Harry Potter – Master of Death
Chapter 1 – Chances and Choices
May 3, 1998 – Hogwarts Castle
Harry Potter, recently named Man-Who-Conquered, stood not more than two feet away from the white tomb of his deceased mentor, Albus Dumbledore, the Elder Wand clutched tightly in his right hand.
'Is this how you wanted it?' was the question. It wasn't spoken, but it was in his eyes, along with grief and resentment.
It was the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts, and both sides suffered the loss of their comrades. More so for the opposing side, Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters, Giants, Dementors, and all the creatures that he had allied with.
Their Lord dead and the army in shambles, the rest fled.
However, it was not without loss, as their side has suffered casualties as well. The Weasley family cut down into three members- Arthur, George, and Ginny- the professors reduced to Flitwick and McGonagall, the order dead protecting the village of Hogsmeade, and the students who participated massacred until it was only him and the rest of the 'Ministry Six', bar Ron of course.
And it was all because of the old man, Harry knew. The old man led them all in this wild goose chase across half of the continent, instead of just giving them the answers or, heck, destroying the rest of Tom Riddle's Horcruxes himself.
But no, instead of just ending the war before it even began, he let it go on, and it was only because of the greater end of Harry's luck, as well Riddle's arrogance, that led to them winning the Second War with You-Know-Who.
Back to Harry and the tomb, he was thinking, thinking of what he was going to do now. With only two teachers and the ministry still trying to retain order, the school was most definitely going to close down for at least ten years.
He was fingering a stone in his left hand, the Resurrection Stone, the stone gifted by Death to the Gaunt ancestor Cadmus Peverell, one of the three brothers in the legend of the Deathly Hallows. The others being Antioch and Harry's own ancestor, Ignotus Peverell, from whom he inherited his infamous Cloak of Invisibility.
He dropped it when he came face to face with Voldemort, but he came back to the spot where he dropped it after Riddle's death, lest someone else recognized it for what it as instead of just a simple black pebble.
He, Harry, needed guidance, and he knew that only one person can give the right one to him. Lily Potter, his own mother.
He turned the stone three times on his palm, and he immediately felt the warmth of his mother's presence.
She was smiling at him, as if she knew what he needed, and she did. After all, she was watching him, even in death. Of course, no mother should be called one if she doesn't worry about the welfare of her own children.
"What now?" he asked desperately. He needed a purpose, because he needed it, a reason to continue his own existence to keep living. I mean, sure he still had his friends, but there were only four of them now, and his teachers? Pfft, he wasn't that close to them. McGonagall maybe, but she still had work to, find the muggleborns and teach them how to at least keep their magic intact before they blow up.
"You need to learn," she told him. "Learn how to live with the non-magicals. There isn't much to do now. So the only choice left is to go the mundane."
"Mundane?" he questioned, wondering why she used that to name the muggles.
She rolled her eyes, "Did you know that the purebloods of old- the bigoted ones, mind you-used that term so that they could get away with demeaning them while still preventing the other term from escaping their lips?"
He didn't. Honestly, this was more of Hermione's forte-finding out about these facts. So he just muttered "Oh, okay."
She chuckled at him, and is cheeks reddened in embarrassment. He just felt so inadequate. He briefly wondered if his own mother was named "Brightest witch of her age" like his best friend, but he removed such thoughts. Now wasn't the time.
He still had had to wonder though, "What exactly do I need to learn?"
"Everything," she told him simply, as if learning everything there is to know about the mundane is as easy as getting lost at the halls of Hogwarts on the first day.
"What?" he blurted out.
"You went to school before haven't you?" she questioned rhetorically.
"W-well, yeah but, I was only about to go to fifth grade before I received my letter."
"Trust me Harry, you aren't missing much in just a few years," she pointed to the castle, most of it still intact, but still needed repairs, and not just the castle itself.
"You can still owl your friends can't you?" That was a slightly touchy subject. She knew of Hedwig's demise, but still, she wanted to know what he was going to do about it.
He flinched slightly at the word 'owl', but got over it a few seconds later. He can still see, in his mind, the lifeless form of his avian friend. He wondered how he would do that, owl his friends that is, while still going incognito in a mug-mundane, he corrected, learning institute, until he got an idea moments later.
"Luna, Neville, and …Ginny can have Hermione send the letters, I'll give them my address by a Patronus message, and I can still give them updates on how I'm holding up." He stumbled over Ginny's name; he still needed to talk to her about that.
She gazed at him sympathetically; she heard, quite clearly, his hesitation on saying Ginny's name. She can't really advise him on how to work that out. He needed to sort it out all on his own, and they both knew it, so he didn't ask about that.
He then realized another thing, "How am I paying for supplies?" He had a lot of money, he knew but he wondered if his Trust Vault can handle at most ten years of his life. 'Maybe I couldget a job,' he thought to himself.
He was broken out of his musings by the sound of his mother's amused laughter.
"What?"
"Oh Harry, do you know how much money you have in your Family Vault?" she questioned with a smile.
"My Family Vault?" he wondered. 'I have more than one vault?'
"Yes, the Potter family fortune has amassed a whole load of treasures and artifacts, as well as a library the size of, well five Great Halls is the best I can compare it to, along with the treasuries of its own ancestors, the Peverell. While the fortune should have gone to the descendants of Cadmus, the Gaunts, meaning Voldemort" -here, Harry shivered at the thought of Voldemort having all the information the Peverell Library held- "you had, well, defeated him when you were fifteen months old, and so, by Right of Conquest, all that are in his vaults, and his servants' vault, is yours, including the Peverell Vault."
"His servants'…. So, wait, you're saying that I could've just waltzed in there, request permission to go inside the Lestrange Vault, grab the Chalice, and walk away, just like THAT?!" he asked incredulously.
His mother giggled at the face he made, "Of course, that is, if Dumbledore had cared to enlighten you on that matter." She scowled as she said this.
Harry just sighed, 'Another thing the old codger just forgot to tell me.'
Still, he remembered one, tiny little detail, "How can even enter Gringotts? I stole from them. And I even imperius'd some of them more than just a few times."
She winced. That was bad.
"Well, you'll just have to explain to them. I'm sure they'll understand once you told them it was to retrieve a soul anchor of Riddle's," she assured him.
"Maybe," he said, not very convinced.
"Anyway, once you settled the matter, and successfully retrieve your funds, you will need to enroll first. Can't buy your materials if you don't know what they are, can you?"
"Which one?" he needed to know which school would serve him best.
"It's your choice. Pick the one you think would suit your needs. Check their facilities, their faculty, and most importantly, their standing. You can't just pick a school that may have some underhanded dealings," she instructed him.
"Right," he agreed.
"And don't forget to use protection if you ever decided to lose your virginity," she told him, complete with a straight face.
"Err, what?" he asked, red-faced and not quite following.
"Harry," she calmly explained, "you died a virgin-"his face flushed "-and also, you're still going to be in school, so, no grandchildren for me yet, alright?"
He can't speak much, due to his embarrassment, so he just settled for a nod.
"Good."
"Now, what are you going to do with that?" she asked, pointing at the wand in his hand.
He frowned. "I don't know," he shrugged, "Hide it so no one can use its power maybe."
"Well, if I were you, I would keep it for myself," he raised his eyebrow. "No one knows you have it, Harry. The ones who do are few, and some of them are dead," she quickly explained.
"Oh, well, makes sense." He muttered.
"Good, now," before he could react, he was engulfed in his mother's warm embrace, the warmth and love radiating from his mother quickly calming him from the pleasantly unexpected physical contact.
"I love you," she whispered to his ear.
"I love you too, mum," he replied, returning the hug.
They stayed like this for a few more minutes before Harry could feel Lily's body fading away.
His eyes held sadness. He knew he couldn't summon her again anytime soon, or he'll end up like he second brother, insane from being kept away from his loved ones.
"Goodbye," he said to her, all the while wiping the tears streaming down his face.
"I hope not to see you soon," she replied, trying to ignore her own tears.
And with one last smile, Lily Potter returned to the afterlife.
Harry stayed like that for a few more moments, looking at the spot where his mother stood just seconds, minutes ago.
Eventually, he returned to the castle, to explain to his friends, what is left of them anyway, his plan of action for the next few years.
*TIMESKIP*
The next three years was uneventful for Harry Potter. He went to school, messaged his friends, shagged some women (and then some), and with the help of his always present best friend Hermione, he quickly followed the timetable she set up for him.
When McGonagall heard of his conversation with his mother, she smiled sadly, and told him how proud his mother would be if he followed that plan of action, told him of what a genius his mother was.
When he heard of it, he resolved to always do his best, and in the three years he went to college (he had help from Flitwick who told the headmaster their cover story from Hogwarts for when the First Gens, the muggleborns, want to finish their muggle education and had to explain where they had been having their education for seven years), he graduated.
He didn't know what to do next, but remembered his inadequacy in magic (much due to Ron rubbing his laziness off him), and so he set of to the Room of Requirement, which he knew was at least still standing, and with more help from Hermione (and her company), He mastered all the spells the Room gave him for the next six years.
Not too much dark magic though, just the ones that are the least dark, but still incredibly useful. It was in case someone had an attempt for his life (or wand).
*TIMESKIP*
*Harry's POV*
He was running, running from his pursuers. He didn't know who they were, but the robes and the masks were a dead giveaway.
He didn't know how they found him; he was in a cottage just outside the outskirts of a quiet town. All he heard was a loud explosion before the door was unhinged.
He could have just killed them all, but the townspeople heard the explosion, he knew, and he didn't want to explain all the dead bodies, so he had to lure them out of town.
He grabbed his wand and fled out the window. He got rid of his glasses when Hermione found a spell that fixes your eyesight. It was slightly dark, but mostly because of the repercussions if not handled well, and now, his vision was now a lot better, not exactly 20/20, but close enough.
After few miles he faced his pursuers, and quickly got ready to unleash a volley of spells when he felt something hit his back, and all he knew was darkness.
*Pursuers' POV*
"Did it work?" one of them asked. He looked slightly taller than the rest of them. He took off his mask, and the face of one Neville Longbottom showed.
"Of course it did. After all, the wrackspurts wanted to help, and they are highly useful when they are your allies," another replied. This one's build looked like it belonged to a female, and the voice sounded airy, as if the person was not all there. The mask was taken off, showing Luna Lovegood with an uncharacteristically sad face.
"If anyone deserved a new life, its Harry, he's been through so much. It's a good thing I found that spell when I did," the last one said, removing the mask, showing a teary-faced Hermione Granger.
Said spell was one that judges the soul. If they are found worthy, they are given a new life and sent back to an age where, retaining all their memories, they can fix their greater problems at the earliest. One would say they were sent to another dimension,
If they're not worthy, the ground will open up, and send them to hell, mind, body, and spirit and be judged again for a suitable punishment for their misdeeds.
And if they're on both sides of the fence, well, the spell won't do anything. It was designed for heroes and villains of the times of old, when Merlin walked the Earth.
It was astonishing that a spell such as that was in the castle, and no one ever knew of it, until now that is.
"Thanks for all the help, Professors," Hermione said to the area where the spell came from.
A chuckle could be heard, as well as footsteps and rustling leaves from fallen leaves of the trees.
"We're just glad to help," said the old voice of Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts.
"Yes," a much shorter man, Filius Flitwick, Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts, squeaked out.
The plan was to lure the target, Harry, away and knowing of his personality, created an act that will have the citizens to come out of their homes and check it out. They knew Harry didn't want to make a scene, so they had created a big explosion. When he got out of the window, they followed him. They had to change positions of following him, making it look like they were coming from all sides, when actually; they were leading him towards the professors, who were hiding in the bushes, not being able to be the ones to chase him, with their old bodies and all.
They quickly took his body and had a small, improvised funeral. They watched sadly as his body was levitated and set inside the coffin and buried in the ground.
They all left an hour later, all the while thinking 'Good luck in your new life, Harry.
Chapter End
Word Count: 2652
AN: So, this is my first time here, so please be nice. Anyway, I wanted to know what you guys think, so leave some reviews, 'kay?
Indexboy13 signing out.