Chapter 2: Chapter 1 The truce
Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office trying to fix some of the delicate instruments that Harry had broken. He didn't blame the boy for his outburst. He had just lost the last family member that he had. He understood to a certain degree what the boy was going through. He himself had lost one of his loved ones and by her death had become distanced from his own brother. He just hoped that the young man would be able to forgive the world that had been so cruel to him over the years. As he thought there lost in his thoughts it started. At first it was a low hum. A noise that Albus had grown use to over the years. It was an alarm that meant that Harry was in danger. Though normally it didn't go off during the summers it was rarely cause for alarm. The boy was almost always in danger and now that Voldemort had made his existence public the headmaster expected it to go off regularly. Just then the low hum got louder and changed into a loud shrill. It took the headmaster all of two seconds to cross the room and check the instruments hoping that he had made a mistake in repairing it and that it was simply malfunctioning. It was then that his worst fears came to life.
"Fawkes I need you to take me to Harry."he said as he quickly strode over to the phoenix. He prayed that he was wrong while knowing that he wasn't. All he could do was hope that he was not too late. He grabbed the birds tail and felt the warming feeling as his body burst into flames alongside Fawkes. Unfortunately the feeling of warmth did not last long as he arrived and looked at what had once been Harry Potter all warmth left his body. The young man lay bloody on a bed, hands and legs strapped to the posts.
"Oh god please don't be dead." He said in vain as he reached for the boy. His body was still warm but he knew that would soon fade. He was too late.
"Who could have done this." A list of names ran through his head before the words even left his mouth. And second from the top of that list was the man he was looking for. "VERNON" he launched himself from the room with a speed that he had thought had left him long ago. It took him no time to find the whale of a man sitting in the kitchen staring blankly at a knife covered in blood that Dumbledore knew had to be Harry's . He had a look of glee on his face and a half drunken bottle of scotch in his meaty hand.
"What the hell have you done Vernon."the headmaster asked venom dripping from every word.
"Now she will come back to me." Vernon looked up at the headmaster his eyes shining with madness. "Now that that freak is finally gone he can't use his magic on her and she will come to her senses." Vernon looked back at the knife a smile plastering itself on his face, almost as if he had just won some great prize. It was all that it took for Dumbledore. All he needed was the confession. He swiftly took out his wand aimed it at Vernon and without a word ended the mans life. Releasing what he had just done he quickly grabbed the nearest chair and fell into as his 100 plus years caught up to him.
"How can he be dead." He asked no one. "The prophecy said that only the Dark Lord could kill him." He looked at the clock and waited for the ministry or death eaters to arrive. Now that Harry was dead there were no wards to protect the house. But the death eaters never came. Instead it was his own order that showed up first. Apparently Fawkes had gone back to the castle and alerted Minerva to his whereabouts.
Bursting into the kitchen the first thing that Minerva noticed was the dead form of Vernon Dursley slouched over the table. The next thing that she noticed was the hunched over form of Albus Dumbledore his eyes not focusing on anything in the room. He hadn't even noticed when she had come into the room.
"Albus what is going on here." The headmaster could barely make out who had been talking to him, his mind replaying every line of prophecy time and time again in his head. Minerva walked into the room and saw him there. "Albus what happened here and why is he dead" she pointed at Vernon who had since fallen to the ground. He simply looked at her and pointed upstairs. He could hear her ask the rest to move as she went to investigate. He heard the gasp and then heard the thud as she feinted from the sight of the boys mutilated body.
Four days had passed since Albus had found Harry dead and the funeral was scheduled for the following day. He would be buried next to his mother and father at the graveyard in Godrics Hollow with only his closest friends attending. Albus had asked if Petunia would like to come and pay her last respects to her nephew but she refused saying that he would not want her there. She simply said that she would beg for his forgiveness and hope that he would give it.
It had been a trying week for the headmaster. Being the closest thing to a relative the boy had left it was up to him to see to everything. Not that there was much to do. He had gone around and told everyone what had happened. Then he told the press an edited story. He had also asked the ministry to provide some security for the funeral as Voldemort was sure to make an appearance. It was a victory to him to have his enemy killed and surely he would want to interrupt the sad day.
The day of the funeral found many people in black robes and dresses standing in the rain around a casket. No one said anything and no one needed to as the atmosphere was full of grief and loss. Everyone in attendance wishing that it was all just a horrible nightmare that they would wake up from. They stood there in silence remembering a life that had shone brightly in all their lives and had been snuffed out too soon. They thought of their fondest memories of the young man trying to recapture some of the warmth that he had brought to all of their lives. Finally an aged wizard made his way to stand in front of the casket and all eyes looked up at the ancient form of Albus Dumbledore.
"Today is a day of great loss and mourning," he started as he looked out over the assembled group of friends and loved ones. "A day that I wished I would never live to see. Everyone here knew Harry Potter, and everyone here has been been touched by his life in some way or another. Some were saved by him, some had saved him and everyone here loved him. Now he has joined the rest of his family in the next great adventure, and I for one wish him as much happiness as one can find cause he had too little of it in this life." Finished the headmaster stepped down and let the next person come to the podium.
Tonks didn't know why she was walking up to the podium. Surely Hermione or Ron would have rather done this, but looking back she saw that Hermione was in no state to speak with her head tucked into her fathers shoulder and her entire body wracked with sobs. She also knew that even if he had wanted to speak Ron Weasley would never have been able to prepare something in the short amount of time given. For some reason she had volunteered to say something for the young man. Part of it was because of the nights that her and Sirius had stayed up talking about the young man, one that she had only met a few times.
"Personally I didn't know Harry very well," Tonks started and instantly all eyes were on her. She could feel the nervousness enter her body and she took a deep breath as she continued, "I did however know my cousin Sirius and one of his favourite things to talk about was his godson. We would stay up for hours and talk about what an amazing young man that he was. We didn't speak much of the past instead we always looked to the future trying to figure out what Harry would become, of course this was Sirius and he would always say something ridiculous like a rodeo clown. But he was never happier than when he was talking about that young man." Tonks stopped here and looked out over Harry's friends and loved ones. "I wish I had gotten a chance to know him better. I knew that I would have liked him." and with that she stepped down.
The auror's were keeping their distance in while this went on trying to give the people the space to grieve while at the same time protect them. They all knew that at some point the Dark Lord would show up, and if that happened this might just be their last moment alive. Finally after a few more people had stood up to talk, including their own boss Amelia Bones the funeral ended.
"Well what do we have here." The voice came from everywhere and sent shivers down the spine of all who heard it."It seems that some one has beaten me to my prize." Just then a shadow appeared just behind the tombstone and quickly changed to into a man. If you could call it a man. There were tiny little slits where his nose should be and his eyes were glowing red. He wore a smile that would have scared everyone were they not already terrified. "Do not fear. I have not come to kill you. Today is a day for celebration. My enemy has been fallen for me and I didn't even have to lift a finger."he leaned over and opened the lid of the casket. Those who were close enough were able to see the ashen white face of Harry. Most cringed at the sight and took a few steps back.
"This is a place of mourning Tom and I ask that you leave here at once." Dumbledore said taking a step towards the snake like man. He raised his hand signalling the slowly advancing auror's to stop.
"Yes well I think that I will be leaving. I have so much to do now you know." And with this he turned to leave. He had only taken a few steps when he turned back to look at Dumbledore one more time. "By the way with him dead there is no need to keep the prophecy a secret. Care to tell me what it was or am I going to have to wait and pry it from your cold dead lips?" He smiled as he waited for a response. When none came he simply turned and disappeared into the shadows once more a collective breath being released as he did.
With the threat gone everyone quickly made their ways back to their own homes to be with their loved ones on this sad day. The headmaster however decided that it was time that he came up with a new plan and went strait to his office in the castle. It was there that the deputy headmistress found him. She watched him for a few minutes as he ran around the office pulling one thing after another off the self and cast a series of odd charms on them.
"Albus what exactly are you doing." she asked as she watched him grab what looked like a snow globe and throw it out the window. When she received no answer she sat down and thought about had happened at the funeral. "What exactly does the prophecy say Albus," she watched him stop his hands wrapped around what looked like a ball of yarn. "You told me that it said that only Harry could kill the dark lord and that only the dark lord could kill Harry. Now if that were true then Harry would still be alive, now I ask again what exactly did the prophecy say."
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..." he said all this without turning to face the woman sitting in front of his desk.
Minerva sat there absorbing everything that he had said. After he finished she broke down the prophecy, thinking about each part separately. The first few times she ran it through her mind she thought that it had been about Harry. Then suddenly her face twisted in shock as she came to the same conclusion that Albus had many years ago.
"I thought that it was about Harry," he said as he turned to face her. His eyes had lost their trademark sparkle, it was almost as if he was resigned to doing something that he felt was a last resort. "But obviously I was wrong. This time however I am not going to leave it to chance I am going to take the young man you know and turn him into a warrior. I really do wish that there was another way but sadly I do not believe there is one left." again he turned back to the shelf in front of him but his hands did not move. "Our hopes and dreams now lie in the hands of Neville Longbottom."
Blackness, it was everywhere. He felt like he was in a box but at the same time falling through the air. It kinda reminded him of a portkey, except the feeling came from all around him instead of coming from his naval. Suddenly a bright light shone not far from where he lay.
"This is it Potter. Time to go onto the next great adventure." Harry said out loud. He simply closed his eyes and shut himself off, waiting for whatever was behind that light.
"Now now Mr. Potter there is no need for such a maudlin display. I will never understand why people act like this when they die. Then again I will never know what it is like to die so." The voice caught him off guard, though he wouldn't show it. He looked up to see the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She stood above him here blue eyes looking at him closely. Her hair went just past her shoulders and black as the night. It was her stance that surprised him the most instead of being gentle and kind it was strict and a little annoyed. Almost like he was disturbing something much more important.
"I'm sorry I thought that I was dead." he asked as he stood up off the surprisingly soft ground. He looked around and noticed that he was in a small room with no windows and only one door. Looking out that door he realized that he must have been in an office somewhere with all the cubicles and people walking about carrying large amounts of paper.
"You are dead Mr. Potter." that annoyance that he could detect in her stance was now in her voice as well. "Now if you would just follow me we can get you processed and determine where it is you will be sent. Your case worker shall be Mason Jones." She watched him star at her dumbly becoming more and more annoyed by the second. "This century if you would Mr. Potter." Finally he seemed to realize what she was asking and followed her out of the small room and into the hustle and bustle of the office.
Looking around he saw that the cubicles were endless, at least from what he saw. People were walking to and fro in a great hurry and the place was louder than the great hall on the first day back from summer. He stopped to simply stare at some of the people trying to understand what they were saying but they were speaking a language that he had never heard before, though if he had to guess it was Asian based on who was speaking. Of course when he stopped he didn't notice that the person he was suppose to be following opened a door in the wall and walked in.
Not waiting for him to enter the room she simply handed a folder, that she had tucked inside an even bigger folder and slammed it on the desk in front of a tall man. He simply smiled at her not saying anything. Then she turned and walked back out the door grabbing the young man who had been staring at a naked woman (who had apparently died in the shower), and was not accepting the clothes that they were trying to give her.
Harry looked at who had grabbed him on the shoulder and was surprised to see the annoyed woman. He was even more surprised when she threw him through the still opened door. He stumbled and spun but somehow managed to fall perfectly into a chair. He looked around noticing the bare walls of the office with only a desk with a man sitting at it laughing at him.
"Welcome Mr. Potter to The Agency of the Dead. Or as we like to called it the death offices. I shall be your case worker Mason Jones. Now lets get on to business, just let me take a look at your file here." He didn't really need to look at the folder in front of him. Everyone in his division knew who the young man sitting in front of him was. He was simply stalling trying to allow the young man to come to terms with the fact that he was dead. "It says here that you died only a few days before your birthday, and that you died at the hands of your uncle."
Harry's eyes widened at that. For a little while he believed that he was still alive. It certainly felt like he was still alive, he still felt the need to breathe but that might just be an instinct. Now he studied the man that had just told him again that he was dead. He was a little taller than Harry with short brown hair and blue almost steel coloured eyes. His voice was definitely English and it looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days. He wore a grey suit with a blue tie. All in all he didn't look like the picture of death that he had in his head.
"Not the talkative sort I take it. That's alright not many are when they finally realize that they are dead. So what are we gonna do with you." Once again he looked down at the folder in his hands trying to figure out where to send the young man. It didn't take long to find the note the his superiors had left for whoever had gotten this case. A slight smile came across his face as he read his orders.
"So I'm really dead." The young man in front of him finally spoke, "and you're supposed to be death." the doubt was obvious on his face as he asked the question. "I thought that death was suppose to be like a skeleton inside of a black cloak." At this the man sitting across from him smiled even wider.
"I won't lie there was a time when we did look like that. But when the times changed we decided it was time to change as well. So we went from the whole dark and mysterious to the much more efficient if slightly mundane office look. I must say I do miss the old cloak." the mans eyes sparkled a little as he remembered a time long past.
"Yeah I was gonna ask about that is this like a sort of purgatory or something?"
"You could say that, but it's more like a central processing. From here we determine where it is that we send you. And before you ask there isn't really a heaven or a hell. It's a lot more complicated than that with a bunch of rules and procedures that I really would not like to discuss with you. So lets move on with this. It says here that you are to be given a choice." and with the last word he snapped his fingers and two doors opened behind him.
"What kind of choice." Harry asked looking between the two doors. They looked exactly the same, plain. Almost as if they were pulled out of a muggle home.
"Due to certain circumstances you have the choice to either accept your lot in life and move on to the land of the dead to spend the rest of eternity with your family." he wasn't the slightest bit surprised by the look of shock and hope that he saw in the young mans eyes. "Or you can return to earth and try and save your world from a certain dark lord." at this the young mans eyes changed. The green became more pronounced and darkened, the anger evident. "I would ask that you take your time and think it over but sadly we are very busy right now and my time is limited. You have a few minutes to decide or you will be stuck with whatever I decide."
It really wasn't a hard decision for Harry to make. On one hand there was his mother and father who he had never knew and his godfather who he wished he had known more of. And on the other there was the chance to fix everything that he couldn't. While he would have loved to see his parents for the first time he knew that he would not be able to look at himself if he didn't at least try. With his mind set he stared hard at Mason.
"Send me back." he only hoped that he would not one day regret those words. Looking down at the folder in his hands he couldn't help but grin at the fire in the young man as he said those three words. Grabbing a pen from inside his coat he made a simple mark inside the folder and stood up his hand reaching across the desk to shake the mans hand. Harry took it and gave it a few firm shakes his eyes never leaving Mason's as he did.
"With that settled please step over to the door on the left." He said pointing over his right shoulder. "One more thing before you go. As soon as you step through that door you will forget everything that you have seen here. You will however have learned some new rules. Those are the rules that you govern what you are able to do with your second chance. I wish you the best of luck Mr. Potter." With those words Harry grabbed the handle and walked through.
"I hope you manage to get that rotten fucker Mr. Potter" Mason said as soon as the door was closed.