Here is the final chapter of my "What If?" fan fiction. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It has been my first piece of fic and it has made me hungry to write more! I appreciate all your reviews. Thank you to all that added this story to their favourites, it means a great deal :)

I have nothing left to say except … Enjoy!

Harry was very still for a moment, taking in what Dumbledore had just told him. After a while, he finally managed to utter a whisper in response to his Headmaster's pressing smile:

-"You found a.. a… horcrux?" Albus Dumbledore nodded, his blue gaze suddenly intense behind his half-moon spectacles.

He, Harry, had been through so much today, or rather tonight, and here was yet another piece of news that he had not been expecting to hear. How many more shocks would he have to go through? How much more pain? How much more sorrow? Exhaustion was beginning to sink in. Still, he asked:

-"Where?"

Dumbledore's face turned gloomy and his tone was grim as he explained:

-"I believe it to be located in the cave where Tom Riddle tormented two innocent orphans as a boy. It will be a dangerous, truly perilous task, unlike anything you have every faced before." He paused, seemingly to add that extra effect to his words. He now had Harry's full attention. His red hot anger had evaporated at the mention of the horcruxes, and there now lingered anticipation, excitement, but dread and fear also.

-"However, I believe it is necessary for you to do this with me, Harry. If we destroy this horcrux, we will be one step closer to destroying the real man responsible for the murder of your parent. Tom Riddle. Lord Voldemort " At the mention of the name, there was a sharp intake of breath from former Headmaster Armando Dippet.

Dumbledore had chosen the right words. Harry didn't even need to consider his mentor's proposal. He could still vividly remember the feel of his father's hand on his shoulder. He could still see his mother's emerald eyes dancing in the setting sun. The images were so strangely clear in his mind. The feelings that had coursed through him a mere hour ago were still strong. Happiness. Pain. Love. He wanted to avenge them. He wanted to end the man who had stolen them from him, who had prevented him from leaving a normal like everyone else. He would do anything to destroy him.

-"I want to come" Harry said, his voice full of resolve. He stood up straight away as he was ready to leave at that very instant. Dumbledore motioned for him to sit back down, chuckling to himself in a rather characteristic manner.

-"One moment, Harry. Before, we leave, I must brief you on the task ahead." He then stood up and glided towards the perch where Fawkes seemed to have fallen asleep, despite the racket Harry had caused. Over a dozen pairs of eyes followed his movements from the wall. He gently stroked the bird's burgundy plumage who opened his bright yellow eyes. Both bird and master now gazed down at Harry.

-"Fawkes was there to help you in the Chamber of Secrets when I wasn't. He was there to heal the wounds inflicted by Tom Riddle's Basilisk. Tonight, we will probably be facing much graver dangers. Yes, grave, grave dangers…"

He paused, apparently lost in thought, before going on, in the same firm tone:

-"You shall be assisting me this evening and I shall hopefully be there to protect you. However, I cannot be certain that something will not happen to me. I need your word that no matter what I ask you to do, you will obey. If I ask you to hide, you hide. If I ask you to run, then you must you run. It is vital that you understand this, Harry. Do I have your word?"

Harry nodded, unsure of the consequences of this agreement. He had a bad feeling about accepting Dumbledore's golden rule, but he knew that it was his only option if he was to travel with his Headmaster this evening.

Dumbledore smiled and nodded, mainly to himself. His eyes fell on Harry's and he added, in a softer and more temperate voice:

-"It is most unfortunate that we embark on this adventure in these circumstances. However, I need you to remain focused throughout. Therefore I must ask you, did you witness anything peculiar this evening after your…" Dumbledore paused, unable to find the right word "altercation with Professor Snape?"

He must be talking about the dream with my parents, Harry mused . How did he know? Could he possibly be practicing Occlumency on him at that very moment? Yet again, he had that familiar feeling that his mentor could see right through him. If he were to lie, he would effortlessly know. Harry decided to tell the truth.

-"I dreamt, or at least now I think it was a dream, about ... my parents. I saw my mum and dad"

He looked up to see that Dumbledore had gotten slightly teary eyed behind his spectacles and had stopped stroking his phoenix. There was another long silence around the room before the old man spoke in a carefully composed tone:

-"Harry, do you remember the purple potion in the cauldron that exploded when you dueled with Professor Snape earlier?"

There was no way Harry could forget it. Although Madam Pomfrey had rid him of the thick and heavy substance, he still felt like he was covered in it. He remembered feeling a peculiar sense of relief when it had disappeared of his robes but a lingering dreariness nevertheless.

-"The potion's name is Desiderium Cordis. Heart's Desire" Dumbledore spoke slowly, in a gentle tone. He walked back to his chair and sat down behind his desk. A heavy sigh escaped his lips before he launched himself into an explanation:

-"Much like the Mirror of Erised, Desiderium Cordis shows the individual, here the drinker, his strongest and upmost desire in the world. But it goes much further than merely being a reflection of that desire, like your parents were in the mirror. It creates a world for a drinker. A separate universe, if you will, although it is most unreal in reality. In this new world, the drinker can interact with the object of his desire for a limited amount of time, depending on the amount of substance inhaled. I presume that, in this world, you saw your parents?"

Harry absently nodded, solemn. It all made sense now, and he couldn't help but feel disappointed. Deep down, he knew that it couldn't have been a reality; his parents had been dead for 16 years. But that had not stopped him for yearning for it to have been real. He had wanted it for so long.

The Mirror of Erised now seemed useless compared to the effects of the potion. Desiderium Cordis was so vivid. And the pain at having been brought back into this world, at having being made to face reality, had been much more painful than when he had been forced to withdraw from the mirror.

-"Desiderium Cordis is a highly complicated potion to brew. It takes an extremely able potioneer to prepare correctly. Indeed it takes a total of 36 months, if I am correct. It seems you decided to confront your Professor at a most inopportune moment, when he was adding the finishing touches to it…"

Harry remembered the look of bewilderment on Snape's face which had seemed so strikingly out of character. He had been preparing to see his heart's desire, in a potion which he had been brewing for months. It was no wonder Snape had been out of sorts. And there was that look of deep pain when they had both reawakened… Harry couldn't help but wonder what Snape must have witnessed during his "dream". He couldn't imagine the bastard feeling passionate about anything. Apart from the Dark Arts, maybe, he thought. But what had pushed him to brew the potion?

Dumbledore could see Harry was going over what he had just told him. Interrupting his thoughts, he declared:

-"But the potions remains, after all, just an illusion. Albeit, an excellently crafted one. It does not do to dwell on dreams, as I am sure you remember. Now, if you were to exercise these dreams in say, the destruction of a certain Lord Voldemort's horcruxes, that would be highly useful" He smiled at his wit and pulled his dark travelling cloak before walking around the desk to stand next to Harry. He gazed down at the teenager.

-"Harry, I hope I have answered your questions. If any remain, I urge you to put them to Professor Snape on our return. For now, we have a matter of upmost importance to attend to"

Harry forced himself to forget about Snape. He must remain focused on the horcrux. He felt a knot of apprehension in the pit of his stomach. He remembered what Dumbledore had just told him about Lord Voldemort being the real enemy. This reminder filled him with resolve once more.

Dumbledore placed his right arm next to Harry's, waiting for him to grab it.

-"But Professor, you can't disapparate within the grounds?" Harry queried.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

-"Being Headmaster has its distinct advantages. Allons-y!"

And they were gone.

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