry, if you get into that train, you will truly die and your soul would go onto the next plane of existance. In order to return to the land of the living, all you have to do is close your eyes and wish to be back. You will need to truly want it for this to work."
"Go back?... And if I go back, will I have to face Voldemort again?" Harry's eyes were locked onto the train and that inviting light.
"That is a likely scenario. That monster will not stop until one of you is dead for good," the voice said.
"I…" Harry looked back at the darkness. It was getting very close, just a few more feet and it would reach him. But his decision had already been made.
"I don't want to go back. I have nothing there for me." He had lost his friends, and everyone in school hated him. And that madman would hunt him down if he were to come back.
If he returned now… maybe next time, Voldemort would torture him first before finally killing him.
"No one has the right to judge you if you decide not to return. You have done more than enough already," the voice said with kindness.
"If I get into the train… will I see you and father again?" Harry asked, already having guessed the identity of the voice.
"...That's my boy, you realized already," Lily said with pride. "Of course, you will see us. We have been waiting for you… for a long time, Harry."
Harry smiled. He did not remember the last time he felt this happy. He would not be alone anymore.
Without hesitation, he walked onto the light, crossing the entrance onto the train before the darkness could reach him.
On the other side of the light, Harry spotted two figures approaching, and his heart was filled with happiness.
"I'm home," he said.
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