Zion
While Harry and Hermione certainly belong to J. K. Rowling certain other personalities belong to themselves, and in one case claims to ownership are simply ludicrous. This tale was written for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of any one reading this and no infringement of copyright for profit is intended. Thanks to Ms. Rowling for generously allowing me to borrow them for a while and I hope I returned them in better condition than I found them.
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A/N. This a continuation The Reckoning. A warning, this fiction makes use of a lot of specifically Christian religious imagery. If you find such imagery or religion offensive, do not read this story. It is not written for you. There is enough archived reading material on Portkey and Fan Fiction to keep you happy for many years. Go find something you will really enjoy instead of wasting your time here. If you decide to proceed, well, you have been warned. I do not intend to force my own worldview on anyone, but neither do I apologize for my own personal beliefs. These beliefs are not presented here as material for debate, but as a vehicle for telling a story. I began writing fan fiction to see what it felt like to walk in J. K. Rowling's shoes, now I'd like to understand what it is like to stand in the shadow of great authors like Elizabeth Goudge, C. S. Lewis, Milton, Bunyan, and Dante Alighieri.
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Uriel stood in the heavens watching. It was a legend among the children of Adam that the Archangel possessed the sharpest eyesight of any of the heavenly spirits. He did not know if that was true nor was he motivated to find out. Still, he did enjoy watching events unfold on Earth and in Heaven.
Right now his attention was focused on two of the Redeemed as they played together in the green belt of trees that circled the celestial city of Zion. Their rescue from the jaws of Hell had been a very near thing. Their spirits had been imprisoned and stunted for many earthly years by other creatures that had ignored the prohibition of the Master and invaded the Earth. That transgression had been properly punished when the Son of Adam and Daughter of Eve decided to destroy themselves rather than continue that tedious, frozen form of immortality forced upon them.
Some of that deficit had been made up by the careful nurture of the Heart of Heaven himself. Other angels and archangels had also played a part. He, Gabriel, and Raphael had collaborated along with some of the angels whom had quite literally taken the pair under their wings. Without their own notice the light of their spirits had grown brighter. Uriel could not help but smile.
Uriel sensed the coming of another. He bowed before the unseen Presence as his Lord came to him. "What do you wish, Lord Jesus?"
The voice spoke to him, "Go to Fidelitas and tell him that they are strong enough, then I will gather the others whom have been waiting especially for this. We meet in the place appointed."
The Archangel sped away from his place among the stars, his joy spilling into song as he flew.
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Harry Potter stood at the edge of the mountain top where he and Hermione had been staying since their arrival in the afterlife. Time and distance here were not the same as they had been on Earth. Accompanied by Minerva McGonagall and a band of angels they had journeyed to this mountain. It was told to them that there was a city here but they had not been able to enter it.
What they had found was the top of a plateau. It was covered by fruit trees, edible vegetables, soft grass, and bushes of fragrant flowers. In the center of the plateau was a golden cylinder with walls about twenty feet high. He imagined that if they were still on Earth it would take what felt like three or four hours to walk around it, but time did not flow here. Instead there was an instinctive sense of rhythm to the place along with a subtle interplay of light. It cycled between faster and golden to slower and more silver in hue.
Once his curiosity had gotten the better of him and he had climbed a tree in order to see the inside of the cylinder. All he could see was a bright beam of light shining into the heavens. There appeared to be transparent, indistinct shapes inside it but he could also make out the complete rim from the tree.
They knew where the gate was, but somehow when they approached it they knew they were too weak to enter. The angels had shown them how to open the gate and told them that they would be called when their spirits had grown strong enough to come in.
While they waited the pair had set up housekeeping in a shallow hollow surrounded by trees. At their command the trees had bent to form a kind of roof and vines grew to provide a bit of privacy from the world around them. Minerva had duties to perform and left them after they settled in. A small fire burned in a nook in the rock face that formed a sort of wall. Hermione used it to bake some of the vegetables they gathered. Cooking wasn't strictly necessary but provided a bit of variety to their diet. They had forgotten the simple pleasure of eating during the time they had been imprisoned as vampires and they were taking full advantage of being able to share their simple meals together. There was a stream close by that provided water to drink and they often went swimming.
Harry felt Hermione approaching and he turned to greet her. As the light trended toward silver it was their custom to offer songs of thanksgiving and praise to God. They had seen the angels that escorted them to this place sing and offered their worship as well. Harry extended his hands palms up and Hermione laced her fingers with his. They took turns singing the lead with the other singing in counterpoint or sometimes in descant. When they finished Hermione took Harry's hand and lead him to their bower for dinner.
Neither of them found it strange that they did not sleep anymore, but that did not mean that they did not rest, quietly contemplating the new experiences they shared with each other and the angels that often visited them. Also the voice of their Lord was only a question away.
Harry remembered the first time they met Gabriel. He and Uriel had descended from the Heavens Uriel like a faintly purple looking star with Gabriel having more of a golden tint.
At first Hermione had been a bit shy around Gabriel since she had had his lines in an Advent play long before. The Archangel had amazed them both when he admitted that he was pleased by her serious portrayal of him. In fact he altered his appearance to become an exact replica of Hermione at that age and repeated her lines. The only thing that did not change was that he kept his wings instead of the wire and gossamer she had had as part of her costume. This had both of the humans literally rolling on the floor with laughter.
Harry and Hermione had discussed their angelic friends now that they knew some of them. Mainly they had been bewildered by the portrayal of angels in human literature and knew that angels thought that humans spent too much time worrying about the wrong things. Gabriel had asked some pointed questions of Hermione about why her previous knowledge of his announcement had not provoked a more through search for the Savior that had been born in the City of David.
The third Archangel they met with regularly was Raphael, the first time they had seen him he descended like a faintly greenish star. To humankind Raphael was associated with healing, but for Harry and Hermione he was mostly a teacher. He taught them about some of events in heaven but mainly he taught them language skills so that they might more effectively communicate with their heavenly brethren. He most often came alone and shared their simple meals of fruit and vegetables.
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As the rhythm began to quicken the Redeemed knew that something was different. "Hermione," Harry began, "I think I want to go into the city, will you come?"
"I was just going to ask you the same thing," Hermione replied, "Let's go."
Hermione put out the fire and scattered the ashes; Harry left a supply of wood and the simple bow he had used to start the fire for travelers that might come that way. Standing outside their arbor after offering their praise and thanksgiving Harry caused the sheltering trees to stand upright once more.
Neither of them looked back as, accompanied by the songs of birds they made their way to the gate of Zion. The gates themselves resembled large doors that fit into a pointed arch in the wall. There was a large ring on each door that served as a knocker. Harry held Hermione's hand as he swung the heavy golden ring against the sounding plate.
The doors silently swung open spilling an intense white light onto the grass before the gate. Singing a simple song of joy the pair passed into the gates of the celestial city and into a tunnel of light. From the outside the wall did not appear to be very thick, yet it was a journey of many steps before the intensity of the light began to diminish. Slowly the light seemed to dim and vague shapes appeared at the end of the tunnel.
At last they stepped beyond the gate and into the city. The first thing Harry noticed was the intensity of the light within the city. It did not hurt his eyes but definitive shapes were lost in the distance. There were hazy suggestions of tall buildings. Groups of them that extended from horizon to horizon. He found it puzzling that from the outside the cylinder had appeared no larger than a large walled park on Earth, inside it was much larger. He and Hermione stared at each other in wonder. Turning around they noted that there was no sign of the gate in the wall behind them. The pair could hardly see one another, the intensity of the light almost rendered them invisible to each other.
Slowly, hand in hand they wandered along the street. The way was wide with curbs and a green sward of grass between it and the wall. Beside them the wall seemed to extend upwards for at least fifty feet, over twice as high as it had seemed from the outside. Inside the buildings seemed part of the landscape. There were tree covered ridges and hills with villa like homes terraced along the hillsides. In other places buildings of various shapes with flat roofs and gardens atop them gathered in clusters. There were large parks surrounding small lakes. Fruit trees lined the broad avenues of the city. Everywhere there were fragrant gardens of flowers. Music filled the air as various groups of voices rose in songs of praise and thanksgiving punctuated by the sound of mighty wings as angels flew overhead engaged in tasks set them by their superiors.
Here and there along the broad boulevards citizens of the celestial city could be seen walking. The bright light of their spirits shone out from their bodies like the light of bright torches.
A great light shone about Harry and Hermione as one of the bright spirits approached from behind them. Turning around they watched as he veiled his light by somehow increasing the density of his body. He was so bright they might have mistaken him for an angel. As he spoke they knew that he was human. Angel's voices reminded them of musical instruments, but voices produced by vocal chords, flesh, and air had a different tonal quality. He was very tall and muscular, though not as bulky as Uriel had been. The strangers' hair appeared to be golden with auburn highlights, though it was difficult to tell because of the light surrounding it. The crown he wore was a bit more ornate than the simple circlet of gold that was Harry's.
"Welcome to Zion, I am Fidelitas." he smiled.
"Greetings," Harry bowed in respect, "I'm Harry and this is Hermione, on Earth she was my wife, and has always been my best friend."
"I know who you were, my friends. I have been sent to guide you to your home here. Please follow me," Fidelitas said. The three of them set out following along the avenue that ran parallel to the wall. They talked as they followed their guide.
"You said you know who we were," asked Harry.
"Yes, the Lord told me what was happening since I had been praying for you. I watched from the mountain." He pointed at the large mountain at the center of the city, it appeared to be very far away. "Uriel and Michael met in the air, Michael sounded his trumpet and his armies came." Fidelitas voice was filled with awe as he recounted the tale, "legions of them assembled from all over Heaven. Uriel descended to the Valley of the Shadow, followed by the army. Then, of course, He came, Jesus purposed to rescue you, but there were no guarantees you would obey. Then Uriel came back announcing that you had been rescued. You could not hear it, of course, but all of Heaven sang in thanksgiving. I would have come to you then, but I am not strong enough to descend that far." The three of them turned from the wall and began walking on a broad street that led toward the center of the city. "As you continue on your journey you will grow. For now you won't be able to get back to where you were, but the greater you become the farther back you will eventually be able to go."
"From where we were the city didn't look so large, why it is so much bigger on the inside?" asked Hermione.
"It is just that way space is here, Hermione, we all are on a journey. Our main desire is to move higher up and farther in. My home is now in the mountain, but I came back to meet you here. At each stage of the journey you will find the space larger when you arrive there. Paradoxically, the bigger the space the nearer we are to the throne and thus actually the closer we are together."
Fidelitas moved from the boulevard to a small park along the way. "Come and see." His charges moved to where he knelt on the ground. "Just for the sake of perspective," he took a blade of grass and pointed out a small crack in the ground. "You came to the afterlife through a crack like this one. There you were in the valley and it seemed large to you. For you it was your 'Valley of Decision, or Valley of the Shadow of Life and Death'. When you left that valley didn't the space seem larger?" Harry nodded yes. Hermione just took Harry's hand. "From the valley you journeyed to a mountain top with the city in the center." He moved the blade of grass to a small bump on the ground. "What was a far journey to you for us was no farther than this. From your perspective there it was the top of a plateau, from ours here it was the green belt of grass just inside the wall. You came through what was a large gate to you. To us that gate looks about the size of one of the drains in the curb. Do not misunderstand me, what you came in by was a gate not a drain. It is only the size that I am making a comparison to. Yet to you now too, since you are now inside, that gate will appear to you to be the size of one of those drains. That is why I said you can't go back there for now." With that they walked on.
"Where do we go from here then?" asked Hermione.
"You will grow stronger and continue your journey into the mountains. You can see the beginning of them there." Fidelitas pointed to the mountain in the center of the city. "All of us are growing into perfect reflections of the Lord Jesus. I believe when we've done that we will have completed our first step into Eternity. Then we shall all journey higher up and further in. What we will be then is beyond my imagination, God is saving that as a happy surprise, you know how He is about that."
"We also have a few things to do. First we shall end the rebellion on Earth. The planet will be recreated and we will have a new city. New Jerusalem is still under construction. What your part in all of this will be will be taught to you."
"What do you do, there in the mountain?" asked Harry.
Fidelitas began speaking but his words quickly moved beyond what Harry' Earthly vocabulary could understand. The language of Heaven was flowing and very beautiful. Thanks to Raphael's efforts Harry and Hermione could understand one word in ten; but Fidelitas' words seemed to fire their imaginations sweeping them up to see vast landscapes filled with strange shapes and creatures that they could not name yet. Seeing that they did not understand what he had said, "Don't worry, we will begin teaching you the language of Heaven."
"Raphael is teaching us, so I could understand a little, but after listening to you I can hardly wait to learn more," gushed Hermione.
Fidelitas wandered over to a fruit tree and plucked some fruit. It was light orange in color with golden flecks like an apple. "Here, these are some of my favorites, are you hungry? Some tell me that these are like some kind of persimmon back on Earth, I never tried a persimmon there, but these are especially good." Harry stared as he offered them the fruit.
Hermione saw it at the same moment. Gasping in wonder, she whispered, "Ronald Weasley, is that you?"
"I was," smiled Fidelitas, "I have grown beyond what I was on Earth, at different stages of your growth here you will receive new names as well." He held out his arms and gathered his old friends into a hug. It was as if a campfire had embraced two sparks, leaving them burning brighter than they had before. Fidelitas knelt before Harry and Hermione, "Please accept me as your guide and teacher. I want to be now what I should have been to you all those years ago on Earth. You came into a culture that was strange to you, I should have taught you more than I did, instead of being so jealous of you."
"Of course, Ro-, I mean, Fidelitas. You know we forgave you long ago, don't you?" began Harry with Hermione nodding her agreement.
"Yes, I do. It was that forgiveness that started me on my path to salvation. I'll tell you my story, but we need to turn in here first." The trio turned onto a path that led up to a ridge away from the street. Before them was villa set into a park. There was a large garden between the avenue and the patio/porch of the house. There were several fruit trees with benches in the garden set around a reflecting pool. Harry and Hermione noticed that much of the fruit and vegetables in the garden had been favorites of theirs when they dwelt outside the walls of the celestial city. The walls of the house seemed to be made of gold. The windows had shutters inset with gemstones giving the effect of stained glass. "This will be your home in Zion. Do you want to explore the house or sit and talk?"
"Let's stay out here a while," Harry turned to Hermione holding out his hands. She understood what he wanted and she linked her hands with his while Fidelitas sat down on one of the benches. Together they began a simple song of thanksgiving for their new home. All of Heaven fell silent as all the Redeemed and the angels listened to the two new voices that had been added to the choir.
Then from various parts of the city voices took up the melody. Others added harmonies both above and below the main theme that Harry and Hermione had started. Yet none of the melody added overpowered theirs. The sound grew in power until it was a mighty anthem of thanksgiving rising to the Throne itself. When the angels joined in it was as if the choir had an orchestral accompaniment.
Fidelitas smiled his delight at their song. "That was lovely. Why don't we sit here? I'd like to explain why I'm so grateful to you."
"The Lord Jesus said he would not tell me any story but my own," questioned Harry.
"Ah, He won't but this is my story and I can share it with you," Fidelitas' smile lit the garden. "It began of your acceptance of me knowing your Earthly fate. The forgiveness you extended relieved a great deal of my guilt and I felt better than I had in years. Still there was a nagging sensation of lingering guilt, the feeling that my behavior had offended more than just you. I went on that way for a couple of years."
"Then one of my sons got sick. Luna did what she could at home before we wound up at St. Mungo's. Her name is Providi now and she sends her greetings to you. The healers did everything they could but he just wasn't getting any better he had a bad fever that just kept getting higher. I know it was only a few days but it seemed like weeks. Finally I just had to get out of the hospital for a little while. I found a bench at a bus stop on a street nearby, I remember just sitting there holding my head in my hands wondering how I could get him some help. I don't know how long I sat there, but this man, a Muggle, came and sat down beside me."
He smiled at me before saying, "Pardon me, but I couldn't help noticing that you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I just didn't have it in me to smile back at him, but I said 'Not unless you are a medical specialist'. For some reason I just told him about my son being sick and the medics had done all they could but he wasn't getting better."
He just thought for a few moments, "I'm not a doc but I do know someone that may help."
"Who and how do I contact him or her?" I remember asking. "I'm desperate."
He looked a little uncomfortable before he answered, "Well, I wasn't meaning a medical person. I think you have plenty of those, I was talking about God. Have you asked Him?"
"To say I was stunned would be an understatement. In my family we had never been to church even though there was one in the village. We knew a little about the Muggle holidays Christmas and Easter and all that but just weren't interested in the ways of our Muggle neighbors."
"I guess I just stared because he continued."
"As for contacting Him it is called prayer. I could show you how to pray, if you want me to."
"What's the catch? I asked him."
"No catch really. It is just we consider him our Lord, that means He doesn't do what we say because we make demands, but we can ask Him to heal your son and we trust He will do what is best in your situation. Do you want me to pray? Just realize that if He intervenes because you asked of Him, He has the right to make requests of you as well."
"If there is any chance, I'll take it."
"He bowed his head and spoke from his heart asking someone named Jesus to heal my son. I didn't understand all of what he said then. There were some things about promises of being gathered in His name and trusting to accept His will. Then he looked at me and I knew it was my turn to ask. I don't remember exactly what I said other than begging for my son to get better and apologizing for feeling stupid talking to someone I couldn't see. The stranger smiled at that."
"Then he told me to I should go back to the hospital. He promised to be there the next day at the same time so I could tell him what happened. I must admit that I felt this sensation of peace overcoming me as I returned to St. Mungo's, I guessed at the time that it was about finally feeling I had done all that I could."
"Luna met me in the hall outside our son's room. For a brief moment I feared the worst because she was in tears. Then I realized they were tears of relief. She told me the fever had broken and he was sleeping peacefully. During the night I told her what had happened at the bus stop. Luna came with me the next day to meet the Muggle that had prayed for our son."
"We had tea in a small shop and he told us all about who Jesus was and about his sacrifice for our sin. He explained the offer of salvation from the just penalties of those sins. We believed he had intervened to save the life of our son so it seemed reasonable to offer Him our allegiance. We prayed together asking him to be our God too. It was a bit of a surprise to the villagers in Ottery St. Chatchpole when we were baptized into the local congregation of the Church of England. At first we were concerned that our being magical might affect our membership but they didn't need us to be waving our wands. What they really needed was for us to be happy with them when there was cause for celebration. To pray with them when something was wrong. To help out when they were sick or injured. To cry with them when they were bereaved; the same things any of us needs. The most we had to do was make sure that the kids didn't say anything they shouldn't. Of course all that didn't prohibit a charm or two to help out here and there, but mainly God met all of our needs."
"I did try to pay attention to my magic. I wouldn't to anything to directly take away anyone's free will, since God considered that sacred. I always was pants at Divination so that wasn't a problem. None of us cared for the Dark Arts so that provided no problems either."
"My family noticed the changes we were making. Most of them joined with us eventually. Percy was the only one who never would listen to what I had to say." Fidelitas shook his head at the memory. "In the end he made his own choice, he received justice instead of mercy."
"I grew older and as my Earthly life was slipping away I had to confront my most grievous failure. I never told you about my becoming a Christian and trying to help you know God too. I saw you so seldom in those final years and when I did I was just so happy to see you I never thought to tell you. I am so sorry. Of all the things I did to you, that was the worst and most unforgivable." With a sigh, Fidelitas just looked at the ground.
Harry and Hermione were silent. They understood what had almost happened to them. It made them more grateful for the effort their Heavenly Father had undertaken to save them. At last Harry nodded, "We didn't make it easy for you to tell us either. It was frightening to watch you get old, Ron," said Harry slipping back into using their friends old name. "We were avoiding you especially after your parents died."
Harry struggled for to try to regain some kind of control, even in Heaven his emotions sometimes overwhelmed him. Slowly his eyes began to fill with tears. Harry got off the bench were he had been sitting and knelt before his friend.
"Tears in Heaven, Fidelitas?" queried Hermione. She was plainly puzzled and upset by what was going on.
Fidelitas momentarily appeared to be speaking to someone else. Hermione plainly heard him say. "Come, I think they are breaking."
Hermione was becoming more upset by what was happening to Harry. Fidelitas gazed into her eyes and said, "You haven't journeyed that far into Heaven. You remember what it says in the Bible, 'And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21: 4.' You have to be here for Him to wipe away those tears. Even in Heaven the deepest hurts of Earth take some effort to heal. For us those things have fallen away, for you they are still falling."
There was a shimmer in the air and Minerva McGonagall appeared next to Fidelitas. Hermione looked at her former teacher, "Miner-," she stopped realizing that McGonagall was her old name and she like Ron probably had a new one.
McGonagall smiled, "I am called Sophia now, my dear sister."
All of their attention returned to Harry as he began to speak through his tears, "You all were dying, Arthur, Molly…you…the twins…," as the pain welled up in his heart he began weeping in earnest. "You all left me…us…behind…and we couldn't follow…we didn't know how. As vampires we were stuck, unable to die.. Everyone we knew was leaving us behind," he wailed, "we didn't know what to do." He bowed his head and covered his face with his hands.
The sound of swift wings filled the air of the garden as Uriel and Michel responded to Harry's pain. The Archangels could only offer their love as they could not understand the humans sense of loss. Fidelitas was telling Harry that he understood as they knelt together, "I remember when my Mum and Dad died, Harry, I know how you feel. How you probably felt all along." He was talking quietly to Harry as Hermione and Sophia looked on.
"So that is what was wrong," Hermione said to Sophia, "he never could put it into words but he was feeling abandoned by everyone. That is why he wanted to see that final sunrise."
Sophia asked, "You were ready to die beside him, Hermione? Why were you so eager?"
"I hated being a vampire. There was no possibility for…no family to miss me. Without Harry I couldn't bear to be a vampire any longer," she said sadly as she tried to study distant city wall.
Sophia was silent for a few moments, "No possibility for what, my dear? I feel you are avoiding
something."
Hermione began to choke on her words as she tried to explain. "I wanted…children. More than anything I wanted to be…a mother." Her own tears began to spill over as she fell to her knees with Sophia kneeling with her. Sophia held her closely as Hermione poured out her deepest hurt, "Harry took my babies from me…he didn't mean to but he did when he made me into a monster and I hated him for it at first. Eventually I forgave him for that, but I'd see mothers on the streets or Ginny and Luna with their children, and it would just start hurting all over again. I couldn't ever make it stop." With that she couldn't speak anymore just crying into Sophia's shoulder.
Soft gentle hands touched her and Hermione looked up to see Raphael and Gabriel kneeling with her, their wings were surrounding Sophia and her as they whispered words of encouragement.
Suddenly they were surrounded by an intense white light that caused the city beyond it to fade into invisibility. It was like being caught in the beam of a searchlight. The light was accompanied by the sound of huge wings. Eight pairs of eyes looked up. The light was shining down from above them emanating from a huge six winged angel that hovered over them. It was so dazzlingly white that the light from the city was broken into scintillating rainbows of color around its wings.
The four Archangels stood and bowed in respect. Michael, their leader, spoke, "Hail, Seraph, honored one, you who dwells in the Presence of the Most High. We bid you welcome."
The Seraph folded his upper pair of wings revealing a face of such perfection and majesty that it outshone all other faces in all creation save one. He radiated so much power that it seemed that steering a galaxy would be child's play for him.
He smiled at them and when he spoke his voice seemed to come from the city itself. A voice of perfect clarity infused with comfort and love seemed to surround them all. "Welcome to you who are newcomers among us. Hail to you, Harry, and to you, Hermione. All of the resources of the city are for your healing and instruction. Be comforted for you shall be make whole again. Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and all shall be opened unto you. For here everyone that asks receives, everyone who seeks finds, and to those that knock it will be opened."
Two awestruck, tearstained faces looked up, speechless with amazement.
The Seraph spoke two more words and covered his face with his upper pair of wings. "He comes."
Jesus appeared on their patio. His white robe and golden belt were the same but this time his expression was one of compassion. The Seraph greeted him with the cry, "Holy, Holy, Holy. Lord God Almighty, Who was, Who is, and Who is to come!" The Archangels fell on their faces before Him. The humans were already kneeling. They cast their crowns at Jesus' feet and bowed their faces to the ground before their Lord and King.
The Heart of Heaven knelt and held out his arms to Hermione as He gently called her name. She ran to Him as a small child would run to a parent. After hugging her He gently wiped the tears from her face and whispered to her. What He said was for her alone, but it left her with the beginnings of a smile. She knelt and He replaced her golden tiara then He repeated the process with Harry.
The King then stood. His voice filled the Heavens as He spoke, "Arise Harry my son, my brother. Henceforth you shall be named 'Fortis'. Arise Hermione, my daughter, my sister. Henceforth you shall be named 'Comitas'. Your healing has begun and you shall be whole, the sorrows of your Earthly existence will not matter to you anymore. Enter into the joy of the city."
Stooping he picked up the crowns that belonged to Sophia and Fidelitas. Standing to one side He gestured toward the house. "Fortis, Comitas, these have been longing to speak to you again."
Shining ever brighter the newcomers looked to the patio of their home. For the first time they noticed four people standing there. Almost as one they cried, "Mum? Dad? Is that you?"
The light of their joy almost made the house seem to glow they flew to greet their parents."
Jesus approached Sophia and Fidelitas, "Walk with Me, those have much to say to each other." The three of them, in the way of Zion, vanished instantly from sight. Behind them the sound of laughter filled the air as Fortis and Comitas both tried to introduce their respective parents to the other.
"This is Fortis…"
"Come meet Comitas…"
"He/She was my helpmeet on Earth…and my best friend…"
Bathed in the light of the attending Seraph, with four Archangel friends standing sentinel, the being that was Harry Potter, for the first time in his living memory was embraced by his parents. All indeed was well.
OOoOo
Here, dear Readers, my Earthbound imagination must fail. " But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9".
As before this is a work of fiction and while there are glimmers of Heaven to be gleaned from scripture the forgoing is but my own interpretation of what is there. As before I remind you it is but a vision in a dream, ask no more of it than that.
I'd like to leave you with two sources to consider. First the words of Stephen Curtis Chapman from his song "The Glorious Unfolding."- "We were made to run through the fields of forever singing songs to our Saviour and King. Let us remember that this life we're living is just the beginning of the beginning of this glorious unfolding."
The words of C.S. Lewis from the Chronicles of Narnia in "The Last Battle." - "it was the first page of the first chapter of the Great Story which no one on Earth has read: which goes on forever, and every chapter is better than the one before."
God Bless - Dementor149.