Hello everyone. I thought long and hard about the beginning of this story. I hope that you enjoy this because I plan on making this story to the best of my ability. I know. The prelude is a bit cryptic but it will smooth on over as the story unfolds.

I do not own it if you recognize it.

Death's Riddle

Prelude

A long time ago, I sat by a lake near my home town where my father once lived. It was beautiful no doubt. The Oak lined the lake and a small cottage was off in the distance. Beyond the cottage there was a town. Beyond that town there was my residence. I was once told that home is where the heart is but I never felt like my heart was there. So, every evening right when the sun is about to go down I would sit by the lake and watch as the fireflies lit up the sky. It was beautiful. I did that for nearly 4 years straight. My father would often come sit with me when he wasn't busy with his friends and we would enjoy what little we could with ourselves. We never got along really unless we were in my sanctuary and he would never let me go anywhere besides the lake and the town store unsupervised.

One day I left by myself for the lake just like I normally would and walked out onto the boulder on the side of the lake where I perched myself. However when I was climbing, my foot slipped and the rock gave away. I fell blindly into the water with the boulder crushing me as I made contact with the river bank. I died on impact and Death was there to greet me with open arms.

He lifted the boulder from my physical body and pulled it from the water to the shore. I followed him as a ghost as he began to walk along the shoreline carrying my corpse. The silence was thick. I felt as though I should say something but I couldn't place the words, nor gather the strength to talk to him. So he spoke for me.

"It is not your time." He said. His voice showed kindness, but held a dark and forbidding intensity. "I have taken the lives of so many and not many times have I thought back on it... until you, my dear. Your future is great, and no doubt your hardships will be unnumbered, but you were born to do great things. I will give you your life back."

He extended his hand and cupped my face. I felt a fire rise within me and I soon found myself crumpling in pain on the cold hard ground.

As soon as I felt the pain however it was gone and I now had my body in one piece. Once again silence filled the area and the only sound that could be heard was the billowing of Deaths cloak.

"Why can I still see you if I am alive?" I asked.

"Because you are not alive, nor or you dead. You are not a ghost just as you are not a wizard. You are in between. You are one." Death said as he began to fade away.

"Wait!" I called. "I need to ask you something!"

"Yes?" His voice was growing distant.

"You have showed me the ultimate kindness! Surely you cannot be all bad! Why do people hate you so much?"

Death's chuckle rang through the trees and rippled the water. "That my dear is because I am the ugly truth, yet life it a beautiful lie. Do not thank me nor appreciate what I have done. Your life is yours once again, not for your pleasure, but for mine." His voice died out and he vanished from my sight leaving me with nothing but my own thoughts and the fireflies that lit up the lake.

It was these words that I raised my life and morals upon. It was these words that scarred me for life.

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Everyone was quiet in the Great Hall. It was a silent victory and a loud mourning. The bodies of the deceased laid in rows in the rubble that was once Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The more time that passed, the more they found dead. The Death Eaters never gave the children a fighting chance, but they fought anyway. They knew death was emanate, but no matter, they stood tall and defended their beliefs to the best they could. Students, Teachers, The Order. The list goes on, but they did not die in vane. The Dark Lord has been brought down once again and the rest of the world is now able to carry on with their happy lives. Thought Headmistress McGonagall as she silently walked through the rows of dead students. I need some fresh air.

"Everyone, may I have your attention please! I would like everyone to head on over to the lake so that I may spare you all a few words. Also, I need someone to release the Slytherin's from the dungeons and have them meet there as well."

It was a beautiful day outside, away from the death and gloom. The birds were singing a melodious tune,a nice wind was brewing in the air, and the sun shown itself mercilessly through the remaining Dark Marks in the sky. You could hear the remaining students trudge through the debris and onto the nice opening that would be the Black Lakes bank. McGonagall sucked in a very shaky breath and prepared herself for the victory speech. All of the children lined up and awaited for the Headmistress to begin.

"With great victory comes a great loss. We ha-"

BOOM!

All of the windows to the great hall blew out and screams, blood curdling, hair raising screams could be heard from the inside of the castle which was odd. Anyone who was alive was supposed to be out by the lake! Who could be in there? No one need say anything because the shock was written all over their faces. They ran as fast as they could to the great hall, ignoring the fact that there was no more rubble in a piled heap next to the entrance. What lied before them shook their very nerves to the core. The students, teachers, anyone who was dead was clutching their heads and screaming. Next to the teachers table there was a light like a giant firefly, and from that light, tiny fireflies came out. They watched as these fireflies landed in the mouths of the deceased and their bodies spring back to life in terrible pain. It was horrifically beautiful. This process seemed to take what felt like an eternity. The screaming never stopped. It was not until the giant firefly-like light floating above the table came crashing down with a bone breaking thud.

The screams have stopped, the bodies of the deceased began to look around dumbfounded, and the once giant firefly transformed into a crumpling heap of a bloody woman. The woman's rigid breathing could be heard through the dead silence of the Great Hall.

"Never again Death. My debt has been repaid." She spoke as the last breath held captive in her lungs exited her body.