Harry Potter and the Legacy of Heaven

Chapter 4: Questions

Harry just stared at the man. He didn't even know which question to ask first, but he decided that he might as well try and figure out what was going on. He was in a strange place with a strange person, and that scared him just a little.

"Where am I?" he asked. The man looked at him, as if trying to decide what answer would be best for him to hear.

"Well, the short answer is that you're in heaven. This is more of just a waiting area before you get to the judgement. After that is when you'd go to the real heaven. This is your own personal paradise until then."

"Really? Wait... How can I be in heaven? I'd have to have... Oh no... No..."

"'Fraid so kid. You're dead. Well, you're dead in a manner of speaking, anyway. You're not dead like cold as stone dead, but your spirit is here, so you're dead," the man said. He looked like he was being confusing on purpose, so Harry inquired further.

"Dumbledore was the last one I saw... He wouldn't kill me though. Would he? I don't understand how I could've died. I had to fight Voldemort-he was the only one who could kill me."

"That's very true. You see, the problem with that is that you weren't killed. We gave Dumbledore this mission. Basically, the simple explanation is that he shot you with an arrow of light. The arrow carried you out of your dimension towards heaven; that's where all light arrows originate from and try to get back to. At some point though, you passed by the Wall of the Saints. No mortal body can pass that point, so the arrow split in two. One half of it pinned your body to the Wall, and the other half carried your soul here. So, your body is dead, but it is perfectly preserved, and you will be able to return to it eventually."

Harry pondered this for a minute. The man had a compassionate look on his face, and Harry wondered what he might still be hiding. He still didn't understand why he was in heaven, he only understood how. This man was giving him more questions than answers, and he was starting to find it a little frustrating.

"You said eventually. Why can't I return now?" Harry asked.

"Well, that'd completely defeat the purpose in bringing you here in the first place," the man replied softly.

"And what, may I ask, is that?"

"Well, it was a brilliant plan, really. Prayers really are heard, you know. Dumbledore prayed for your protection, and we will provide it. Voldemort cannot harm you here, and it will remain that way until you leave. His power, at present, is incapable of passing the Wall of the Saints. There are some here that feel that he may be able to gain enough power to breach that wall at some point, but it will still be a while before that occurs. There are more powers at work in your war than you know. Heck, there are more powers at work here than even I know." He fell silent.

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

"I told you. I'm Proteus," the man replied.

"No no no. I don't mean your name. I mean who are you? What are you here for? How do you know so much?"

"That's an interesting question. I was sent here to answer your questions. I like playing games like our little chase, and seeing as how I've been around here long enough to know the answers to any question you might ask, we thought it would be best if I came. That, and I'm a lot less serious than the others." Proteus started walking, and Harry fell into step beside him.

"You keep saying we, and that you were sent. Who is everyone else?" Harry asked.

"That's my surprise, for now. That's also where we're heading. I'd tell you, but it would ruin the surprise. You wouldn't believe me anyway. For now, ask another question," Proteus replied.

"Why am I here? If it were just protection, couldn't Dumbledore have just left me at Privet Drive?"

"Well, there's a long answer to that question. First, Dumbledore asked for you to have a good summer. That wasn't going to happen while you were at Privet Drive. Second, although the house is secure, the neighborhood isn't, and he didn't want to bottle you up there. Third, and most importantly, is that you are going to receive training here so that you can catch up to Voldemort's skill level faster. I won't lie to you. At the rate you were progressing, and at the rate Voldemort was progressing, he would've killed you the next time you met. There is one more reason as to why we brought you here, but I am afraid that it will be disconcerting and that you might not be ready for it," Proteus finished, looking disturbed. He clearly didn't want to tell Harry the last reason that he had been brought to Heaven for, but Harry had to hear it.

"Just tell me. The sooner I hear it, the sooner I can get over it. After all, this is Heaven. I can't stay sad for long here, right?"

"Right... Maybe... Maybe it would be better to show you. Yes... It will be hard, but at least you will be able to understand what everyone is going through." He stopped, and drew his hand through the air in front of him lazily. The air pulled apart, and through it, Harry could see to the top of a rain drenched hill. It was obviously a funeral, as there was a coffin, and everyone was wearing black. What disturbed him more was that several of the mourners had shockingly red hair. Harry assumed that these were the Weasleys, and he immediatly felt sorry for them, and their loss.

He looked over to Proteus, who looked like he was trying to hide. Harry knew that there was something that the dark haired man was avoiding tell him.

"Proteus... Whose funeral is this?" Harry asked, afraid of what the answer might be. In answer, Proteus nodded back at the vision, and watched as a serene figure moved forward. Harry began to hear the rain, and it wasn't long before he could hear the voice of the person who had stepped forward addressing the crowd.

The figure opened its mouth and Harry heard it say clearly, "Harry was a good friend, and a good person. He was robbed of his life before he could live it, and for this I am eternally sorry. What little life he did have was punctuated by events that taxed his emotions heavily, but his friends always came through for him."

He couldn't listen to any more. He pulled his hands through the vision, dispelling it, and then he sat down on the ground. He was fighting back tears. Not for himself, but for the Weasleys and Hermione. His best friends, no, his family, all thought that he was dead. How would they deal with it.

Proteus sat down next to him, and let him recompose himself before he continued.

"It was the best way. Everyone thinks that you're dead, except for Dumbledore. He alone knows and guards the truth. Now, when you go back, Voldemort will still think that you're dead. You'll have the advantage of surprise for as long as you wish to keep it. Then, depending on how you let him know, Voldemort may or may not believe that you are actually back.

"Don't worry about your friends. Dumbledore is going to make sure that they get through this, and if any of them don't adjust normally, he'll tell them the truth. They will come to no harm because of this. If anything, they will be better off for it. They will begin training themselves vigorously as a result of this deception, and they will become powerful for it.

"We're at war, and its importance has even reached us here. We can't be directly affected by it, but we can help as much as the Law will allow. That's why you're here, after all. But you must still have questions. I don't hesitate to tell you, very few people manage to catch me, and you should take advantage of the situation as much as you can." Proteus stood up after saying this, and reached out a hand to help Harry up as well. They continued walking, and Harry could see that they were headed toward a path that led into the forest that he had seen when he had first arrived here.

Harry pondered Proteus's statement for a while. As long as he could have his questions answered, he figured he'd take advantage of it.

"How could I do those things? The broom, and the wings, and the ribbons... How did I do all of those things?" Harry had been wondering about this for a while.

"Well, this is your own personal paradise. You can do anything you want here. I wouldn't suggest breaking the Law, but you could if you really wanted to, I suppose. Think of it like a dream that is real and that you can control. Anything is possible."

"And when I leave?"

"Well, that depends. If you have as much aptitude for magic as some of us think you do, you'll probably be able to do anything back in your reality that you can do here. I must warn you, though, be careful who you let know what you can do. And when you get back to earth, remember that you have a body. Your spirit can never be destroyed, and it will make you lax with defending yourself. When you get back, you'll have a body that you have to protect as well."

"When am I going to start my training?"

"Well, when I came in, I entered at the far end of this forest. So, unless something has changed, that'll be where we can overlap with the other areas. You'll start right away."

"What do you mean, overlap with the other areas?" Harry was getting more and more confused.

Proteus thought for a minute. "It's like this. Each person has their own area in this place. Nobody can ever leave their area completely, because their spirit is bound to it. Only angels can travel in between the areas. However, there are places at the edge of your area that you can force to overlap with the areas of others, so that you can see them too. Once you get the hang of it, it's really quite easy, and you'll be able to move your area to overlap with anyone else's with a thought. Until then, it's easier to go to the edge and do it from there. We didn't know how long it would take you to adjust, which is why we didn't just overlap our areas with yours to begin with. That might've overloaded you a little. That, and it's important to know how to do it for yourself."

Harry thought about this for a minute. It was really kind of considerate of them, in a way, to try not to overload him. He had taken in a lot of information recently, but he was able to handle it.

"Proteus, what else should I know about this place that I don't?" Harry inquired.

"Well, as you saw earlier, you can see events as they happen on the earth just by concentrating. The process is a lot like the one we'll use to move your area around, and you should get the hang of it pretty quickly. I'll warn you right now not to spend too much time looking at the earth. You can't change anything there until we send you back, and it wouldn't do to dwell on the sorrows of the earth while the joys of Heaven are yours. The choice is yours, of course, but I would encourage you to leave it alone.

"As you saw earlier, you can do almost anything you want here. While we are training you, we'll probably project ourselves down to the earth so that we can practice magic as you would there. It is so much easier to use it here that you wouldn't really be learning anything. In a sense, this place is the source of magic, and the farther away you get from it, the harder it is to use. You'll be able to develop control while on the earth much better than if we did all of the practicing from here.

"I suppose I might as well tell you a little about the nature of Heaven. Everyone who has ever died is here, in their own area. There are meeting areas that you can align with, to meet new people, or you can align your area with anyone who you know. You'll know angels when you see them, they're indescribable. Basically, you'll feel like a lowly idiot when you encounter one. Some of the higher ranking angels have been by to discuss strategy with us a few times, and they are a sight to behold, to be sure. I felt like I was in the presence of a being who was older, more powerful, and more wise than I ever had any hope of being. Quite an experience.

"The only other thing to tell you is that you won't see the Almighty, so don't even ask. His power would completely overwhelm anyone that dwells here. That's about all I can think of that you didn't already know... Oh, one more thing. Not everyone lives in a paradise. Some people cannot escape the evil within their souls... It manifests itself in their domain. It's like hell. Pray that you never have to align your area with one of them."

Harry had been pondering this for a while, and as they were almost to the edge of his area, he had maybe one question left that he could ask. The moment he had this thought, the question snapped into place. He was almost angry at himself for not thinking of it earlier, but he decided to deal with that later. For now, he was going to ask his question.

"Proteus?"

"Yes Harry?"

"If this is heaven, and there are dead people here... Can I... Can I see my parents? And Sirius?" For a moment Harry thought he had said something wrong, but then Proteus's face broke into the biggest grin he had seen yet, and his eyes took on a truly content quality that they had not had before.

"Yes my boy. In due time, you will see them."

Harry very nearly leapt for joy. Proteus chuckled at his obvious jubilation over the fact that he would finally get to see his parents. This was cut short, however, when they ran into the very soft edge of Harry's domain.

Proteus looked at Harry. "This is the edge of your area. Run your hands through it a few times, and try to remember what the energy feels like." Harry did as he was told. He put his hands up to the barrier, and moved them along it. It was amazing. The energy sparkled with happiness under his touch, and he knew at once that its sole purpose was to do his bidding. He paused for a while, just feeling the energy, until he didn't think that he'd ever be able to forget it, and then he dropped his hands.

"Good, you felt it?" Proteus asked. Harry nodded at him. "All right. Now, take a few steps back from the edge, and try to feel it again, this time without your hands."

Harry did as Proteus told him. He stepped back, and then reached out with his senses to feel for the energy. And it was there, sparkling at him, congratulating him for finding it. He wrapped himself in it, and felt nothing but joy. Proteus laughed again, and this pulled Harry away from feeling the energy.

"Now, I want you to feel that energy. When you find it again, look for another pattern. That one is mine. When you find it, I want you to wrap the two of them together, and hold them that way. Then I'll be able to take us to meet the others."

Harry reached out for the energy, and this time he grabbed onto it. The energy was excited, and ready for action. He felt around for the other energy stream until he found it. It was much more calm and controlled than his own, but happy for him nonetheless. He reached for it with his mind, and then wrapped the two energy ribbons together as Proteus had said to do. The energy complied readily, and soon the two were intermeshed.

"Here we go!" Proteus said. Harry felt the energy move, and watched as the forest and the valley dropped away from his view. The new area was blurry at first, but it soon resolved into what looked like a massive library.

Harry had a quick thought about how much Hermione liked the library at Hogwarts, and thought that she'd like this one. He wanted to see his friends again.

"You can let go of the energy now, but it will still be there whenever you need it," Proteus told him. He complied, and then followed Proteus through the library. They had been walking for a few minutes, when they reached what looked to be a private study. Proteus knocked on the door, and it swung open.

Standing in the doorway was a wizened old man that reminded Harry of Dumbledore. He looked different, but he had the same aura of immense power, and the same twinkling eyes. Harry had the strangest feeling that he had seen this man before, somewhere, but he couldn't quite remember. He was trying to remember, but Proteus stopped him, as he spoke.

"Harry Potter, this is the most highly regarded wizard in all of recorded history. I would like you to meet Merlin."