Albus Dumbledore was a coward. He would never admit to anyone, even to himself, that the previous generations deaths were his fault. He didn’t see himself that way, he saw himself good. The light at the end of a dark tunnel. Or so he thought. He didn’t see the way some of the once younger children were struggling. He didn’t see their grim faces whenever the news of yet another dear person came-dead. They were all dead in a way that he couldn’t see. Dead inside. Hollow.
On a dark stormy evening, he went to bed whilst listening to the rain pour outside. He had spent the day avoiding Harry, he wouldn’t admit it, but he was scared of him. Whenever he saw him, he would see a reminder of his now dead father, except with an evil red gleam in his eye. It was not the child’s fault he was possessed by a dark Lord, yet still. He couldn’t bear seeing what had come out of a badly won war, though the war wasn’t over for everyone. And another was brewing.
As he drifted to sleep, his mind was suddenly transported into a beautiful meadow. It was sunny around and he noticed a small, blonde child sitting under a drooping willow tree. A little girl, who was softly humming to herself. He couldn’t believe his eyes when she turned her head.
“Miss Rosier?” No, it couldn’t be. She had married Xenophilius Lovegood and produced a daughter. Eventually, she died once the use of dark magic caught up to her. The young girl sitting in front of him was not Pandora. It was Luna.
Suddenly, out of no where, soft music started playing. A comfortable tune. Albus listened in as he heard Luna start to sing.
“…where have you…all your children…”
He only caught onto bits and pieces. He crouched down carefully and sat near her, listening in.
“You can’t keep them all caged..” Luna continued singing, as though blissfully unaware of the old man sitting close to her. He stared at her in horror, suddenly remembering a familiar tune he had heard her mother sing back in her days at Hogwarts. It was as though his mind had completely forgotten it. Or he was forced to forget it.
“You can’t keep them all caged, they will fight and run away. Dumbledore, tell me so I say!”
Luna, slowly turning her head to face the man, began to practically scream the words of the song, as he listened to the lyrics and found himself shaking. It was not his fault they had died. He did everything to help.
Which meant nothing.