Hehehehehe.
And I bet all of you thought I was gonna make you wait two weeks for this chapter, didn't you? Well, I decided not to. The epic cliffy aside, there's a good reason for me putting this chapter out this week, and I'll enlighten you on that subject at the beginning of the last chapter (which WILL be out two weeks from this one).
That aside, I want to take a moment to note two landmarks that last chapter gave to this story. The first is 700 reviews. Only a handful of stories reach that mark (I'd say maybe 3-4%, or 150-200 of the 5000 or so stories posted on PK), and being able to stake claim to having one of them is an achievement that I will always be proud of.
The other is that in the same week, the story also crossed the 100,000 hits mark. Unfortunately I don't know how great of an accomplishment that is, as only the author of a given story can see how many hits it has, but still, I personally think it's a pretty big number, and that ALSO makes me very proud of this creation of mine. Thank you all for helping this story to be as great for me as it is for you.
I honestly think that this chapter is something you'll all enjoy, so read on!
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Chapter 25: The Other Side
A comforting warmth greeted Harry's senses.
As he slowly began to regain consciousness, the sensation of not being contained by the restrictions of gravity greeted him. Feeling energy returning to his body, he opened his eyes and was greeted with a dark blue surrounding. Taking a breath, Harry made to look around his surroundings when suddenly he realised that he was submerged in water.
'Am I...am I dead?' he asked himself. Breathing was not difficult for him, nor did it feel like water was being filtered through gills, much like it had when he had used the gillyweed. It was almost effortless, as if he was breathing the cleanest of air.
Deciding he couldn't stay floating underwater forever, he made for the surface far above. The slight trepidation Harry felt at the observation that there was no fatigue in his muscles, was offset only by the fact that his body wasn't transparent. The bracelet, though still firmly affixed on his wrist, was no longer glowing.
Breaching the surface a minute later, Harry brushed the wet hair out of his eyes and looked around, stunned at the sight that lay before him.
He was swimming in a crystal blue sea, the water clearer than he had ever seen it. No father than a kilometer away, was a large mountain island covered in tropical vegetation. As it was the only land in sight, Harry started swimming towards it with hopes of finding out where he was.
"Oy you!" yelled an old man sitting on a nearby boulder (the only one on the beach) with a fishing pole as Harry approached the shore. "New arrival?"
"I suppose!" he called back, finally gaining his footing and stepping forward out of the sea and onto the flawless white beach. Harry shook some of the water off himself as he walked over to the man, who graciously tossed him a towel. "Thanks."
"Not at all lad," replied the man, casting off his line again.
"Who are you?" asked Harry.
"Me?" asked the man. "Name's Smythe."
"What are you doing here?" asked Harry.
"What's it look like?" smiled Smythe. "I'm fishing."
"I mean why are you here...actually I don't even know where 'here' is."
The smile dropped from the man's face and he regarded Harry carefully.
"Y'mean, you don't know why you're here?" asked Smythe.
"Haven't the foggiest," replied Harry.
"Oh boy," sighed Smythe. "Well you best come with me, gonna take you back to the village and maybe find someone who knows you so they can explain it all."
"Explain what?" asked Harry.
"S'not my place to tell you," replied the man. "Don't worry, you'll know soon enough."
Harry followed quietly behind the man as he lead him onto a path through the palm trees, though he wasn't too happy about being kept in the dark.
"So there's a village around here?" asked Harry, trying to glean as much information as he could.
"Yep, it's where all of us live," replied Smythe. "Bit of magic involved, I reckon. The place is as big as a city on the inside but can't even be seen from the beaches."
'So wherever I am magic is used,' thought Harry, the notion comforting him slightly.
"Here were are," said Smythe as they turned a corner. Harry froze at the sight before him.
They were standing on top of a tall hill, the path in front of them leading down into the village. Harry contemplated that it might've been called a village because all the buildings looked to be made of bamboo, and that none of them rose more than two stories, but the number of dwellings was enormous, perhaps in the thousands. Down below, many people were walking about the streets, some talking, others sitting at open-air eateries, but all of them were acting as if they hadn't a care in the world.
"Yeah, I reacted the same way the first time I saw it," chuckled Smythe. "Now c'mon, let's go find someone who knows you."
Harry marveled at the scene before him as they descended into the village. A market was set up along what appeared to be the main road, with merchants advertising various wares. Several restaurants and pubs were scattered around the area, and Harry was able to glance inside one where dozens of patrons were gathered around televisions watching what appeared to be a muggle football match. He was so interested in his surroundings that he didn't see where he was going, and walked headlong into a merchant carrying a stack of silk blankets that extended beyond the top of his head.
"Sorry about that!" exclaimed Harry, quickly helping the man regain his balance before the blankets fell over.
"It's alright," he replied warmly from behind his goods. "That you, Smythe?"
"Aye," replied the man. "This one here just arrived, was trying to find someone who knew him."
"Oh really?" asked the man, turning so he could look at Harry.
This time the man did drop the blankets, and Harry's heart stopped as they looked at each other.
"Sirius?" breathed Harry, unsure whether to be elated or depressed.
"Harry, what...what are you doing here?" asked Sirius, making no effort to pick up his merchanidise. Smythe, seeing that they knew each other, bade them a silent farewell, and walked back towards where they came from, presumably to resume his fishing.
"I don't know," replied Harry. "Hermione and I were celebrating that I killed Voldemort and then I woke up here."
"I see," frowned Sirius.
"Um...where exactly is here?" asked Harry, dreading the answer.
"Where do you think it is my boy?" asked Sirius with a faint smile, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder. "You're in heaven."
"So I am dead, then," sighed Harry, deflated.
"I reckon so," replied Sirius, bending over to pick up the blankets, Harry following to help him. "Wish it weren't that simple, but it is."
"What do I do now?" asked Harry, feeling overly depressed. Sirius regarded him for a moment.
"Come with me," he answered, gathering up the last of the stock and walking off.
Harry was in no mood to argue. He followed Sirius quietly, wondering where Hermione was, if she was alright, and whether he'd ever get to see her again.
Some time later they came to a halt in front of a medium-sized hut, and Sirius turned around to look at him.
"They're going to be awful surprised to see you," he said, nudging the door open with his foot, and placing the blankets on a table next to the entrance as he and Harry stepped into the entrance hall. Harry supposed this place had been changed by magic, it was much larger on the inside than the out.
"Sirius?" a familiar woman's voice called out. "Is that you?"
"Yeah," he replied. "I've got a visitor with me."
"Oh?" asked Lily, walking into the hall, polishing a silver mug. "Who is..."
Harry watched as his mother dropped the mug and ran over, letting out a choked sob as she threw her arms around him.
"Mum," said Harry softly, embracing her.
"Harry," she cried, as they heard a door upstairs open.
"Lily?" asked James coming down the stairs. "What's wrong.....oh Merlin, Harry?"
"Hi Dad," smiled Harry slightly.
"My god, son what are you doing here?" exclaimed James, running down the stairs and wrapping his arms about both Harry and Lily.
"I died, I guess," shrugged Harry, unable to keep himself from smiling at finally reuniting with his parents.
"How?" asked James as he stepped back. "Don't tell me Voldemort finally got you?"
"I'm not sure, really," replied Harry. "I don't remember."
"Do you think I could grab something to eat?" asked Sirius, pointing towards another room. "I'm famished."
"Oh, sorry mate, didn't see you there," smiled James, clapping Sirius on the back.
"Why don't we all get something to eat," said Lily, wiping the tears from her eyes. "We have a lot to talk about."
Harry followed his mother into the kitchen, where she immediately began grabbing various ingredients from the cupboards.
"You don't have to cook," said Harry sheepishly.
"Nonsense," replied Lily. "I'll have it ready in five minutes. You three just wait there."
"So," said James, leaning on one of the counters. "Tell us what happened."
"I was celebrating with Hermione because we had finally killed Voldemort, and then I woke up in the water off the beach," said Harry.
"Something must've happened," said Sirius. "You wouldn't be here if you hadn't died."
"I don't remember," he sighed.
"Let's not talk about that now," said Lily, turning around with four plates stacked with pancakes and whipped cream.
"Chocolate chip pancake surprise?" asked James and Sirius at the same time, causing Harry to raise an eyebrow at their antics.
"I thought we could have something special since this is Harry's first meal with us," replied Lily, walking into the dinning room and placing the plates on the table.
"And speaking of which, he should meet his grandparents soon," said James.
"My grandparents are here?" asked Harry, as Sirius dug in.
"Course they are," smiled James.
"They'll love you," said Lily warmly.
"And then perhaps we can go see - "
"Ease up on him, mate," said Sirius, smiling at James. "Next you might be suggesting he go and see my brother."
"Regulus is here?" asked Harry.
"Yeah, I was a bit surprised too when I found out about it," replied Sirius. "But he told me the story."
"And you believed him?"
"Kinda hard not to," shrugged Sirius. "It's not like you can con your way into this place."
"Yeah," said Harry. "So does everyone live in this village?" he asked, eager to divert the discussion away from himself.
"Merlin, no," replied James. "There's another village on the other side of the mountain, and plenty of people live up on the slopes, or in the surrounding forests...the ones who have no one here and just want their solitude."
"Like my brother," nodded Sirius. "I can't blame him for it though, given some of the things he was forced to do for Voldemort."
"And you, you're a seamstress?" asked Harry, looking at his godfather.
"No, those blankets were my work," smiled Lily. "Sirius just brings them to the market for me."
"Do they sell well?"
"They don't sell at all," grinned Lily.
"I don't understand," said Harry, confused.
"There's no such thing as money here," said James.
"So you give the blankets away for free?"
"Mmhmm," smiled Lily.
"Then how can you afford to make meals like this...which by the way is wonderful," asked Harry, holding up a forkful of the pancakes in acknowledgement.
"The ingredients appear in my cupboards whenever I want them to," she smiled.
"So...if you never have to give anything to get anything, wouldn't people just never do stuff?" asked Harry.
"Well you have to understand, that if people were forced to do work to make a living up here, it could hardly be called heaven," said Lily. "And some people do that, like Regulus. Others prefer to be self-sufficient -"
"Like Smythe," interjected Sirius. "Who likes to rely on his fishing to keep himself fed."
"Exactly," nodded James. "Others, like us, we'd get bored if all we ever did was just sit around and do nothing."
"So you make the blankets as a hobby?" asked Harry, intrigued.
"And then we give them away at the market, along with other people who do as we do," smiled Lily. "It's more for the general well-being of everyone than for one's self. I make the blankets and give them away so that other people can enjoy them."
"Couldn't people just get the blankets themselves instead of from you?" asked Harry.
"No," said Sirius with a grin. "That's why it's so perfect."
"I'm don't get it," frowned Harry.
"We're only given raw materials to work with," said James, "which is why you saw your mother make these delicious pancakes from scratch, and not the frozen kind that muggles have. We take the materials and fashion them into whatever we want."
"You might have noticed in town that some of the pubs have tellies," said Sirius. "But they didn't just get them. The pub owners had to find an electrician who knew how to build a tellie, and have him do it for them."
"So I make blankets, James makes brooms, and Sirius...well..."
"I make Firewhiskey," grinned Sirius proudly. "Best in the land, many people will tell ya."
"I bet you're proud of that," chuckled Harry.
"It truly is heaven," smiled James. "I honestly couldn't imagine a world that's more perfect than the one we're in now."
The smile from Harry's face fell as he pictured a world where he was still with Hermione.
"You alright?" asked Lily.
"Um, I'm going to go for a walk," said Harry.
"You going to finish that?" asked Sirius, pointing at Harry's pancakes.
"Go ahead," smiled Harry.
"Take the stairs up to the patio on the roof," suggested James. "The sun should be setting sometime soon, trust me, it's worth it."
"Thanks," nodded Harry, walking out of the dinning room and up the stairs in the hall.
He arrived a moment later on a beautiful stone patio with a short wooden railing running around the sides. Looking out over edge, he could see the village far below, the people still walking around looking rather like ants from that height. The forest of palm trees created a small barrier between the village and the beach, and Harry thought he could barely make out Smythe sitting on his rock, casting a line into the sea which was now reflecting the pink sunset.
'Must be magic,' thought Harry, smiling sadly. 'Didn't look this tall on the outside. I wish I had a chair.'
He heard a clunk behind him and turned around to see that a small pile of wooden planks had materialised.
'They really weren't joking,' chuckled Harry, walking over to them. 'Some nails, perhaps?' Several soft clinks sounded as nails appeared and bounced off the stone. 'And a smooth, strong rock?' A rectangular slab of granite appeared before him, and Harry smiled as he set to pounding the nails into the wood to fashion a chair for himself.
About fifteen minutes later Harry stood back to marvel at his work, which looked rather like a Picasso painting than an actual chair. Deciding to see if it would hold him, Harry carefully lowered himself into it, and was pleased to find that it was actually quite sturdy. Letting out a deep breath, he gazed at the horizon, which the sun was now halfway below.
"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" asked James from behind him.
"Yeah," replied Harry, not turning around.
"Lily told me not to come up here, to give you some time for yourself, so don't tell her, alright?" asked James.
"I won't," nodded Harry.
"I figure, we've never really had a father-son talk, so I thought maybe I could help you with whatever you're trying to sort out," said James, crouching beside him.
"Thanks," said Harry.
"I see you made yourself a chair," smiled James after a moment.
"If you can call it that," laughed Harry.
"It's nice, isn't it?" asked James. "Having the ability to freely work on whatever you choose, without having to worry about your time, or your money."
"It is," nodded Harry. "I didn't realise it until after I finished, but I focused so much on building the chair that I managed to forget about the other world for a little while."
"That's why most people make what they do," sighed James. "This world can be as perfect as you want it to be, but it isn't home."
"You can make whatever you desire, but not who you desire," nodded Harry.
"Exactly," agreed James. "I suppose I got it pretty lucky. You're here, my wife is here, my best mate is here, my parents are here, there isn't much else I could wish for."
"At least one of us feels that way."
"Don't be so depressed, Harry," said James. "At least you have your family again. That's more than a lot of people who are here can say."
"I know," he admitted. "It's just hard knowing I won't get to see Hermione for maybe a hundred years."
"Well...you could do what we did," said James hesitantly.
"What did you do?" asked Harry.
"After Sirius came through the arch, Lily, he, and I all waited by it to make sure you didn't try anything foolish," said James. "We actually haven't been in this house for all that long."
"Wait...you waited by the arch?" asked Harry.
"Yeah," nodded James. "There's a corresponding gateway through which people come into this world. Sirius came through like that, not appearing in the sea like you."
"That's how you spoke to me and Hermione," said Harry.
"After it became apparent that you weren't going to chase after Sirius, we took turns each day waiting at the arch, hoping that maybe one day you'd go to visit it, and we'd be able to talk to you. Sure enough, it worked."
Harry's mind raced with ideas as he looked out into the sunset.
"After that, we stopped going every day, and started living our lives in comfort, knowing that you and Hermione were doing alright," said James. "I'm saddened to have you join us so soon, but you're here now, and there's no going back."
"I'd like to visit the arch," said Harry, turning to look at his father.
"I knew you would," smiled James.
"When can we go?" asked Harry.
"Tomorrow," replied James. "You should let your mother and me go with you, and Sirius will probably want to go too."
"Alright," nodded Harry. "Say...how do I use magic here...without my wand?"
"How do you think?" smiled James. Holding out his hand he made the chair Harry was sitting in rise slightly off the ground, and touch back down.
"This truly is a remarkable place," chuckled Harry.
"Would you like me to show you your bedroom?" asked James. "Sirius said he was going to fix up one of the extra rooms for you."
"I think I'm going to stay awake for a while," replied Harry. "I have a lot to think about."
"I understand. If you need anything, you know you can come to your mother or me."
"Thank you," nodded Harry. "For everything."
James regarded him carefully.
"We didn't get the chance to give you a proper life on earth," he said solemnly. "I hope you'll give us the chance to remedy that here."
Harry smiled and nodded, though he privately thought to himself that they wouldn't be able to if he could find a way back home.
As soon as James left, Harry gathered a large block of wood, a bunch of long, thin sticks, and some silk thread.
"Anything you can do," he hummed to himself as he used magic to carve the block of wood into a long curved shaft, slightly longer than that of his Firebolt. Shaving down the tips of the sticks, he arranged them in an circular pattern around the base of the shaft, and used the silk string and a bit of magic to secure them.
Harry sat quietly over the broom, muttering all sorts of charms to make the broom fly and respond to the user's touch. Finally, over a half hour later, he stood up and looked at his completed work.
"Moment of truth," said Harry, holding his out over the broom. "Up!"
The broom flew into his hand with no hesitation. Climbing on, Harry looked up at the sky, which though still a dark blue, was starting to show stars. Taking a breath, he kicked off and sped out over the sea, amazed at the speed and control the broom had. It certainly wasn't as fast as the Firebolt, but it definitely had a grace that the other lacked.
He spent the better part of an hour flying around and over the island, reveling in the feeling of the freedom that flying brought. Stopping high above the island, he looked up at the moon, which now hung brightly in the sky. Taking a deep breath, he let his hands drop from the handle and closed his eyes.
"Harry?" she asked softly.
"Hmm?"
"Did you mean what you said earlier? When you said you didn't want to live in a world where I didn't exist?"
He stared at her for a moment before smiling.
"Of course I did," said Harry softly. "You're my everything."
Harry opened his eyes and tried to remember the feeling of Hermione's arms wrapped around him on the Firebolt.
"I'll find a way back to you, Hermione," he whispered to the wind. "I promise."
=====
"Where are we?" asked Harry, as James led him, Lily, and Sirius through dense foliage. He toyed with his miniaturized broom in his pocket, having brought it along 'just in case' something happened.
"About halfway up the mountain," replied James. "The arch is in a cave fairly well hidden...you're only supposed to be able to get there if you know where it is already."
"Then how did you find it?"
"I came through it, remember?" asked Sirius.
"Oh. Right."
"Here we are," said James, pulling back some large branches and revealing a cave leading into the depths of the mountain, lit by torches held in brackets on the walls.
"More bloody caves," sighed Harry with a chuckle.
"Hmm?" asked Lily.
"It's nothing," replied Harry, following James.
"It isn't that far in," he said. "See, there."
Harry looked around as they reached the end of the cave. A great stone arch identical to the one in the ministry sat upon a stone dias, and on either side of the arch sat four prismatic pillars. Harry noted there was a hole in the base of the dais just like in the ministry.
"So you can just talk to anyone who goes near the arch on the other side?" he asked.
"Yes, but you can't see them," replied Sirius.
Harry nodded and walked forward, stopping in front of the arch. Concentrating, he crouched down and placed his right hand on the cold stone.
A surge of power coursed through him, and a deep golden glow appeared around the four pillars. Harry pulled back his hand in surprise and landed on his arse, breathing heavily.
"Harry!" said James, rushing forward. "You alright?"
"Yeah," he replied. "What was that?"
"I don't know," answered James.
"Harry, what've you got on your wrist?" asked Sirius, pointing at the bracelet.
"It's the bracelet of kings," replied Harry. "I used it to kill Voldemort...the runes were the same golden as the glow before that."
"Harry," said Lily softly, crouching down next to him. "How did you die?"
"I don't know," he replied, shaking his head.
"Think, Harry," said James.
"I don't know!" exclaimed Harry desperately, a surge of emotion going through him.
The runes on the bracelet suddenly glowed brightly, and memories of Voldemort's occupation of his body suddenly flooded back into his mind.
"Oh god," he whispered, as James and Sirius helped him to his feet. "I remember..."
"What happened?" asked Lily.
"He had horcruxes, you know about that," said Harry, leaning on his father for support. "We thought we had destroyed them all, but when I destroyed his body, he entered mine."
"What?" asked James breathlessly.
"He had turned me into a horcrux the night he killed you two," continued Harry. "So I...I..."
"Did you kill yourself?" asked Lily.
Unable to find words in his suddenly dry mouth, Harry just nodded.
"How did you do it?" asked James. "It's very important."
"Uh...the Avada Kedavra," replied Harry, furrowing his brow as Sirius, Lily, and James all looked at each other. "Why?"
"You do how the Avada Kedavra works, right?" asked James.
"It destroys the soul," replied Harry.
"No," said James seriously. "It removes the soul from the body."
"Same difference, isn't it?"
"These four pillars represent the same forces that your bracelet does, Harry," said Sirius. "And they culminate to form the continuing circle of life and death, hence why they're next to this arch."
"What does that have to do with me?" asked Harry.
"Well, there's no such thing as the legend of kings in heaven," shrugged James. "That magic exists under the natural principles of the living world, not here."
"So what does that mean?"
"It means that something only supposed to work in the living world is working here," replied Lily. "Which means that some part of you is still on the other side."
"How is that possible?" asked Harry.
"I don't know," said James. "If you had managed to only separate Voldemort's soul from your body with the AK, you'd still be over there."
Harry thought for a moment, then he felt his heart give a tremendous lurch as he remembered something he had once heard.
"Well, you split your soul, you see," said Slughorn, "and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But of course, existence in such a form..."
"How do you split your soul?" asked Riddle.
"Well," said Slughorn uncomfortably, "you must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature."
"But how do you do it?"
"By an act of evil - the supreme act of evil. Killing rips the soul apart."
And he realised that despite the atrocities committed by Lord Voldemort, Harry had, in fact, killed someone. Multiple someones, actually.
"I horcruxed my soul," he breathed.
"What?" asked James questioningly. "You'd still be down there if you did."
"But I never took the steps required to make one," said Harry. "Whatever they are. It must have been unintentional."
"I don't know..." said Sirius skeptically.
"What are you going to do?" asked Lily gently. Harry took one look at the arch and made up his mind.
James reached for Harry as he dove forward, but came up empty-handed. Harry plunged his right arm into the hole at the base of the dias, and watched in awe as the pillars shined brightly, and strong wind starting to blow in the cave.
'Forget something?' asked a familiar voice.
'I thought you couldn't talk to me anymore?' Harry asked the bracelet.
'I'm making a special exception,' replied the bracelet. 'You seem to have realised that you left part of yourself behind.'
'I want to go back,' said Harry.
'I know you do,' said the bracelet. 'It's a one-way trip, you won't be able to come back until you die, and when you do, you're here for good.'
'I know,' replied Harry.
'Then this truly will be the last time we talk, Harry Potter. Fare thee well.'
Harry watched in amazement as a bright flash of blue-white light erupted from the center of the arch and expanded into an opaque light blue window. The color began to fade and Harry's heart leapt when he realised he could see the Department of Mysteries on the other side.
"I can go back," he said, turning around. "I can go back!"
"Harry...what?" asked Lily, looking at him desperately.
"Can't you see it?" asked Harry. "The Department of Mysteries?" The three adults shook their heads.
"It must be because part of you is still there," said Sirius with a slight smile. "We can't join you."
"But..." the hope Harry had felt that his family might be able to join him suddenly left.
"You know, despite my elation at being able to see you again," said James, coming over to Harry. "I could tell you never wanted to be here right now."
"I don't want to lose you again," said Harry, blinking back tears.
"Losing something implies you don't know where it is," smiled Lily, also coming over, tears running down her face. "You know exactly where we are, and will be."
"And we'll wait patiently for you to come back when the time is right," said Sirius with a grin. "It's not like this place is terrible to live in, after all."
"I'm going to miss you," said Harry softly.
"I miss me too, sometimes," laughed James, earning him a glare from Lily. Harry smiled as he remembered having said that to Hermione once. "You go where you need to be."
Harry withdrew his arm from the hole in the base and was glad to see the path still open, hugging his parents and Sirius tightly, he stepped up onto the dias and turned and looked at them.
"Until we meet again, son," smiled James, wrapping his arms around Lily.
"One week!" yelled Harry, over the rising wind.
"What?" asked Sirius, confused.
"Figure it out!" smiled Harry, and he jumped through the arch.
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Before I finish up this week, I want to acknowledge someone.
For the first time in my history of writing fanfiction, one of my reviewers guessed the result of Harry's actions at the end of last chapter with 100% accuracy. I can't say who, because I haven't completely revealed all the secrets of the previous chapter yet, but I will make it known next time. As it stands, you should know who you are.
Star Wars based quote this week.
It is essential to be able to distinguish the differences between knowledge and wisdom.
The finale in two weeks! Hope to see you then.