Butterfly Effect ; H. Potter

151. greeting death like a friend.

Harry Potter and Antheia Lupin were never too far apart — even after death.

─ ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─

Antheia did not know where she was. Of course, as this was her first time dying. She felt an odd sort of calm, as if all her problems had drifted away.

She walked along the brightly lit corridor she was in, not knowing where neither the entrance nor the exit was. Soon enough, she spotted the figures of five people standing in the distance. They were all watching her closely.

At first, Antheia was scared. What were five people doing, staring at her? She contemplated turning back, as she did not want whoever these people were to hurt her. Antheia could not defend herself without a wand.

Then, she realised, she was dead. She didn't know what she had to worry about. So, she continued to walk until the familiar faces of the five people appeared in front of her: James Potter, Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Mary MacDonald.

"Antheia!" called her mother, beaming at the sight of her. Antheia's eyes widened. She did not know how to react.

"I'm dead, right?" asked Antheia, not able to come up with anything else to say. The Marauders burst into laughter.

"That's the first thing you say to your mother, huh?" said Mary jokingly.

"We're all so proud of you, darling," said Remus, smiling warmly at his daughter. Antheia could not bring herself to smile.

"They're all still fighting," assured Antheia. "I promise. We won't give up until all of you are avenged."

She looked around at the empty void surrounding them.

"Where am I?" she asked. "What is this place?"

"It's a bit complicated," said Lily, stepping forward. "See, you're not really dead. But you're not alive. When we died, we died for good but you've got that fancy power, don't you? None of us wanted to make your decision for you, so we brought you here, instead."

"What decision?"

"To put it lightly," explained James, his eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning, "you can choose to stay here, with us, or go back."

"If you stayed here, there'd be way more than just an endless void of white," said Sirius. "You'd also get to spend more time with us, which you'd love, of course."

"You could go back, though, if you wanted to," said Remus, shooting a look at Sirius. "Your friends would love to see you. You have the Weasleys, too —"

"But no Harry?" interrupted Antheia. All five of them exchanged glances as if they knew something she didn't. "Why, what is it?"

"Nothing important, Antheia," said Mary.

"You mean to say ... other than leaving all of you, there's no other downside to going back?" said Antheia. "It almost seems too simple, doesn't it? Everything has been so complicated for the past seven years."

"Quite refreshing, right?" said Lily kindly.

"I mean, leaving us is a big downside," muttered Sirius. James nodded along with him.

"You've only been here for a few minutes," said Remus, ignoring his two friends. "So far, no one but Madam Pomfrey has realised you're, well, dead."

"If you went back, this would all just feel like a dream," said Mary. "As if it never happened."

"But I'll miss all of you," said Antheia sadly. "I haven't had enough time with any of you!"

"Whatever you decide, darling," said Remus, "we'll stay with you."