Harry looked at the dirty rug, his thoughts in turmoil. He remembered how guilty he felt when Sirius died. Poor Snape had a more active role in Lily's death than Harry had in Sirius's. No wonder Snape was determined to hate him! It's incredible that he stopped hating him! After all, every time Snape saw Harry, he was reminded of what he did to Lily.

Harry slowly stood up and walked over to Snape. He put his arms around him and wasn't surprised when Snape stood up and grabbed him in a tight hug. They both stood with their arms around each other, crying on each other shoulders. Neither one of them noticed the triumphant looks that Remus and Dumbledore exchanged. They didn't notice the look of astonishment on Sirius's face. After five minutes, Sirius finally broke the silence.

"Those must have been powerful memories," he said.

"It's Severus and Lily growing up together," Remus told him. "They were neighbors from early childhood. Harry always wanted to know more about his parents."

"James would freak out if he would see this," Sirius said.

Severus looked towards the tissue box on the desk. Dumbledore floated it over to him, and Snape gratefully took one and wiped his eyes.

"I think Sirius is jealous," Snape said softly. "Will it bother you if I try a Remus technique?"

He walked Harry over to Sirius and plopped him down on Sirius's lap. Harry looked at Sirius's face and understood Snape's intention. He smiled at Snape before hugging Sirius and pecking him on the cheek.

"He just showed me his memories of my mother," Harry said softly. "They started from when she a little kid, before she even knew she was magical."

Sirius smiled sadly and hugged Harry tightly. Harry snuggled in Sirius's arms for a few minutes.

"I liked these memories better than the ones you showed me last time," Harry said shyly, looking at Snape. "Last time, the memories left me with the knowledge that I have to walk willingly to my death and let Voldermort kill me to destroy the horcrux."

He turned to Sirius and Remus.

"The two of you helped me," Harry said. "I used the resurrection stone and brought back both of you and my parents. The four of you walked with me to my death. Sirius, you told me that it doesn't hurt to die. Remus, I told you how sorry I am that little Teddy is now an orphan. You said that you hope he will understand that you and Tonks died to make the world a better place."

"You really saw your parents?" Remus asked.

"The resurrection stone allows you to bring back a form of the dead," Harry explained. "They don't usually want to come back, but this time you guys came back to escort me onward."

"I would love to see your dad again," Remus said. "He really was a good friend."

"He wouldn't want to come back," Harry said. "People who moved on are happy in the next world and don't want to be bothered by us."

"What happened to the stone?" Sirius asked.

"Dumbledore and Snape destroyed it since it was a horcrux," Harry explained.

"Actually, I have it here," Dumbledore said.

"I thought fiendfyre would completely destroy it," Harry said. "You mean that one other horcrux still survived?"

"The horcrux was destroyed," Dumbledore explained. "I decided to go back for it. I remembered your warnings about the curse on it, so I did every countercurse possible before picking it up."

"You could have died!" Harry reprimanded. "You almost did the first time."

"I couldn't just leave it there," Dumbledore said. "It's one of the deathly hallows."

"The dead don't want to be brought back," Harry said. "They would only be seen by the person holding the stone. They can't have a real life here."

"I know that," Dumbledore said, "but there's somebody who wants to talk to you."

He handed Harry the stone. Harry took it and watched his parents appear.

"Mum! Dad!" he said tearfully.

Lily smiled a beautiful smile. She pushed her long hair back as she drew close to him, and her green eyes, so like his, searched his face hungrily, as though she would never be able to look at him enough.

"You've been so brave."

"No I wasn't," Harry said. "I changed the future beyond recognition and lived the last seven years as if stuck in a nightmare. I couldn't convince myself that the future I dreamed about isn't happening now."

"You are nearly there," said James. "Very close. We are so proud of you."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"The dream," James said. "It's almost over."

"How did I dream the future?" Harry asked.

"After I died to protect you, I asked to see your future," Lily explained. "I was horrified at what I saw. I saw the neglect you suffered from Petunia and Vernon. I watched you face Voldermort again and again. I saw how Snape and Malfoy treated you. I saw your distress when Cedric died. I watched Umbridge make you write with your own blood. I saw how much you suffered when Sirius died. I saw you suffer again when Dumbledore died. I watched you hunt down horcruxes and survive dangerous situations. When I realized that you united the deathly hallows and became master of death, I managed to send you the dream."

"You gave me the dream?" Harry exclaimed. "But according to Dumbledore, the master of death isn't scared of dying."

"Are you scared of dying?" Lily asked. "If I remember correctly, you walked very bravely to your death."

"That's because I had the two of you, Sirius, and Remus with me. Sirius told me that it won't hurt, and Remus said it will be fast. You all said you will stay with me until the end," Harry said. "Besides, it's not my death that's scary. It's everyone else's death. First, you two died, leaving me to be raised by the Dursleys. If I would have been with Sirius the whole time, it would have been fine, but you saw how they treated me. Then Cedric died. For a whole year, Cho followed me around crying, wanting to talk about Cedric, not realizing that I felt guilty for telling him to take the cup with me. The next year, Sirius died. I was selfish for sparing him this time! I'm the only one who really gained by his survival. He would have been happier moving on instead of being stuck with me forever! But I had to save him. I'm so selfish! The next year, Dumbledore died. That affected everyone. Tonight, lots of people died. Fred was the worst. I don't know how the Weasleys would survive without Fred. I was the one with Snape when he died. I held his hand even though we hated each other. It was selfish of me to spare him. All he wanted was to die since the night you died. He couldn't live with himself, and I selfishly kept him alive. Teddy will benefit from having Remus and Tonks in his life, but I saw how happy you all were after you died! How can I be so selfish and make everyone live for me? I'm not a master of death; I'm a selfish manipulator! I remember how pleasant it was after Voldermort killed me before Dumbledore sent me back. I'm stopping everyone else from being happy just because I don't want them to die! How can you say I'm the master of death?"

"Harry, you are losing control," Lily said, looking at Harry's tear stained face. "I wish I could hold you now and tell you how wonderful you are, but I can't touch you. That's the problem with this stone. It was my decision to give you a chance to save everyone, and you saved the wizarding world from lots of misery. Don't ever blame yourself for doing the right thing! Your dad and I both think you're the greatest person in the world for all you did and I think everyone who knows the truth will agree. Don't ever regret doing the right thing!"

"I still have the horcrux in my head," Harry said.

"It's useless now," James told him. "Once Voldermort was kissed by a dementor, you alone could control your horcrux. The other ones needed to be destroyed so they won't end up in the wrong hands, like Ginny with the diary, but you're not in danger of being possessed as long as Voldermort doesn't exist. Go on with your life now. Forget what was supposed to happen since you prevented it from happening."

"But I wasn't supposed to mess with the future," Harry protested.

"I'm the one who messed with the future," Lily said. "Could you forgive me?"

"Forgive you?!" Harry exclaimed. "I can't thank you enough. Look at all those lives you saved. You're the greatest!"

"You saved those lives," Lily said. "I just gave you the dream."

"I thought I'm not supposed to use this stone," Harry said. "I thought it's a sign of selfishness to bring the dead back from their happiness."

"Normally it is," Lily admitted, "but I wanted to talk to you to explain what I did. This was the easiest way to do it. You didn't do anything wrong and I don't want you blaming yourself for my choices. The rest of your life should be a happy peaceful life. Enjoy it."

"Does that mean I won't become an auror?" Harry asked.

"Why do you think that?" James asked him.

"An auror doesn't have a peaceful life," Harry said.

"You won't have as much to do since you already destroyed Voldermort, but I think you'll make a great auror," James said with a smile.

"Ask Severus to give you remedial potions again," Lily said. "And tell him I forgive him for everything."

Harry gripped the stone tightly and turned to Professor Snape.

"My mum said to tell you she forgives you for everything," Harry said softly.

"I don't deserve it," Snape said.

"Tell him he does," Lily insisted. "Tell him I love the person he became."

"I will," Harry said, "but I think I should first say good-bye to you. I can't have two conversations at once. Do you want to talk to him directly or would that be too traumatic for him?"

"He won't be able to let go," Lily said. "I'm surprised you're able to."

"I don't want to," Harry said. "But I know that I have to."

He closed his eyes and put the stone down on the desk. He walked over to Professor Snape and put a hand on his shoulders.

"My mum loves the person you became," Harry told him. "She really forgives you for everything. She understands why you did what you did and how far you went to undo the damage that was done."

"Thank you," Snape said softly.

"Did you really just see your parents?" Remus asked anxiously.

"Just an image of them," Harry said. "It's actually not recommended to use the stone. It could make someone crazy as they're surrounded by dead people that only they could see or hear. It's also very hard to tear yourself away from the people you love. That's why I was surprised that Professor Dumbledore took the stone."

"Your mother communicated with Phineas Black," Dumbledore said. "That's how I knew she wanted to talk to you. That's also how you got the book on destroying horcruxes. Your mother asked Phineas to use Kreacher to get it to you."

"My mum thought of everything," Harry said proudly. "She was the one who changed the future, not me."

"She gave you the information," Dumbledore said. "You used it correctly and defeated Voldermort without any casualties. You also saved many people from pain and brought together people who wouldn't have gotten together. Look at Remus and Severus! They used to be enemies, but because of you, they became good friends. You accomplished a lot of good because of the knowledge that your parents gave you. What did your parents say about the horcrux?"

"It has no power since Voldermort has no power," Harry said. "The time from my dream is over. I no longer know the future."

"It's better that way," Dumbledore told him.

Harry agreed. He said good night to the four adults that guided him in his messed up future past and walked back to his dorm. As he went to bed, he wondered what he would dream about tonight.