Eternity

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own Harry Potter.

A/N: So! Yes, this is going to be the final chapter of the Be Here Now trilogy! And yes, I have decided to actually write this one. After finishing For Love, I doubted whether or not I wanted to actually write this. From the beginning, I expected to write this, but when I finished For Love, I wondered if you all would want to think of the endings of all the characters yourselves or if I should write this one. So my decision is this: I will write this, and complete the trilogy, but what I write does not have to be what you believe. Don't think that this is actually what it should be. Remember what Edmund Wilson said: "No two persons ever read the same book." If you can call this a book.

So, please, enjoy! And don't expect it to be much. I only plan for it to be about ten chapters, fifteen max. Again, enjoy!

x.o.x.o.x.

The last thing Lily Potter remembered was giving her life for her son's, which she did not regret one bit. Then she sat up. Her emerald green eyes widened in disbelief. If she had died for her son, it would have guaranteed Harry's survival and Voldemort's demise. But if she was thinking, and she could sit up of her own accord, it must not have worked! Frantic, the redhead scrambled to her feet, gazing at her surroundings with mounting panic. There was nothing as far as the human eye could see except for a blank landscape of white, white, and more white. Her heart climbing up her throat, Lily's brilliant mind began working for an explanation.

However, only moments after her panic began to rise to uncontrollable heights, the whiteness around her began to take shape into familiar pieces. Homes sprang from the white expanse, complete with lawns and fences. Lily did not fail to notice a nameplate on each door. The houses were evenly spread out, and each had exactly the same amount of property. It seemed familiar to Lily's heart, though she knew with certainty that she had never come upon the likes of this in her lifetime.

If she strained her emerald green eyes, she could almost see the outline of a spectacular castle on the horizon, but she felt that her mind was playing tricks on her. Finally, Lily began racing from door to door, reading the nameplates, hoping to find a familiar name. She stopped dead at one, nearly fainting as the two names, conjoined by an elegant &, conjured up the faces that matched them, faces that she hadn't seen in the flesh for years. Charles Potter & Natalia Potter.

One of the faces, the female, appeared in the white-curtained window, pushing the innocent-looking curtains aside. The hazel eyes widened in surprise as the woman wasted no time in flinging open the door and enveloping Lily in a tight hug.

"Oh Merlin, Lily! How can you be here? You're supposed to stay alive and live a long life, and take care of my grandchildren, your grandchildren. It was bad enough that James appeared minutes ago. What will my dear grandson do now? The poor child! I just hope Dumbledore gives him to a nice Wizarding family that will love him like he should be loved." Natalia Potter, mother of three and now grandmother of one, held Lily at an arm's length. "How are you feeling, darling?"

"Confused," Lily responded truthfully, drawing the older woman back in for a briefer hug. "What's going on, Natalia? Aren't you supposed to be dead? Aren't I supposed to be dead? And what did you say about James? He's here?" Lily remembered the tearing feeling of losing the love of her life all too well, and to think that the pain had been for nothing was absurd.

Natalia pointed to the house next door. "I think you should go in there, Lily. There will be a letter explaining it all to you, and I think someone special is waiting to see you. But when you're finished reuniting, I think you should go there." She pointed at the house on the other side of her. "There are two people in there that I think you love more than you know."

Puzzled, Lily nodded, giving the Potter matriarch one more lingering hug. "Thank you, Natalia. Tell Charles I said hello, and that his letters were very, very touching." She smiled sadly before climbing down the front steps, headed for the first house her mother-in-law had pointed out.

Once she reached the stoop and read the nameplate, her stomach dropped. James Potter & Lily Potter. She ran her hands over the inscribed names, feeling their protuberance from the elegant plate. With a last deep breath, she twisted the knob, and it seemed to respond to her touch, swinging inward to admit her.

"Oh Merlin. Lily."

The voice was music to Lily's ears, a voice that she had been positive she'd never hear again. With hardly a thought, she fell into the welcoming arms, the arms that had helped her through many things, including the hours of labor to deliver their son. "James," she whispered.

After many minutes of whispered reassurances and reuniting, the couple pulled back. James's black hair was as tousled as ever, but his hazel eyes held a deeper sadness now than before, something that both had thought impossible. But they had, in a way, lost a child, just as much as their child had lost a set of very loving parents.

"What you did was so brave, Lily. I love you so much. And I love Harry so much." James drew her into a tight embrace once more, showing that a verbal response was not needed.

"I love you too," murmured Lily, burying her face in James's chest. Once they released each other, she asked, "So we're dead? Where are we, then?"

James smiled wryly. "You're the same old Lily as ever." He pointed to the front table, where an envelope addressed simply to Lily Potter lay waiting.

To Lily's surprise, that front table was the only thing in the entire house. The walls were painted a dull white, and the floors were plaster. She raised her eyebrows at James.

"It's explained in the letter too," James responded, "but knowing Mum, she probably wanted you to go over to the other house before reading it. Better yet, bring it with you to read over there."

"Come with me?" Lily asked, smiling at him, knowing that he couldn't resist.

"I was going to anyway," James replied cheekily, grabbing her hand and walking to the front door side-by-side with her.

x.o.x.o.x.

Lily paused on the stoop, reading the nameplate with barely any interest. But when the words sunk in, she gasped and knocked wildly. James laughed, watching her. The door swung open in record time, and a black-haired, hazel-eyed young woman appeared. The two young women rushed at each other, embracing tightly as tears began to stream down their faces.

"Lily. My Merlin, I cannot believe you're here." Hilary Potter stared at her in amazement. "But poor Harry!" Sincere sadness and pity seeped through her voice. "My nephew. I dearly hope that he'll grow up loved."

"So do I," whispered Lily, a torrent of tears threatening again. Hoping to at least delay them, Lily pointed at the nameplate, since they were still outdoors. "Hilary Potter and Estelle Potter? She's here? My niece is here?"

A beaming smile spread across Hilary's face. "It's explained in your letter." She pointed at the envelope in Lily's left hand. "But yes, my daughter is here. She's only a year old, but she's already walking! Mum and Dad help out a lot. Come on inside. You can sit on the couch with James to read your letter."

Hilary ushered them in, and Lily was startled to find that her home was fully furnished. No explanation was needed, however, because she expected that the answer would lie in her letter. The house was silent, and Lily inferred that her niece was sound asleep. Hilary sat down across from her brother and sister-in-law with a well-worn copy of some Wizarding book. James was flipping through a Quidditch magazine, and Lily tore into her letter.

Dear Mrs. Liliana Marie Evans Potter,

Welcome to the Otherworld! It's sure that you're worried, confused, and hopeful that you aren't actually dead. But you are, unfortunately. It's also certain that you have some close, loved one that has crossed to the Otherworld before your time, and they will be glad to help you.

Let's begin with what the Otherworld is, exactly, shall we? It is a parallel universe to that that you have just left. Perhaps not exactly parallel, but quite close. It is, unlike Earth, endless. With each new 'family' that dies, a new home is added. As you may have noticed, each house is evenly separated. Every citizen of the Otherworld receives the exact same amount of property. However, though this may belong more in the decorating section, each room inside the house may be adjusted to your preferred size. This does not change the outward appearance of the home.

When you arrive in the Otherworld, any illness you may have had in life is wiped clean. You are healthy, but that does not matter. It is slightly complicated, but here in the Otherworld, you are not human. You are a wisp, let's call it an illusion, to be simple. You exist, alive, that is, only in the minds of your fellow Otherworlders. In addition, if you were over the age of or were fourteen at the time of your death, your age will be your age forever. If a child dies before turning fourteen, he or she will continue to age at a normal human pace until he or she becomes fourteen years old.

Miscarriages, stillbirths, or unborn children will arrive in the Otherworld as newborns. If a parent is also part of the Otherworld, the child will be given to that parent. If a parent is not part of the Otherworld, the child will be placed in the limitless orphanage, where they will be cared for just the same as the children with parents until a parent comes into the Otherworld. If it is a child below the age of seventeen and dies without having a parent already in the Otherworld, he or she will be placed in the House of the Parentless Children. Infants and toddlers from the orphanage will be graduated from the orphanage to the House of the Parentless Children at age five.

Each home, when brand-new, is empty except for the hall table you found this letter on. The walls are blandly white, and the floors plaster. Even that table is not required to stay. You are given free rein to decorate the home in any way you and your family decides to. Simply flip through the catalogue, also on that hall table, and tap any items you want three times with your ring finger, say the room you wish for it to be in, and it will stay lightweight enough for your moving it until you say 'finished'. The same goes for wall paint and floors.

Any cupboards or pantries you decide to put in stock themselves whenever needed with your preferred foods. It is not necessary that you eat, but nothing bad will happen if you do. Your bodies will stay like this for eternity.

Your close relatives are bound to be close to your own home, but friends and classmates and coworkers may be anywhere in the Otherworld. Similar to the magical beings' ways of fireplace travel, you step on your stoop and whisper clearly the name of the person you wish to call on.

The only required item in your household is a specially made television set or mirror. It can be either. On these, you will be allowed to view the goings-on of loved ones in the living world. However, if you become too attached, it will be necessary that limits are placed on your viewings. If you view wisely, there is no limit. However, depending on the severity of your attachment, limits may be placed to the amount of times you can view per month, or even per year, if you show a strong, irresistible, insane desire to rejoin the world of the living.

When someone stops by your grave to speak to you, a phone, if you choose to own one, will blink red. An incoming call from another place in the Otherworld will blink yellow. If you do not choose to own a telephone, your cellular phone, which will become much more popular in the land of the living in decades to come, will blink red. It will blink yellow for an Otherworld incoming call.

Within every fifteen-mile radius is a 'downtown' of sorts. It will have restaurants, diners, coffeehouses, shops of all kinds, and even a library. Yes, your clothes can be changed if you want them to. Any citizen of the Otherworld is welcome to meet up at any downtown. To maintain spaciousness and to avoid cramming, once the downtown is filled to capacity, any other citizen desiring to enter will be physically unable to. While everything is free, each citizen of the Otherworld has exactly two hundred points to spend in a month's time. Food at home should not be a worry, remember. Your cellular phones will also have the amount of points you have remaining that month. Points do not carry over, and it cannot be cheated by even the best hacker to grant you with more points.

Also in the downtown are therapists. These therapists were also therapists in life, though since arriving in the Otherworld, they have been trained precisely in the art of death therapy. If you ever feel any sort of inappropriate desires come on, report to a therapist immediately.

No matter what your mother tongue was, in the Otherworld, every language can be understood by any person. This eases communication.

Any questions you may have will be answered by popup on your cellular phone should you ask.

Once again, welcome to the Otherworld, and it is hopeful that you will enjoy your stay. After all, it is for eternity.

Lily put the letter down on her lap. Her green eyes were alive with wonder as her mind began to process the information that she had just read. "It's like a utopia," she marveled as she folded the letter carefully and placed it back in the envelope.

"Utopia?" questioned Hilary as she put a mug of steaming green tea in front of her friend and a bottle of butterbeer in front of her twin. She herself settled back in her chair with a glass of orange juice.

"The definition is an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect," Lily explained, sipping her tea with a smile of thanks. "So, in this case, a perfect society. What happens to crooks and criminals?"

Hilary pointed to Lily's pocket, which had a dim light radiating from it. Lily felt a rectangular object pressing against her thigh where the light was. Curious, she pulled out the device and gasped. It was slim and white, with a fairly large, black screen. At the bottom, centered, was a circular button with a round-sided square in the middle.

James reached over and pressed a rectangular button on the right of the top side. The screen came to life, and Lily looked on in awe. Words scrawled themselves across the screen in bold, black letters.

There are no crooks and criminals in the Otherworld. There is nothing to steal, nothing to be bad about.

Lily raised her eyebrows, clicking the device off. "It seems more and more like a utopia." She looked worried, though. "However, there's no such thing as perfect. I wonder what this society's downfalls are."

No one answered, but Lily caught Hilary's mirthful hazel eyes.

"What is it?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just so brilliant to be back with you, even under these circumstances. I've missed your know-it-all tirades a lot." Hilary hugged her again, before drinking some of her juice.

Her red-haired friend smiled, needing no words to convey that she felt the same. Around the rim of her mug of tea, she asked, "What exactly are these devices, then?"

"They're called iPhones, fifth edition, if you're wondering. There's also a 4S edition, but no one carries those anymore. These automatically upgrade when the next one is released. This type of technology won't be in existence on Earth until the year 2012," Hilary explained.

Her brother and sister-in-law exchanged a look filled with such sadness that it would have broken a heart. "Harry will be thirty-two years old by that time," James explained to his twin sister, looking forlorn. "And we can't be there in person to journey to that age with him. We'll only be over fifty by that time. He'll marry, have children, and maybe even grandchildren…" He trailed off, looking away with oddly bright eyes.

Lily rubbed his arm soothingly, but even as she comforted him, she needed some comfort for herself. "If he survives the fate that we left him burdened with, that is."

"He will," Hilary promised her, plopping down between the married couple and throwing an arm around each shoulder. "I've been watching you, all of you, periodically since I died, and I know about the prophecy made about Harry. With both of your courage combined, there's more of a chance of his living than his dying. He'll grow up to be just as good a student, dueler, wizard, friend, son, father, and person as his parents were."

Both of the others smiled, at Hilary and at each other over the top of her dark head. "He will," murmured Lily.

James smiled suddenly, hoping to break the tension. "After all, he is his father's son."

"Poor him," quipped Lily, and the sad moment dissipated for the time being as laughter filled the cozy room.

x.o.x.o.x.

After some more catching up, Lily jumped off the couch, her hair flying. "Mum and Dad! Oh, how could I have overlooked that! It said in the letter that close family members would be put near us! And I haven't seen Mum or Dad for about seven years! You two catch up some more." She hugged Hilary tightly and kissed James quickly on the lips. "I've got to go visit them!"

"Go to your stoop and say their names!" Hilary called after her, before turning back to her brother. "I'd bring you up to Elle's room, but she's asleep, and while you may be her uncle, her aunts are better suited to sleeping infants. Am I right or am I wrong?"

Chuckling, James drew his sister in for another hug. "Don't be silly, Hils. You're always the right one, I'm always the wrong one, remember?"

"True!"

Lily dashed across the healthy green lawn that separated her home and Charles and Natalia's home. She jumped onto the stoop and called out her parents' names. It was a sensation similar to Flooing that brought her to another stoop, identical to her own, but distinguished by the nameplate on the door, depicting her beloved parents' names, followed by her maiden name, Evans. With her heart in her throat, she knocked frantically on the door.

A familiar voice followed the footsteps to the door. As the middle-aged brunette opened the door, she had her head turned the other way, calling back to a person in the kitchen. Finally, after what seemed like eons to Lily, she turned back. "Sorry about-" A gasp cut off her sentence. "Lily?" Awe and sadness seemed to balance each other out to form love in the woman's voice.

"Mum!" Lily cried, and launched herself into her mother's arms like a child, feeling any worries or stresses lifting themselves off of her, leaving her weightless, innocent, and truly, deliriously happy for the first time in many years.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: So there you are! Chapter one of the final 'book' in the Be Here Now trilogy! Remember that this doesn't have to be how you expected the characters in the past two to turn out, okay?

If YOU have any questions about the Otherworld, leave them in your reviews, and I'll do my best to slip them into a chapter to get them answered! If I can't find an opening, I'll write it in an author's note.

And finally, I'd like to have a name for this trilogy. I was thinking Jily, but that's unoriginal and… yeah. So if you have any suggestions, please leave them in a review!

Love you guys!