CHAPTER ONE

Harry never imagined dying would give one a pulsing headache. Quicker than falling asleep! Thanks for that, Ghost Sirius! She had barely felt the green bolt of the Killing Curse hit her, true, but she knew that she had been knocked down with some force and that impact had hurt quite a bit.

Rubbing her eyes and dusting herself down, Harry got up and looked around her, trying for the life of her to discern where she was. From the benches, the arch ways, the high ceilings, the tracks and the rows of platforms, Harry made a mental guess she was somewhere that looked a little like Kings Cross station, only this place was one hundred times cleaner and there were less people. There were no trains, though she swore she could hear the sound of one in the distance. The platforms were indeed numbered and several of them had strange symbols from what she could see. One had something that looked like a winged person with a sword, while another had something roughly resembling a Valkyrie.

Harry hurriedly looked down at herself. Her jeans had turned black and her T-shirt had turned grey. Even her leather jacket, which she knew had been brown before, was now a pearly grey colour. Then she noticed something else and began patting at her face. Her glasses were gone! She could see without those god awful full moon glasses that Aunt Petunia had come home with one day after teachers informed her Harry needed glasses. Some good comes with death, after all. Harry had to chuckle quietly to herself at this.

"Harry."

For a moment, she froze. Harry knew that grandfatherly tone anywhere, and after not hearing it for a year, it almost sounded like a chorus of bells. She looked up and indeed, standing not too far away from her, wearing silvery grey robes that actually matched with its white undertones – and not wearing any half-moon spectacles – was Albus Dumbledore, still with the very same twinkle in his eyes as the night he died.

"Sir?" Harry stated, sounding rather dazed. "What are you doing here?"

Even in death, there was a twinkle in her former Headmaster's eyes. "I came to meet you, of course, my dear girl. Walk with me."

Harry felt her stomach turn. She desperately wanted to decline but at the same time, Dumbledore was the only one here and that made her feel like she didn't really have much of a choice. It was not a secret that Harry had hoped it had been her parents or Sirius who would have come to meet her. Or even Remus, Tonks or Fred. Anyone, but Dumbledore. As she was about to comply, something under a nearby bench caught Harry's eye.

Frowning, Harry bent down to take a closer look. To her shock, under the bench was a shrivelled up creature that looked similar to the golem version of Voldemort that she had seen in her nightmares during her fourth year. Only, this one was much bigger, more shrivelled and covered by something that looked like blood. It was curled up in a foetal position and breathing quite heavily, wheezing and rasping, as though it were struggling to get oxygen into its system. Its eyes were firmly shut, but she noted there was something akin to pain on its face. Harry felt her heart sink at the sight of this poor creature.

"You cannot help him, sweet girl," Dumbledore's gentle tone reached her ears.

"There is always something that can be done," Harry argued through gritted teeth. "Always!" Harry's head turned sharply, her peridot eyes glaring coldly at the man she once trusted the most. "Voldemort may have split his soul, but he was nothing more than a terrified kid with a serious fear of the unknown. A fear of being forgotten, to die with nothing to his legacy. He was an abused child who wanted to never be at someone else's mercy ever again."

Harry stood up at this point, glowering at her mentor, who stared back at her in shock. Shocked that she was angry, not at Voldemort, but at him. "I was wronged by him, and yet all I feel for him is pity. But you – you turned your back on him at age eleven, when he was nothing more than an angry, confused child. A damn child!I saw those memories, sir. Don't even attempt to deny it."

"I do not deny it," Dumbledore answered sadly, frowning slightly at the eerie glow that had entered Harry's peridot orbs. "But my girl, you don't understand-"

"I understand very well! I was exactly like him at one point. I would have probably turned out just the same way, and I almost did," Harry scoffed. "If it had not been for my friends, I doubt I would have been much better than Voldemort. Perhaps, worse." She shook her head. "You were so desperate to turn me into a compliant little weapon, that you let me get abused by the very people who were supposed to love me – all for the 'greater good'!" Harry laughed mirthlessly. "If I never hear those words again, it will be too soon."

Dumbledore's brow farrowed further. "Harry-"

Harry's emerald orbs started to glow as bright as the curse that had sent her into the In-between of Life and Death. "Everyone is worthy of redemption. One way or the other; in this life or the next. I may be dead now, but that doesn't mean I am going to spend the rest of my afterlife on my arse. I will redeem what is left of Tom Riddle's soul, and he will find peace!"

With that, before Dumbledore could say or do anything to try and stop her, Harry bent down and attempted to pick up the foetal piece of Voldemort's fractured soul. The next thing she knew, Harry saw a blinding white light and felt herself falling into it, in what felt like an eternity. Meanwhile the spirit of Albus Dumbledore was left alone, left to contemplate exactly what he did wrong and whether he had underestimated the Potter Heiress's compassion for even those who were meant to be her enemy.

All the while, the invisible entity who had watched the exchange with interest in the shadows, let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps this particular Mistress would not fall so easily as her ancestors did. At the same time, back in the world of the Living, the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters let out a shriek of surprise when in a blink of an eye, Harry Potter's body had disappeared.

Quick disclaimer: this is JK's world and characters. The only character that belongs to me is new Harry's familiar (sorry, I promised to myself no spoilers). Any and all reviews are wholly appreciated! I hope chapter one was up to your satisfaction!