Beta-reader: Soraxkai

Hello, my first HP fanfiction don't read if you don't like and if you don't already know if you like it or not that's not my problem, don't complain ^^ but if you do enjoy!

Strawberry Cakes and Meetings

The war had ended and Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Conquered, The-Boy-Who-Lived-Twice, Lord of the Noble House of Potter and Lord of the Noble House of Black, the holder of the Deathly Hallows and so on, was tired of the Wizarding World and its inhabitants. Many had died in the war, Remus, Tonks, Colin Creevy and so many more. Andromeda had taken custody of Teddy because Harry was still young and Andromeda needed to be with the family she had left after Ted and Tonks' deaths, but Harry was always welcomed to visit and he did so regularly. All of the Weasleys had survived though Fred had become blind on his right eye. The Weasleys were not a family to him anymore in the same sense as it had been. Arthur, Bill, Charlie and Fred and George were the only ones who felt like family to him. Ginny had deluded herself that they would get together but Harry knew that they would not be doing so. Molly was constantly trying to put them together and Ron was upset that Harry would not date his sister. Percy had never been a friend to begin with but he had become someone Harry could ask things related to the politics he was constantly dragged into and actually acquired proper explanations. Except for the older Weasley brothers, there was only one he could talk to that would actually listen and not suffocate him with their own opinions and who actually understood. That person was Draco Malfoy. Draco had changed during the war and the result was a humble young man trying to repent for the wrongdoings of his family. Draco had also become quite smitten with Harry's friend Luna Lovegood. Luna was the first one, besides Harry, that welcomed him and believed in him. Neville was also a very good friend who had finally found his courage and had become more secure in himself.

However, everyone was moving forward but Harry could not. He could not move on because of the very people he had saved. They would not let him rest and no one would look at him and see Harry, just Harry. Everyone saw Harry's titles but no one cared to dig deeper and see just him and he had had enough of it. He wanted a new start but everywhere he went he was soon on the front page of the Daily Prophet and attacked by his fans. He could never get away he could never leave, not to a place on earth. Wherever he went he was followed and he was tired of it. In his travels he saw the destruction of Nature, even in Wizarding areas. The country where Nature was destroyed quicker was in America, with all the modernization and how they treated other living beings and the ravaging of natural resources. The magic was being destroyed and abused but in Asia it was different, there the wizards were more in tune with Nature and tried to help it become better.

But of course that was decades ago, there was no Draco or Luna left, but they had married. Teddy had grown old and died three days ago, but Harry was the same as all those years ago. He had felt different after the Battle at Hogwarts and as the years passed he found out why. He did not age as all the others. He had made up with Ron after Hermione made him see sense and they had helped him research about the Hallows. Though, he was not the same with Ron or Hermione anymore because they were from the time before the battle, before everything he had ever lived for had ended. They did not fit in his new life, they symbolised everything he had before most of those he cared about died. Now everyone was gone. He was alone, sure he had many 'grandchildren' although he never married nor met anyone, but they had their own lives and he could not bear to be a part of them when they sooner or later would die like the others before them. Most of the things he owned had been left to the children of his friends. Though, Teddy received both the Black and Potter titles along with the properties and things surrounding the titles. He had been like a son to Harry and therefore became his heir. Harry had nothing left to sort out, everything was already done since long before, but it was now that he felt that he could leave. Teddy had been his last anchor and now he was gone and Harry decided to leave. Despite popular believes, the Wizarding World could take care of themselves and they did not need an immortal hero anymore, they did not need him anymore, period.

Now Harry stood by the Veil with the Resurrection Stone, the Invisibility Cloak and the Elder Wand in his hands and he carried a bag with a bit of gold that would be enough to last him awhile if it called for it, a change of clothes (who knew what would happen when he crossed), and a lunch package for obvious reasons. Although, he carried nothing that would constantly remind him of his former friends, he had left those things for the children. Though, why he even bothered to pack all those things at all since the Veil only lead to Death's door was another matter. Because even though the Veil is said to only lead to death, Harry had a niggling feeling that it was more to it and since he could not die he would not take the risk to wake up and have nothing with him, he may be immortal but he does appreciate food. He took a deep breath and went through.

The first thing he saw was… nothing. There was nothing there, everything was dark, he could not even see himself because of the darkness but he could feel his bag and the Hallows, so he could not be dead… so where was he and what.

'Hello!' he called and hoped something would answer… no sound. Of course there was no sound, what was he expecting. Then something changed in the… air? A soft creaking noise sounded from somewhere, which meant that there was air, he had not noticed if he had been breathing before. Come on he is immortal and does not need to breathe so how should he have known? 'Anyone there?' he asked like all those moronic teenagers in bad horror movies where it is absolutely obvious that you should not shout because then someone might find you and you actually do not want that. But since Harry is British and he actually wants to be found by… anything, really, he is not picky, be it a murderer or just a normal boring person, he does not care, he cannot die so why should he. Back to the mysterious sound and the obvious door that had opened in front of him showing a room with a lit fire in the fireplace. In front of the fireplace two beautiful renaissance-looking armchairs and a beautiful woven carpet in shifting colours and scenic patterns. He stepped cautiously inside and the door closed behind him.

'Thank you' he called to no one in particular since there was no one there but if someone was there he thanked… it, better not give it a gender or he might offend it. Harry walked over to one of the armchairs and sat down; waiting for whomever let him inside.

'I see you have finally come, Master' a clinging voice spoke.

Harry turned to the chair next to him and stared at an It wearing a black cloak and hood, similar to the muggle reapers but the face was not a skeleton, or he could not see if It was a skeleton since It was wearing a mask. The mask was difficult to describe, at first glance t looked like t was only dark blue with glitter on it but then the glitter shifted and other colours swirled in the depths of the blue. It was like looking at the clear night sky filled with stars but this was always moving, never stilling. The It pushed down the hood and Harry noticed the long shiny white hair that curled and framed the its face and mask and went past its shoulders, resting on a flat chest.

'You must be Death' Harry stated and stretched out his hand. 'I'm Harry, nice to meet you' he said with a smile.

Death turned to him and after a few seconds reached out a pale hand took a hold of Harry's, firmly shaking it. Harry looked down at the hand and saw glistering stars that moved across Death's skin. Its skin was a map of the entire universe and it was a truly mesmerising sight, and very beautiful. Death released his hand and turned back to the sparkling fire.

'You have changed from when we first met' Death said.

'Yes, well I got my eyes fixed so now I don't need glasses and I do have longer hair because it's slightly more tameable, but other than that I have not changed much' Harry said with a hint of bitterness.

'But you have Master...'

'Harry' he interjected.

'…Harry. You are more different than you know. Your aura has changed. You are no longer as your human friends were' Death said with its clinging and soothing voice.

'How is being different anything positive' he asked and scrunched up his nose,

'Since you are the Master of Death you have become more like Death' it… explained (not that it helped).

'What?'

'Death is nothing. It is neither human nor any creature upon your Earth. Death does not exist on your plane. It has its own. There is no Heaven or Hell, only Death. You share a part of Death. In your aura, Death is prominent' Death finished.

'And that is positive?'

'Yes and no, there will come a time when it will help you. You are marked by Death, and those who see it will cause you no harm. You are protected by Death and always will be, at least from others' Death stated in its ever-calm voice.

'…but not from you, I guess' Harry mused, scratching the back of his head. 'Wait, what do you mean with 'come a time'' he asked.

'I will send you to another realm. You are Death's Master and cannot die here.'

'Will I die in the new place?'

'That I do not know. In the realm I am sending you, there will not be any witches or wizards, but there will be other beings, beings that can interfere in the lives of humans and they will. These beings cannot harm you because you will still be Death's Master even if you will not have Death's Hallows' Death said and the Hallows in Harry's hand disappeared only to reappear in Death's lap.

'Nice trick' Harry simply commented only casting one glance at the Hallows.

'You will still have magic but in a different way than before. You will not need a wand but you will have to train on your own and the things the witches and wizards in your realm could do, will not be possible in the other. You cannot kill nor hurt as you can with those two curses because they are not natural. The death is not natural and the pain is the same' Death said and rose from its seat.

'How do you mean' he asked and followed Death.

'A death caused by heart failure, a fire, drowning, poisoning and asphyxiation are natural deaths, but a death, which just happens without something that causes it is not natural. When the heart stops without a reason it is not natural. It is the same for pain. Pain caused by nothing is not natural, if there is nothing in the body or outside that causes the pain it is not natural therefore it should not exist and that is why you will not be able to do it. You can only manipulate things that already are, but not create something out of nothing. There are other spells that will not work and you will notice if you try to use them' Death explained.

'All right, I understand' Harry nodded.

'Good. Now step through here and you will find yourself in a new realm where you can start anew' Death guided him through an oak door and pushed him into a bright, white light.

'The beings you will meet are called しにがみ' Death called as Harry fell through the light.

The sun was shining without a single cloud in the sky. The birds were singing in enchanting melodies. The weather was warm and pleasant. It was a calm day, a day where nothing out of the ordinary was expected to happen. Then out of the blue (although the sky is not really blue it is only because of the molecules, gases and the water in form of droplets and ice crystals in the atmosphere that catches the blue light since it has a shorter wavelength than other colours in the light and is radiated in different directions and scattered across the sky, making it blue) a something of something fell down into the lake, which had always been there in the middle of nowhere, in a forest close to somewhere. The animals around were startled and moved away from the lake. The something breached the surface of the crystal clear water and swam to shore. It was a human, and not any human, no, even the animals could feel that this was not an ordinary human, but something more, something more regal and earthly. The animals stepped closer and they could feel the human-but-not-human's touch of death but they knew that the not-completely-human was not a bringer of death and therefore had nothing to fear. The not-really-human shook its head to rid itself of the excessive water before looking around, gazing at the different herbivores that were around him.

'For some reason I feel like Snow White, I'm just missing the seven dwarves' it said in a melodic, British voice. 'Well, since you're the only ones around, maybe you can help me, I'm Harry by the way, nice to meet you' Harry finished with a smile that none of the herbivores responded to because they were not like the animals in Disney's Snow White because that would be completely unrealistic.

The herbivores heard a sound from the forest behind them and scattered while Harry, still smiling, stayed still completely drenched and just waited. He (because Harry still thought of himself as a 'he' and not an 'it' since he still had the parts of a 'he') was not disappointed when a group of Asians, Japanese he would guess going by their eyes and skin colour and of course he heard them speaking Japanese which made everything easier. The group of kids, though they had to be in Harry's age or close to it (the age he looked to be and not really the age he was), stopped and stared at him.

「すみません、でもここはどこですか。」Harry asked still smiling but portraying a more sheepish expression (A/N and since most of you cannot read Japanese the conversations here on after will be translated into an almost perfect English except for a few phenomena that frankly do not exist in the same way in the western culture). The teenagers whispered amongst themselves and then a, what looked like an adult, man stepped forward and greeted him, though a bit warily, which Harry could understand given his state of appearance.

'Hello, my name is Kawamura Ryo and you're at Mount Tanzawa. A few hours from Tokyo' he added at Harry's confused look.

'Ah, Tokyo! A new world in a new country! Fantastic! The name's Potter Harry but please call me Harry' the newly named 'Harry' said with blinding smile and bowed lightly. 'So Kawamura-san, which way is Tokyo?'

Kawamura stared startled at the young man, not sure if he was a teen or not, before pointing in the direction of Tokyo.

'We are on our way back, so you may follow us towards the bus station, so you won't get lost' Kawamura offered looking for confirmation from the others who were with him. They, of course, agreed and some of the girls began giggling and whispering.

This is how Harry ended up in Tokyo and later opened a Café, named Marauder Café (マローダーカフェ), near Toho University . It was a small sized café not known to many but those who knew of it always came back. Harry had chosen to wear Victorian clothing as a reminder of his birthplace and also as a reminder of his noble heritage, although, wizards wore robes and the likes, but it was practically ancient clothing and Victorian clothes were much more stylish. Harry was practically the only one working, although he had hired a delivery boy so he would not have to bother with trying to find his way around. Above the café was his flat, which was actually furnished in a traditional japanese style. Mostly because he liked the style but also because he was in Japan and then he would live in a Japanese way… even if most Japanese people did not live like that.

Harry handled the business quite well by himself and was quite proud over his genius to open a café. He could not believe how many things he found out about the people that visited him. They shared their problems and gossiped about almost everything that went on around them. Harry found that he enjoyed listening to them and helping them with their troubles, how ever small they were. This new life was quite perfect for him and he would not trade it for the world.

Harry was walking down the street with his arm full of groceries as he bumped into someone and dropped the bags, some of the ingredients spilling out on the street. He cursed slightly to himself before apologizing to the one he bumped into.

'It is quite alright, I should have watched my step,' the young man said and Harry looked up at an upper secondary student with light brown hair and brown eyes. He was smiling politely as he helped collect the groceries.

'Thank you with the assistance, I'm Harry by the way,' Harry smiled as they stood up, the student holding one bag as Harry held the other.

'It was not a problem, I am Yagami Light,' he smiled and bowed his head.

'Hello, Yagami-kun, despite the circumstances it's a pleasure to meet you' Harry said with a grin.

'Just Light is fine' Light smiled. 'And since I've caused you an inconvenience let me help you with your purchases.'

'Why thank you. I appreciate it,' Harry said and started walking with Light beside him.

Time skip – at the café

'Thank you for helping me with the groceries, I tend to forget to watch where I'm going,' Harry smiled as he accepted the bag from Light.

'It was not a problem'

'I insist on at least treating you to tea or coffee for your troubles'

'I don't wish to cause you any difficulties for you'

'I own this place so there will be no trouble at all' Harry grinned and practically pushed Light inside.

'You really don't take no for an answer, Hari-san'

'Of course not!' Harry answered simply and Light smiled a genuine, albeit small, smile.

He put the groceries away, sat Light down at the table closest to the display case and began making tea and fetched two pieces of strawberry cake, placing them in front of him and when the tea was ready Harry sat down and they began talking about whatever came to mind.

The months flew by and Light came over most days to study or just to talk. The time came when Light graduated and then attended University but he still took time to visit Harry's shop. Harry noticed a slight change in Light but he knew not to pester him for answers. He had also noticed the shinigami that hung around after him but if Light had things or thoughts he did not want to share, then Harry would not force him. Light's visits became fewer and shorter but one day Light entered together with another man. The man caught his interest. He was quite slim and dressed in a white, long-sleeved shirt and light-blue jeans. They walked up to the showcase and Harry saw dark eyes partly hidden under his black hair. The man was biting the tip of his thumb and gazed at the strawberry cake. Harry also noticed the dark marks under his eyes, which probably pointed at insomnia. Harry shifted his gaze from the man to Light.

'Good to see you Light! It's been quite a while has it not?' Harry smiled kindly dragging forth a small smile from Light.

'Hello Hari-san' Light answered gaining the attention from his mysterious friend.

'I hope you're well and that you've been eating properly.'

'Eating properly to you entails only a lot of pastries' Light said raising an eyebrow. 'This is an acquaintance of mine, Ryūzaki' the mysterious handsome man looked at Harry with calculating eyes and Harry found himself being drawn in by them. Harry could practically see how fast Ryūzaki was thinking, how fast he was processing everything around him.

'Hello! I'm Harry the owner of this café and Light's friend. I'm happy to make your acquaintance' his eyes automatically sought out the dark depths of Ryūzaki's eyes and he could not help but be entranced by them and what he saw in them. Harry was brought out his trance by a cough from Light. 'Oh, sorry about that' his cheeks flushed red and tried to avoid looking at Ryūzaki. 'Would you like some tea and cake?'

Light nodded and ordered his usual Ryūzaki on the other hand could not decide what to choose. Harry smiled slightly.

'Which would you recommend Hari-san?' Ryūzaki peered at Harry, assessing him.

'The strawberry cake is my favourite and I've heard from others that it's quite good' Ryūzaki nodded and ordered a piece.

Harry busied himself with the tea and preparing the pastries. He watched from the corner of his eyes at Light and Ryūzaki. They did not act as if they were friends. Then again Light had only named Ryūzaki an acquaintance. However, he was also a bit more focused on the shinigami flying behind Light. He was not aware of what was going on but he knew that something was wrong. Harry returned to his task after accidently locking eyes with Ryūzaki. He was not sure why he reacted the way he did, but he was aware of the fact that he found Ryūzaki attractive now that he thought about it, he acted quite like a school girl with a crush… the thought nearly caused him to drop the tray he was carrying. If he was to admit to himself he was a bit mortified about his behaviour toward Light's friend.

There were no other customers there so Light had asked him to join them. It just happened that Harry was seated across from Ryūzaki and it caused him a mild discomfort but he beat it down and tried to hide his nervousness. All in all it was not that awkward. Ryūzaki had inquired about Harry's past with Light and other things about himself. At times he had to attend to customers but it was not that often and by the time they had finished Harry could definitely say that he was slightly infatuated with Ryūzaki, if he was going by how his heart seemed to speed up as soon as Ryūzaki looked at him or when he complemented the cake. Ryūzaki had been happy to hear that Harry made deliveries. As they said their 'good byes' and Harry and Ryūzaki shook hands a jolt of lightning went through him, causing another blush to dust his cheeks. He closed the door after them and turned the sign to 'CLOSED' and slumped against the door and tried to calm his racing heart.

'I just had to make friends with a vigilante and I had to have an infatuation on the detective trying to capture him? Why can't my life ever be easy?' Harry groaned as he threw himself onto the bed before falling asleep. That night his dreams were filled with images of a certain black haired detective eating cake, as well as his mesmerising dark eyes.

The End... or is it? You decide