Harry Potter and the Magic War

Chapter Four

Harry Potter and the Magic War

Chapter 4

Harry stood in front of a section of his library shelving, leafing through the pages of his hand written index, looking for anything that might help shed some light on his current mystery. It wasn't until he felt a soft touch on the back of his head that he realized that his mother was standing behind him. He turned around into a pair of barely there arms that still managed to convey all the warmth and love of a mother for her only son.

"Hey, Mum," Harry said with a smile before he slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh, for Merlin's sake, I should have talked to you right from the start."

"I have felt a little neglected lately, sweetheart. You've seemed fairly preoccupied of late."

"That's a way to put it. Please, Mum, sit down."

Harry took his favorite chair and his mother 'sat' on the couch across from him. He was always a little amazed to see this young woman sitting across from him when they had their talks, realizing that she was his mother. But when he looked more closely at her eyes, he could see the years she truly wore, the twenty one while she was alive and the nearly twice that dead.

"I imagine you know what I'm trying to figure out, right, Mum?"

"In a manner of speaking, dear. Your two most learned friends have been puzzling over it for some time now. All this business about your visiting strange dimensions or what have you."

"That's right, but I should have talked to you. You've been living, sort of, on two planes for all these years. What is it really like? Can you tell me?"

Lily considered her son's request for a moment and then said,

"Well, sweetheart, I've never really thought about it. It doesn't feel all that different than when I was alive, but perhaps that's just because I've grown so accustomed to it. As you've grown so strong I've been able to come and go as I please. And as you know I can interact with my family physically."

"Okay, but what's it like in that place where I can visit with Dad and my two learned friends, as you call them? All I see is the gray mist. Is that what it's like for you, and them?" Harry asked.

"No, dear, it's not. That's what you see because that's what you think you should be seeing, I think. For us it's a pleasant enough space. We refer to it as the salon."

"And you just sit there? When you're not here I mean? Isn't it boring after all these years?" he asked.

"Well, as you know, sweetheart, I spend a lot of time here and your family is never boring. Merlin and Dumbledore are never at a loss for something to discuss, although it almost always turns to you at some point. Your father had some issues at first, especially after I was able to start manifesting here at the house. But he's found a way to break through, I'd guess you'd say, and watch Quidditch matches anywhere he chooses. I have a feeling the other two helped him there."

"Dad is haunting Quidditch stadiums?" Harry asked in amazement.

"I wouldn't say haunt, dear. But whatever he's doing, he enjoys it immensely. He's looking forward to your next charity event," Lily said with a grin.

Harry could only laugh and then asked,

"Do you ever see things, you know, something strange trying to come through, like it's breaking a barrier?" he asked.

"I've never seen anything, dear, but there are times when we hear some things, or more often, feel that something is out there. But I will say that it never felt threatening, if that means something to you."