Wow, this such an impressive story. The possibility that Voldemort might have also had an afterlife conversation with Dumbledore never even occurred to me, yet this is so well-written and in-character throughout, like an omitted scene from the book, that it now seems obvious that they probably did. You obviously know the HP universe very well.

What I love most about this story is its subtlety. Nothing is over-the-top or too obvious, so I think Voldemort and Dumbledore's interaction could be taken in a number of different ways. At first, V is of course so certain that he's won, gloating to D and reveling in "this sense of elation." But I find myself wondering whether V, at the end, understands that he actually *has* lost. Of course, he wouldn't/couldn't admit it to D or even himself, but does he understand, in some small, subconscious way? After all, D is calm and unruffled at seeing him there, his passage back to the living world is the door from his orphanage (where he was just an insignificant child), and D disappears into light while his afterworld is nothing but a "dark abyss" - certainly there is nothing victorious in any of that. And the way V's eyes narrow could suggest fear/wariness as much as suspicion, as if he is starting to put these pieces together.

Or perhaps V is so wrapped up in his long-awaited victory over Harry that he fails to notice these clues that his victory is only temporary and his own defeat is coming. Again, your writing is ambivalent enough that I think this story could be read either way, or even in other ways, and again, I really love that about it. Wonderful work.

This is your first Harry Potter story? It's well-done!

Did someone say HARRY POTTER?! Let's get this read!

I like how you portray Voldemort's vision of the...I don't know what you'd call it, the afterlife? In-between? Halfway point? Anyways, I like how he sees it as dark and mysterious - it matches with his fear of death.

"...he hadn't exactly dwelled on what he would do in the light of the aftermath of killing Potter." Well, a point of canon, Voldemort did have an idea of what to do after killing Harry Potter: using his death to prove he was the most powerful wizard of all time, and then going on to conquer the Muggles. I see you hit this later on, but it doesn't really make sense to have Voldemort confused about what to do.

" 'Hello, Tom.'... Only one person that he knew of would dare to carelessly use such a name." Ooh, nice! What a way for Dumbledore to make his entrance. Simple, of course, but profound.

That said, I think Voldemort may react a bit more to meeting Dumbledore in the afterlife/in-between/halfway point. I'd think he might be a bit more fearful that he himself had died, and of course Dumbledore would assuage his fear that he was not dead - not yet, anyways.

" 'And I suppose,' Voldemort said, 'That you are curious as to what I see.' " I'm pretty sure "That" isn't supposed to be capitalized, since its part of the same sentence in-dialogue.

"You fail to see that consequences are not above even the most powerful." This may work better as "below the most powerful", thus implying that Voldemort considers himself above reproach. But that said, I really like this exchange that they have. Old Voldy doesn't know he's doomed himself...hehehe.

Voldemort's attitude as he re-enters the world is spot on, focusing on his victory and his perceived immortality - again, not knowing he's just undone one more Horcrux. Wonderful story, well done Georgy!

Got to say, you hooked me with this fic's summary. I've yet to read a Voldemort-centered fic on the afterlife.

You've got Voldemort's character down pat, and I love one of his earlier emotions where "...time, space and direction disappeared from his mind as a swell of pride surged through him..." It fits that his incredible sense of pride would, at least temporarily, cut off his senses from the environment of the afterlife - which he doesn't seem to recognize as such, to boot. I agree with you in thinking Voldemort's ego really is just that swollen.

"Of course, I must show some respect to the dead.": This line here is just so full of smugness and mocking that it sounds wonderfully slimy. It brings to mind the fact that Voldemort has bought into his own hype to such an extent that he really doesn't have any respect for anyone, even in death. How you place emphasis on Voldemort making sweeping gestures also adds to this by, once again, highlighting his mockery for his surroundings and his need (would you call it that?) to make himself out to be oh-so-grandiose. He's quite the theatrical character.

Dumbledore's calm rebuttal to Voldemort's prideful gestures is satisfying to read. That he says that he doesn't expect repentance from Tom, but "acceptance of [his] fate", is a profound remark that takes me back to the scene where Harry encounters the mangled, fetus-form of Voldemort in the spiritual train station. There is truly no hope left for our main villain now; he's already too far gone.

Lord, you've gotten me with another great line when Dumbledore says "at one time [he] had faith" in Voldemort. It relates to the biblical verse that mentions that evil is allowed to exist because God can use it to point the way back to goodness. I can also say it's highly reminiscent on God's thoughts over King Saul when the latter turned out to be such a disappointment as Israel's king. Yay for symbolism!

Nitpicks (SPaG):

- This is more of a personal foible than an error, but I'd just start out with saying "Voldemort's eyes..." rather than "His eyes..." The "his" makes the beginning sound too vague and sudden, especially with the fic's summary that only implies Voldemort's POV.

- "It couldn't have failed, Potter hadn't...": I'd put a semicolon where the comma is now. As it is, you have two complete, independent clauses that need to be separated by something more powerful than a comma.

- "His heart raced...": This sentence up to its end is kind of a run-on.

- "...stopped and they simply watched...": There should be a comma between "stopped" and "and".

- "'So this-'...": You actually don't need the dashes for that pause effect. Commas would be fine, and they'd look much better here.

- "'It would seem so.' Dumbledore said...": That period should be a comma.

- "...in his blue eyes...": Since there's no mention of anyone's name in the quote before this, and the section before this one referred to Voldemort's POV, I'd replace the "his" with "Dumbledore's". It would make reading the transition less confusing.

An intriguing, deep, and enjoyable one-shot, Georgyann. Very nice! :)

This is the first Harry Potter fic I've reviewed, I believe.

Well, isn't Voldemort smug about killing Potter? Heh. I am glad you wrote in him being puzzled at his whereabouts; it would have been odd if he didn't spend a moments wondering where he was.

I'm kinda curious what kind of party Bellatrix would have thrown. Something crazy, no doubt!

I like how you write Dumbledore; soft-spoken, wise, and patient, with a dash of humor. His entrance, with him illuminated by a "soft glow of light" made for a mystical entrance.

The dialogue between Dumbledore and Voldemort is pretty sharp. Even canon-blind readers can gets the feeling that, despite the fact that they're polar opposites, they seem know each other very well. Both of them seem to know what each other will say and do.

The end is pretty sober for Voldemort. I get the feeling that Dumbledore was still hoping that Voldemort would change his mind.

I didn't notice any obvious spelling or grammar errors, so I give this two-thumbs up. :)

I adored this piece! Concise but it's so captivating!

Truely lovely. Especially how Voldemort assumed that he won. Good job. :)
Helen

Hi there m’dear! :)

So this was in response to Ange’s challenge in the Challenge thread, eh? Actually, I think that you nailed it perfectly. I could see the conversation between Dumbledore and Voldemort being exactly this way. I can see Voldemort being smug and egotistical and brash as always while Dumbledore just remained cool and calm and spoke rationally/logically. I think that the nugget you used about Voldemort asking why Dumbledore took him from the orphanage if he knew/suspected that he’d turn evil is the real meat of this piece. That is something I can see Voldemort wondering very much about and which he’d fixate upon.

This: ((Before he could think about stopping it, Voldemort felt his lips curl into a malicious smile. His sense of time, space and direction disappeared from his mind as a swell of pride surged through him, overpowering any mere sense of curiosity.)) is something I can absolutely see with Voldemort. He’s someone who’d be fixated upon what he’d done, about how he’d won his war against Potter, about how he’d secured his legacy as the greatest wizard of all time. He wouldn’t care about where he ended up, or what might have happened to him. It’s all about Potter and winning with Voldemort.

Oh, this: ((The silence of the room was broken by an almost jolly laugh.)) is definitely Voldemort. I can see him crowing with his delight after casting Avada Kedavra and finally “killing” Harry. He’d feel he’d won, that he’d beaten the curse, that he’d proven himself to be the greatest wizard of all time. So he’d let out a laugh and celebrate his victory.

Okay, really like how you cover here: ((Well, he thought to himself, I'm sure Bellatrix will think of something. He could always count on her to give an event its due attention, and she would no doubt make it a grand celebration for everyone.)) that rumored relationship between Bellatrix and Voldemort. It’s something I can totally see having been real given Bella’s seemingly adoration and complete hero worship of Voldemort. I can also see that now that Voldemort has won that Bellatrix would throw a grand ball in his honor and to celebrate their victory over the Order.

I love the showing here: (("Quite honestly, Tom…I admit that I made a mistake in taking you. But a part of me was hopeful that maybe you would use your influence for good. I suppose you could say that at one time I…had faith in you.")) of Dumbledore’s ability for hope. He didn’t want to give up on young Tom, didn’t want to believe that a child could grow up to become so deplorably evil. So he took a chance upon him, tried to guide him and show him a different way (only for it to blow up in his face obviously).

This line here: ((He was Lord Voldemort – undefeated, unstoppable…immortal.)) is completely the essence of Voldemort in my opinion. Even after Dumbledore warning him that he should be mindful about what might happen once he leaves the place they are, he cannot stop being who he is. His ego has grown to such a proportion that he can’t see truth and reason or anything but what he chooses to see basically.

This was a great piece and I think you portrayed how a conversation between Voldemort and Dumbledore would look perfectly. Absolutely fantastic job m’lovely!

Taking a break from the romantic fluff for this one! Don't worry, I will eventually pick one of your preferences.

Anyway, I like the whole premise of this. For a moment, both Voldemort and Harry are dead, but each take it a different way. Harry is the canon we know, but Voldemort's... he isn't seeing much of anything, just the darkness. Maybe it's only me but I took that rather symbolically. That's all that's left to the man in the end, just darkness. And in a sense, that might be all that's left of Voldemort himself. His soul's been shredded after all. Even though it takes shape, Voldemort never bothers to examine it. Arrogant berk.

I like Dumbledore here. He's very resigned, in a different way than with Harry, who has made choices he is proud of and impressed by, whereas Tom is someone he is disappointed in, and also disappointed in himself with handling incorrectly, as Tom says to him. But what Tom doesn't see is that he's not the center of the universe and when he dies, may realize he never will be. But it's a bit late by then.

I think the only real concern I would have here is I don't get the ambiance of this. I feel like I'm meant to be in this rather quiet, solemn, dark area but then again, it's got Voldemort and he's always been a little narmy for me, even as a kid. So I think that might just be me and my inability to take Voldemort seriously.

As always, enjoying myself very much in your writing! Catch you later!

Brilliant

This is amazing! It's such an interesting idea, you've captured both Riddle and Dumbledore's personality really well. Good Job :)

Georgy! I loved this! This is quite honestly the best answer to my challenge yet!(be quiet, I don't care that it's the only one).

I like how you said that Dumbledore was hopeful about Tom, because it really summed up his character; always willing to overlook whatever someone had been in favor of assuming that people are inherently good.

Also, Voldemort still trying to feel important, and smarter than Dumbledore even now, when it seems that Dumbledore knows something that he doesn't is very well done, and I loved it.

The only SPAG error I saw was in paragraph 22, when you said, "The prophecy no longer had power over me." Had is past tense, so I don't think it fits.

Also, the only real problem I saw was that Dumbledore was rather curt with Tom. I always thought that he was rather warm, even to people he disliked. I think it would change the tone dramatically if, instead of saying, "Tom" when he is entered, you said, "Hello, Tom".

Great job with the challenge, dear!

Dear GeorgyannWayson,

I love this little scene you've written! I haven't read Harry Potter fics in a while because they seem to go crazy with self-inserts, OOCness, and general alternate world stuff that I tend to dislike. It is refreshing to read something like this. It really brings me back to the original books and what they were truly about.
It was interesting to read Voldemort's perspective in this. All these key words you used-undefeated, unstoppable, immortal, victorious... He's so sure he has everything in the bag. Great writing here.
Good job with this!
-Samuel