Survivors - 2

"Well, what's the use in having an ocean view if you can't see it at night?" James asked, sounding insulted. "I could have cast the Muggle-Repelling Charms myself. It wouldn't have caused them any trouble."

"We know, dear," Lily said, placating him.

James sulkily folded his arms across his chest.

"I think it would have been brilliant," Harry said, feeling bad for his dad. He could see how much that pitch meant to him and knew how it felt to be disappointed. There was something about the idea that his dad had these huge plans for him and his future siblings that filled Harry's heart. His dad had wanted to play Quidditch with him! His own dad.

"It would have been, wouldn't it?" James asked, the boyishness returning to his face. "I wish I could have finished it before…well, I wish I could have left it for you. Your friend Ron and you would have had a grand time."

"You like Ron, then?" Harry asked, trying to sound casual. Somehow, he desperately wanted James to approve of all his friends.

"Of course I like Ron," James said, nonplussed. "You've got the best set of friends I could have ever wanted for you, and I thank Merlin for them everyday."

Harry beamed.

"We were both happy with the friends you made that first year at Hogwarts," Lily said. She'd taken the seat next to Harry and clutched his hand as she spoke.

"Ron will be okay, won't he?" Harry asked, remembering the curse that had struck Ron during the battle.

Lily smiled sadly. "I don't know."

"Why don't you know?" Harry asked, fear rising like a bubble in his throat. "You said you've been watching everything."

"The future is never concrete, Harry," Dumbledore said gently. "It is ever moving and changing. It shifts according to how events unfold. We are mere observers."

"It's probably time for me to go back," Harry whispered thickly, his throat very tight. James, Sirius and Remus had gone back to their argument over the Quidditch pitch, but Lily was still listening to their conversation, and he found it hard to meet her gaze.

"And it is time for me to move forward," Dumbledore said, nodding. "Do you want to say your farewells?"

"I think it would be easier if I left first," Harry said, knowing he couldn't stand watching them all disappear one by one again.

Dumbledore's eyes dimmed sadly, but he nodded his understanding. "Go forward knowing that your departed loved ones are all watching over you."

Lily sniffed, leaning over and grabbing Harry's hands. Her green eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them back resolutely. She tugged at a lock of his hair, smiling sadly.

"Your hair has always been so soft. I used to play with it when you were a baby. I thought it was just baby hair, but it's still just as soft as it was then. I missed so much – we missed so much," she said sadly, biting the corner of her lip.

Harry swallowed. What could he say? There was no denying her words, and he was at a loss how to make either of them feel better. The past had happened and couldn't be changed. Perhaps that was the reason for his visit here in the first place. Maybe this locked room inside the Ministry – the one used to study the great mystery of love – was meant to show him that even though he'd come through a tragic past, it was the love of the people who'd touched him that was pushing him toward his bright future. Perhaps that was love's greatest gift.