Hey everyone. I wrote this interesting AU for both October Writing Club's Ami's Audio Admirations, and the Halloween Bingo on Funfair Events page of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I used prompt 70. Grim Reaper!AU/Afterlife!AU. For Ami's Audio Admirations I used the prompt 4. Don't Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult Afterlife!AU. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of Death Becomes Him.
Fred's eyes flew open a few minutes of the resounding explosion had subsided. Looking around he could see that the battle was still raging around him but something seem a bit strange to him. Nothing or no one seemed to be focused on him just sitting there in the middle of it all. He blinked in confusion as he continued the watch the battle. What the heck was this? He went to flick his wand to find that he didn't have it with him.
"You won't need it for the job you're being tasked with, young one," came a voice to his left.
Jumping and looking around for the source of the voice Fred was on the verge of freaking out. He finally located the sound of the voice off to his left. Watching in complete shock as two dueling combatants walked through the woman who had addressed him Fred felt like he was about to faint.
"You won't faint," the woman told him. "Fainting is for the living. We dead don't do that."
"Dead?" Fred questioned looking around him.
"Yes," came the woman's gentle voice. "Dead. You died in the explosion a few minutes ago." She pointed over to where Percy was cradling Fred's body. "I'm sorry there isn't a lot of time to let you adjust to what's happening. I usually like to let people take their own time before making the offer but considering people are dropping like flies I don't have that liberty."
"Who are you?"
The laughed as though she had forgotten herself. "I'm sorry," she smiled gently. "My is Arianna," she smiled. "You might know my brothers more than you'd know me though."
"Your brother?"
"Albus and Aberforth. My brothers."
Fred felt even more confusion set in. Arianna Dumbledore had died pretty young. Not that he believed a word that Rita Skeeter wrote in her piece of fiction about Dumbledore. He didn't. He studied Arianna Dumbledore wondering what offer she had to make him.
"I was hoping you'd ask," she told him. "The offer is a simple one. One that I hope you end up taking." She smiled down on him. "The offer I'm here to make is for you join the Grim Reapers."
"The Grim Reapers?"
"You really do enjoy repeating everything I say. Don't you?"
"I always thought there was only one of those though."
"In times like these there can never be only one. There's always at least two or more of working in any continent at one time. But we're a little overwhelmed here in Britain at the moment. What do you think? Do you want to join us?"
Fred looked around him at the disorder and chaos going on. He saw several others doing the job that Arianna wanted him to do and it looked to be pretty easy. Maybe he could do this after all.
"I'll do it," he said holding his hand out Arianna Dumbledore.
"You have to understand though," Arianna said in a warning voice, "once you shake my hand seal the deal there is no going back. You can't back out of the deal once it's done. Alright?"
He nodded shaking her hand.
"Get to work then," she said pointing towards the battle field. "You're first victim is at the bottom of the stairs. You can make the same deal with him if you want to."
Fred sighed as he got up and began his brand new job as a Grim Reaper. He wondered in the back of his mind who'd be encounter at the bottom of the stairs as walked through the sea of combatants. He wasn't ready for who he found and even if this scene played out in front of him a hundred times over he never would be.
I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of Death Becomes Him. I enjoy thinking that like in Supernatural there are multiple Grim Reapers in the magical world. I also like to think that Arianna Dumbledore was the Grim Reaper who met her brother Albus when he died. I also think that she'd make the offer most readily for people to join the Grim Reapers. I just enjoy everything about this AU. It's so much fun.
