Just A Second Chance

Chapter 10

"Speaking"
<<Mind link>>
"Thought/flashback"
“Parseltounge/Beast Language”
"Any other language"
'Quote'
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     Harry standing in a white void.

Naked, too.

He doesn't remember how'd he get here or where are 'here' is when suddenly the station of King's Crossing soon shimmered into view, except this time it was completely empty. No odd Headmasters or Babymorts.

Harry walked over to the nearest bench and plopped down onto it as he choose to waited for his own ride out of here. He was kind of hoping that the train will getting him somewhere else beside here and then thought that it might not be the best idea in the world to be the only one naked.

A set of comfy looking clothes in black and green appeared next to him and fit perfectly as he shrugged them on, before sitting back down on the bench. Harry could have been waiting for a few minutes or hours or even longer. He didn't get tired, hungry or feel any particular need to use the loo; content to sit in a state of half-wakefulness that he was pulled from by a familiar shrill whistle.

Fading into existence, just at the extreme edge of his vision, was a nostalgic locomotive that rolled down the tracks, before coming to a gentle stop in front of him. Steam hissed out on all sides as the compartment doors popped open, inviting Harry on board.

Harry gave one final look at Kings Cross before stepping up to board his last train, his thoughts on his sibling.

The station, train and everything else save for the white void disappeared just as he was about to take that last step, causing him to stumble in place and blink rapidly at the now missing vehicle.

"...eh?"

Harry spun in place, looking for...well...anything.

Nothing.

He turned around again and saw-

ChaosInfinityEverythingThatIsAndAllThatWillBeLockedIntoAnEndlessSpiralOfMadnessAndGriefAndJoyAndWonderAndHorrorAndLoveAndFamilyFriendsEnemiesLoversSonsMothersDaughtersBrothersSistersCivilizationsEndingUniversesCollapsingRealityCrumblingAwayToTheFinalOutcomeThatAwaitsAllAndDeniesOnlyOne-

Harry was on his knees, open mouthed staring at an all-too familiar structure that had been the source of more than a few of his nightmares and even rarer fantasies. An ancient stone archway with a shimmering veil of mist kept within it's opening, whispers of people that Harry could swear he could recognize but couldn't quite make the connection, filtered out from the structure.

The Veil of Death.

A sinking feeling came into being in his stomach as Harry shakily got up from his position, it was only redoubled as the mist became thicker within the archway as it condensed to fit the now smaller space it had to manuever around-

Harry's eyes widened as the interior of the Veil began to be filled in with stone at a prodigious rate.

"No, stop!" he yelled out. Harry had the awful, awful certainty that if he didn't make it through the Veil in time before it closed, he would never get to see any of his family again.

Harry's feet pounded against the ground, wishing with all of his might that the distance between him and the archway would get shorter as he raced against time. To his growing horror however, no matter how much he ran or how much he prayed that this world would respond to his thoughts, the distance between him and his goal never changed.

As if to mock him even further, Harry suddenly arrived at his goal just as the Veil closed and filled completely with stone, the archway now resembled a tombstone more than anything.