I am the Master of Death. I have the Wand, The Cloak, and The Stone. There is no reason why this won't work. I have the Power, I just need to use it. I WILL bring him back. This WILL work!
Harry Potter, 18 years old, newly graduated Auror, Hero of War, and, supposedly, Master of Death paced in front of the Veil in the Department of Mysteries. It was 2am and he technically wasn't supposed to be here. Scratch that, he Definitely wasn't supposed to be here. Ever since the battle at the Ministry in his 5th year at Hogwarts, security for the DOM had been extra tight, but Harry had been managed to pull a few strings and been able to sneak in after hours. Still, if he were to be discovered by the wrong person, he could most definitely kiss his newly minted Title of Auror goodbye, war hero or not.
It had been almost a year since the Battle of Hogwarts, and life was slowly beginning to straighten itself out. Harry and Ron had been immediately accepted into the Auror Program. Harry passed with flying colors. Ron...well, Ron passed...barely. Hermione had taken the year off after the War to help with the rebuilding of Hogwarts. During this rebuilding, Professor McGonagall, now Headmistress of Hogwarts, had approached her and offered her the position of Charms Mistress. Hermione had jumped at the chance to help shape the future minds of the Wizarding World. Along with the position came the chance to hide away from Ron and the Weasley Clan. After the Battle, Ron had decided that, with his new Hero status, he could do better than Hermione and shacked up with none other than Lavender Brown. When Hermione discovered this, Ron lied his way through the rest of the Weasleys and, save for George (who wasn't talking to anyone) the family literally slammed the door in her face. Her only "family" that she had left was Harry. Harry and Ginny had rekindled their romance almost as soon the the last spell was fired. He felt that he had wasted enough time and was ready to give her everything he had, including his name. However, when he refused to believe Ron's lies and abandon Hermione like the rest of the Weasley's, Ginny's true colors began to shine through. She became bitter and jealous, accusing Harry of cheating on her with Hermione and finally admitting that she was only ever with him because she saw him as a stepping stone out of her poverty filled life. With a contract to fly as Chaser for the HollyHead Harpies signed and sealed, she no longer desperately needed Harry's money, which meant that she had no use for Harry himself. This left Harry feeling incredibly lonely, with only Hermione left as family. Which leads us back to the Department of Ministries.
During her time spent helping to rebuild Hogwarts, Hermione had stumbled across an ancient text from the Restricted Section. A text stating that, once one had become a true Master of Death, all they need to do is stand before an active Veil and commanded the presence of a spirit, and they could bring said spirit back to life. However, this could only be done once in a lifetime. He could only bring back one life.
Choosing who to bring back from beyond the Veil had been one of the hardest decisions of Harry's life. How could he be expected to chose who gets to live and who gets to die? Or, stay dead anyway. There were so many options that he agonized over. First and foremost was Sirius Black. With no family but Hermione left, Harry wanted to badly to be selfish for once in his life. He wanted, no, needed, to see his Godfather again. The one semblance of family that he had. A link to his parents. Sirius would never quite be a father figure to Harry, but he came pretty darn close. But there were so many other options as well. Remus or Tonks. Harry's heart swelled and broke a little at the same time thinking of his young godson Teddy Lupin. Surely he deserved to grow up with at least one of his parents. Dumbledore. Even all this time after the Battle, Harry still had so many questions that only this man knew the answer to. Hedwig or Dobby. Both innocent creatures, both having given their lives to save Harry. Cedric Diggory. Dead because Harry had decided to be a decent sport and share the prize of that god awful Triwizard Tournament. A soul simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Severus Snape. A hero and that hadn't even known it until it was too late. Maybe he deserved a second chance at life? At chance to live out from underneath the thumb of a Madman or a Master Manipulator. And lastly, there was Fred Weasley. George Weasley had spent the last year crumbling without his twin and nothing had been able to pull him from his depression. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes sat dark and gloomy, never reopened after the final Battle. Windows were dusty, and wards were placed upon it so nobody could come within 10 feet of the place. George was slowly wasting away without his brother. The only was the Weasley's know that he was still alive was the fact that his hand was still present on the family clock.
So many choices. So little time. Harry stepped up to the Veil. He had made his decision. Raising his voice, he began to speak.
"My name is Harry James Potter. I posses The Wand, The Cloak, and the Stone. I am a true Master of Death. With these words I command that you send me the spirit of..."
And there's a little Cliffhanger for you. This was inspired by a "Who would you bring back" Meme that I saw on Facebook. I actually plan on doing this as a series of One Shots. One chapter for each Character that Harry could chose to bring back and what happens afterwards. Shoot me a message or a comment and let me know who you would like to see brought back first and I'll see what I can do.
P.S. The Harry Potter Universes is a sandbox in J.K. Railings backyard and I am merely visiting and playing in it!