Chapter 9
'The trouble is, you think you have time....' - Unknown
Chapter 9:
When Harry awoke he was greeted with a pristine white vaulted ceiling of tile, pushing himself up into a sitting position he cast his eyes around and affirmed that he was in an Infirmary. No one was around and Harry found himself sitting there and mulling over the last memory he had before he blacked out. Yammering on about souls and that... Eyes widened when he realised he had completely missed his first Potions lesson, a lesson he was so dearly looking forward to...
Cringing, he was interrupted in his thoughts by a dry cackle. Eyes flickered up to see Death standing at the end of his bed.
Immediately Harry cracked a big toothy grin and found himself stretching a hand towards the entity, who immediately reached over the iron frame and grasped it with his own long fingers. Harry's closed his eyes in bliss, basking in the icy aura that was now emanating through him.
"Death.... It has not been long, but I have so missed you dearly" The entity merely held his hand tighter in response.
"Your....collapse was a failure on my part. And for that I... apologise" Harry frowned at the blue flickering flames in the entity's skull.
"You need not ever apologise to me Death, for everything you do for me has always been for the better." The entity bowed his head.
"Your trust and faith in me is astounding little soul, but nevertheless I must still explain why you collapsed."
Choosing to simply nod, Harry watched as Death seemed to shuffle uncomfortably for a second.
"Why are you so unsettled Death, I have never seen you shuffle like this before...almost like a nervous child." What came out as a wry comment of humour had caused Death to stare impassively at Harry, which shifted to surprise and then pensiveness.
"You are getting better at reading my emotions little soul, it is highly amusing yet also unsettling at how quickly you have figured me, the unending entity of Death, out." Harry merely gave an encouraging smile.
"I'm sure you remember your words to Albus Dumbledore in the Great Hall this morning, I, at that time, had a dreadful shock of feeling someone going through my Death prediction chart stored within my psyche. You when talking with the old man had travelled our connection and used my mental chart to calculate Albus Dumbledore's death and accurately give a response of "not seeing him in 'your' realm for many many years". Utterly shocked at your capacity to use my Death Chart I reacted and ended up pulling our connection thin for a bit, in an attempt to cool my shock and regather my emotions." The entity bowed his head almost in shame.
"I... did not intend for you to become so reliant on our connection....I did not realise that by pulling our connection to a very fine strand, that you would suffer such a powerful backlash that ended up rendering you unconscious by the end of the day."
Harry had frozen, completely shocked at the vulnerability Death had shown and how honest he was in telling him of his reaction.
Pulling himself up, he climbed out of bed and stepped towards the entity on wobbly legs, shakily extending his arms outwards when he neared the entity, he stumbled and found him face planting Death's chest. The cold bones were hard and provided no soft landing, but Harry found himself not caring.
"I am so sorry for that. I did not realise at all what I had done, forgive me Death for abusing our connection like that..." Harry's soft voice shook the deity from his thoughts and slowly wound his arms around the thin boy before him. Relaxing when Harry breathed out a sigh of relief, he began to stroke his back soothingly.
"Harry...I am also sorry for manipulating the connection too. Although it worries me how quickly you have adapted to your merged powers of mine, I did not expect you to use the skills I have too. I need to find out what this means for you....for us."
Nodding into Death's chest, he tightened his grip worryingly.
"But please don't leave me Death...please don't leave me all alone, I feel so lonely when you aren't around..." Death froze, looking down at the top of his companions head, he found himself assuring the boy before even realising it.
"Do not fear my precious, I shall not leave you, I will always be beside you, for all eternity if that is what you so wish for, but you must also try to seek companionship in those of humans too.... you must watch over all of the kind souls Harry, it is your job isn't it?"
Harry looked up at the entity and gave a watery smile, hands gripping the entity's cloak, one small hand came to rest upon Death's cheekbone.
"Thank you Death... as always you are....invaluable....kind...generous....loving....precious....." A thousand words crossed his mind, and through the connection, the entity understood them all, holding the boy tighter.
"I will have to assess your magic powers over the next week or so, to be in your presence whilst I work out our problem will be much more effective not to mention helpful, my duties will simply be passed to the other ten reapers whilst I stay with you."
Harry continued to stare up at the deity in amazement and happiness.
"Death....thank you...." Tenderly stroking his cheekbone, Harry gave a sweet smile, one that made Bhatilda flutter from the warm that emanated from Harry's soul at that moment.
A light cough from behind them drew them out of their musings, and Harry still in Death's hold that had also minutely tightened, turned his head to see not only Professor Dumbledore, but Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape too. All of their faces showed shock and slight suspicion.
"Hello Professors...Madam Pomfrey. I apologise for not noticing you sooner.... how long have you been there for."
Harry flicked his eyes back to Death who was also surprised at not noticing their entrance, both so locked up in their conversation.
"My boy....-" Albus Dumbledore's voice died out when the entity before him turned to stare at him. Elder Wand dropping into his palm from his sleeve, he warily stared back. Only for the entity to chuckle.
"Albus Dumbledore, do not be so afraid, although....that wand you are holding will not ever work against Harry Potter, for it is connected very tightly to him and therefore me...."
Eyes narrowed in thought, and Death watched as the old man withdrew the wand fully, letting it sit in his palm outwards.
"Then it should be happy resting in the hands of young Harry should it not?" At the willingness of handing over the powerful wand to his companion, Death gave a cackle.
"Do not relinquish the Elder Wand so quickly Albus Dumbledore....for you shall wound it at your ease of giving it away..." Death watched as Albus Dumbledore smiled.
"But if it is loyal to Harry and will not harm him, then surely it would be best in the hands of him no?"
"No, it will not yet, Headmaster Dumbledore...." All eyes turned to the young boy still in Death's tight grasp. Green eyes stared intently at the wand and all eyes watched as the wand flew from Dumbledore's hand to float in front of Harry.
Uncurling a single pale hand from Death's cloak, Harry watched as the wand slowly lowered itself to rest in his palm. All heard the bright buzzing noise it made, a sigh of completion. Harry looked down at the wand and gave it a soft smile.
"Little wand... I may be connected to your creator... but I am not him..." Harry paused when Death squeezed him, shifting his eyes to the entity.
"You technically are me in some ways, but I believe it perceives you as the more 'softer' side of me" Death rasped with a disgruntled undertone to it that made Harry giggle.
His light laugh was clear and kind and the standing spectators all felt their hearts lighten, some less than others....(Professor Snape).
"Little wand... you are sly...but you cannot come with me just yet....Albus Dumbledore, the great wizard that he is, still requires your assistance, you have been with him for a very long time, and so you must be respectful to him and stay with him." The buzzing from the wand rung out in a question that made Harry smile.
"Yes... Albus Dumbledore is very strong, but with you, I'd feel much happier knowing that you will be protecting him if anything happens..." At his words the wand buzzed more lightly and then floated back into Dumbledore's palm.
Lightly clearing his throat, Albus Dumbledore schooled his surprised expression and gently placed the wand back up his sleeve.
"I never realised you could talk to wands" At Dumbledore's words Death cackled, jolting everyone to attention.
"The wand was always a lively one, thought many never knew that it could communicate with those it chose to bond with, you will be able to communicate with it through buzzing and occasionally mental images, much like that fire chicken you have in your office." Death rasped
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose "Fire chicken.... do you perhaps mean Fawkes?" Death nodded and Harry gave a quiet giggle, only to be smothered with Death's cloak.
Gasping for air after finally pulling the cloak off of his face Harry smiled.
"Death doesn't like phoenixes, for they are Immortal. And they especially like to pester him whenever he comes to collect their owner's souls...." Grasping Death's hand that was reaching for his cloak to smother him again, Harry smirked at the entity before turning back to Dumbledore.
"But do not worry Headmaster Dumbledore, I will be the one to collect your soul in twenty years...ish, so do not worry about Fawkes being forced into an early burning day by Death..."
His words were met by confusion. And Albus Dumbledore tentatively voiced his thoughts.
"Collect souls? What is that? And who is the entity you are currently intertwined with? Did you call him Death, Harry? What is...going on?" At his words, Harry found himself being pulled onto Death's lap sideways. The entity morphing into the human appearance he used when he walked Harry to the train station.
"I simply am Death."
And Madam Pomfrey fainted.
Professor Snape paled rapidly and Albus Dumbledore's eyebrows rose to his hairline.
"You are....Death? You are connected to Harry?"
"That is correct, Harry Potter has a very large portion of my own power, however I did not anticipate how connected we ended up being"
Dumbledore frowned "How is this possible? How did you find him? When did you first come into contact with him?"
"I restored Harry's soul when he died on that fateful night of Halloween 1981. From there I helped raise him where his abusive relatives didn't, I gave him powers in bargain for the restoration of his soul. He is technically my 11th Reaper. Specifically, Harry Potter Soul Collector of the Kind and Wayward Souls. He is extremely important to me"
And Death made show of that by possessively holding Harry tighter, who merely rested his head on Death's shoulder tiredly.
"A reaper? Then he is immortal? And where has his scar gone?"
At the mention of his scar, Death hissed in fury, waves of magic poured from his body onto the floor, flooding the room. Madam Pomfrey remained unconscious and Professor Snape was borderline contemplating joining her.
"That foul...wretched human dared create a horcrux of Harry...using his mother's death to create it whether it be unintentional or not he will die for his sins."
Sucking his power back into his body, pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead, running long unnatural fingers through long silky hair, the green hair tie fluttering to the floor.
Albus Dumbledore gasped for air and in shock.
"A horcrux, so he has made them then."
"Yes...and I suspect he has made more....the soul can only take seven divides, so lets assume that he went to the maximum, unintentionally with Harry. The horcrux was purged when Harry inherited a portion of my power, and so if and when we find more, Harry will be able purge them too."
Albus Dumbledore nodded sadly and turned to Professor Snape.
"I strongly suggest you keep the information we have divulged to yourself only Severus, heaven knows how Voldermort will react if he came across this information."
Professor Snape nodded before turning on his heal and leaving the infirmary.
Biding his leave too, Albus Dumbledore was halted by Harry's soft call.
"Death will be staying with me for the week, the research of our connection is vital and so I hope you won't mind a disguised snake finding its way onto my shoulders for the duration...."
Nodding his ascent, and promising to brief the staff on Harry's new pet, he also turned, but not before rennervating Madam Pomfrey who quickly ran behind him on the heels of his slippers.
Harry found himself nodding off to sleep in the comfort of Death's arms, the coldness flooded his core and he sighed in contentment when he felt himself being tucked back into bed, after all he had slept the whole day and it was already night again. Tomorrow would be the weekend, and Harry found himself swearing to venture out and make more companions....
Reading Harry's thoughts, Death bestowed a kiss to Harry's knuckle.
"Who are you truly, little soul? And why does my empty presence yearn to be filled by yours? Who are you to me?...."
His questions remained unanswered into the night... yet 300 miles away in an unplottable, invisible house, a couple in the depths of sleep , held all the answers he needed.
And so shifting into a 5ft black mamba, he slithered under the covers and coiled on top of Harry's stomach, drifting off into the sea of warmth that Harry created...
---
When Harry was set free from the Infirmary, and emerged from the Slytherin Common Room fully clothed, Death remained silent and contemplative. Breakfast was an excitable affair, with students bustling about, rapidly engulfing their food or leisurely reading the newspaper, the Great Hall was full. Cromm was croaking away whilst gorging on a bowl of grapes, unbothered by Death curled around Harry's waist beneath his cloak. He could feel Death assessing their connection and was content to bask in the entity's presence.
Harry's silent attitude was already a common thing amongst the Slytherins and so when Harry began making light albeit short conversations with his year mates, eyebrows rose, but none made any comments. Draco Malfoy, was a good conversationalist when you talked on the topics he liked, and so talks over the flying lessons and anything remotely about Potions, had Draco chattering for eternity.
Daphne Greengrass was almost always on Harry's left, either talking with Tracy and Blaise or arguing with Pansy who was almost always mooning over Draco. Millicent remained stoic and silent, often preferring to converse with those she knew in Ravenclaw. Blaise was an avid reader of the newspaper, but he also liked to pick bones with Theo or hide the grapes away from Cromm to see the bird's reaction.
Theo had caught Harry on his way to the common room from the infirmary this morning, and ended up trailing him all around the castle, even an idiot could have seen the worry in his eyes whenever Harry would pause in his walking. After all it had been quite the shock to him seeing his new friend collapse after defending him from an angry Weasley. Remaining silent beside him, reading a book on the History of Magic, Theo would occasionally flick his eyes over Harry, before turning back to reading.
"Theo, I am feeling much better, there is no need to worry too much..." Harry's soft voice beside him, jolted Theo out of his reading, and he turned his silent gaze to his new friend.
"I...just didn't want to lose my friend..." Harry nodded, before withdrawing a shrunken tome from his blazer pocket.
"This is for you, I found it in the Peverell vaults, its my gift to you, I know you didn't do it for rewards but it is my gift for becoming my first...human friend, it is a book of History on the Integration of the Naga among wizards." Theo frowned at his words of 'first friend' but gaped when he heard the title of the book, reverently stroking the old cover he held it tightly in his arms, swearing to take care of it.
When breakfast had finished, Harry stood, lifting Cromm to his shoulder, and walked with Theo to sit on the edge of the lake.
Little did he know...that there he would meet his second most important friend....