The Master of Death

2134 AD
Black Townhouse, 12 Grimmauld Place, London, United Kingdom, Earth

'Greetings, Harry Potter.' The first thing Death said would have sounded decidedly lame if its voice didn't have an obvious otherworldly quality to it.

'Death. Why do you show yourself just now after all these years?' asked Harry in a hostile tone, almost sneering at the entity before him. Whatever Death thought, this really wasn't the most opportune moment for appearing before Harry.

'I came to explain what being the Master of Death really means and to extend an offer which you might find to be the solution to your problems.'

'Really? Then please explain why I, supposedly being your Master, couldn't save my family, couldn't summon them back from your realm, couldn't summon you for asking questions about the Hallows?! Why did you come only now when I have nothing left to live for?!' While Harry started his monologue at a hiss, in the end he was shouting at the top of his lungs. The Elder Wand's tip started to glow again but this time it did so with the ominous green of the Killing Curse.

Death only chuckled at the obvious anger and murderous thoughts of Harry.

'Yes, you are the Master of Death as your legends call the one who unites my Hallows. However, you should really be called the Master of the Deathly Hallows because uniting them did not make you my Master. I have no Master! I am the one that awaits everyone and everything at the end. I am one of the constants in the Universe, for as long as there is life there is also death. And you, Harry Potter, are no exception to this rule despite your seeming immortality my Hallows cursed you with. For it is a curse, as I'm sure you've came to realize.'

'Yes, I know,' spat Harry. 'I just don't understand why. Your Hallows, aside from the cloak, were designed to chase their user to their death. While united, they still chase the user to their death by despair, yet they don't let them die. What's the point then?'

'There's no point. I didn't design them this way. You could say that all that happened to you happened because of the youngest Peverell brother. That cunning man knew not to trust me and asked for the one thing that's properties I couldn't manipulate to chase him into his death. The cloak hides its user from me completely. While wearing it, the user cannot die even when having a mortal wound, being mortally ill, or just aging to the point where they would die naturally. If any of your ancestors chose to constantly wear the cloak they would've become immortal yet forever invisible.

'Your problem is a direct consequence of this. When the Hallows united in your possession, they imbued you with their properties, or to be more accurate, they imprinted on your soul. This is why the Elder Wand, which you'd broken after killing Voldemort, became whole again and came to you in your time of need. This is why you can't lock it up anywhere without it coming back to you. This is why the Stone appeared to you after the death of your wife. They imprinted on you, became parts of your soul, and thus you can call them to you anytime. And because of the cloak's power residing in your soul, you became invisible to me. At least under normal circumstances.'

'What do you mean under normal circumstances? After all, if I was invisible to you, you couldn't be here right now.'

'Yes, normally I couldn't. This time however, your despair reached such heights that your soul itself shouted towards me, revealing you and summoning me to you in the process. And thus you have a choice to make now' answered Death.

'What choice?' Harry asked while sitting back down in his chair.

'Your first option is to dismiss me and live as you have lived until now. You won't hear from me again until such time when your despair again reaches the level it is at now. Now, your other choice is more interesting. There's a Galaxy far, far away from here which is on the brink of a great upheaval. If events are not changed, a powerful darksider will bring the Galactic Republic, which existed in peace for almost a thousand years, to its knees and declare the formation of the Galactic Empire. An altogether evil and xenophobic empire where humans reign supreme and other races are downtrodden and enslaved. Countless billions will die under his reign.

'While you would think that this is good for me, it's not the case. My role is to come for those whose time to die is upon them or who are careless with their life. Furthermore, balance must always exist between life and death. Now, I and the other cosmic powers like me cannot interfere directly in such matters. You however can. So, my proposal is this: I'll transport you to this Galaxy with the necessary knowledge to survive and have a chance at such interference in the course of history; and in exchange, I'll free you from the effects of the Hallows.

'You may keep and bring with you the Wand, which will lose none of its potency but won't make you reckless like its previous owners nor will it change allegiance anymore, but I'll remove the imprinting of the Stone and Cloak from your soul and destroy them. This way you'll be able to live out your normal lifespan—unless killed before—and finally die. This could also be a chance for a new life where you can finally find fulfilment at the end.'

'While I doubt that I can find fulfilment in life anymore, the second option is certainly more inviting than the first. You mentioned a darksider and that I can take the Elder Wand with me. Does this mean that this other Galaxy also has magic users?'

'Yes and no. That Galaxy has an all-encompassing energy-field that's similar yet somewhat different than the Magic on Earth. The locals call it the Force, and those capable of feeling and wielding it are called force-sensitives. Its differences stem from the Force being much-much older and extensive than Magic. Magic stems from the Earth, and is only as old as this planet. It flows through the ley-lines that are like a planet-wide web of interconnecting lines and stems from the Earth's core. Because it is young and generated by the planet instead of living beings, it doesn't have sentience. While Magic can be quirky and sometimes seemingly have a mind of its own, it's not sentient.

'Now, the Force isn't fully sentient either, but because it's much older and is generated by all living organisms of the whole Galaxy—sentient and non-sentient alike—it has a limited self-awareness and sentience which is utilized by the force-sensitives to a great extent. The consequence of this from your point of view will be diminished control over your magic. Most of your spells will be overpowered so you'll have to relearn how to regulate your power. However, some schools of magic and some spells will require more power than what you're used to.

'Conjuration for example will be almost impossible, unless on a very small scale. However, the conjuration of bare elements like fire, lightning and water won't be hindered. Also, runes won't work since their meaning is from this world and their power is tied into the Magic of Earth. You can try redeveloping a rune system using that Galaxy's languages, which will be possible since darksiders thousands of years prior already did it in a very crude and limited way. What I wouldn't recommend is trying to learn their runic system. The rest will have to be discovered by yourself.'

'You specifically said that learning the darksider's runic system is not advisable. Why is that? Couldn't I learn the system and design my own benevolent designs like wards and the like?'

'No. What you'll have to understand very well, is that the near-sentience of the Force makes a more wide schism between Light and Dark practices than what exists in Magic. I know that you know how some dark magic needs you to use your negative emotions, and you also know that these spells come with a "rush", and euphoric feeling that tempt the user to use them again. You've felt it and seen examples like Voldemort and Bellatrix LeStrange for what happens to those who don't resist this temptation.'

'Yes, I know. We call it dark intoxication when somebody reaches the point when they have withdrawal symptoms when not casting these spells regularly and dark madness when their decision making is permanently impaired by the effects.'

'Yes. Now, the Force is neither Light nor Dark, just like Magic. However, there are practices that are just that. And the Dark practices almost always require the use of negative emotions—fear, hate, anger—and their temptation is much more pronounced and bigger. And these things linger. Everything that's touched by the Dark Side of the Force carries the taint for a long time; the darksider's runes are no exception. They were developed for the sole purpose of imbuing objects with harmful effects, thus their very meaning in the Force was interwoven with this purpose,' explained Death, then continued, staying with this line of thought.

'Because of the Dark Side being so tempting, through the times the ancient users of the Force—called the Je'Daii—separated into two sides. There are now the Jedi who are part of the Jedi Order. They are the followers of the Light Side of the force, living a monastic lifestyle and being the keepers of the peace in the Galaxy. They are essentially an order of warrior monks whose members specialize in various fields. Most of them are diplomats, ambassadors and healers. Others prioritize the martial aspect of their training for law enforcement duty in the more lawless parts of the Galaxy, while some of them has a lifelong calling for more in-depth study of the Force. They are a diverse sort but they all live according to very strict rules designed to minimize the chance of one of their members falling for the temptation of the Dark Side.

'Then there are the Sith, the followers of the Dark Side. In ancient times there were a lot of them but infighting almost caused their end. At that time a Dark Lord of the Sith named Darth Bane developed the Rule of Two. He said: "Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it." Since that time there was always only two Sith, one Master and one Apprentice. When the Apprentice felt that they learned everything the Master could teach them, or enough to overpower them, they killed their Master and became the new Master. Thus the Sith had gone into hiding—the Jedi actually believe that they were exterminated—but the time is near when after almost a thousand years they will again reveal themselves.'

'So I should help the Jedi Order in this Galaxy?' Harry asked.

'Yes and no,' came the cryptic answer. 'The actual problem is that after the separation of the Je'Daii Order, during the aftermath of several wars between the Jedi and Sith, the rules of the Jedi Order became more and more strict, and their leaders more and more arrogant. Right now the members of the Jedi High Council—the leaders of the Order—believe that every decision they make is right and stems from the Will of the Force. But the Veil created by the current darksiders cloud their senses, they can't really interpret the Will of the Force like before, and because of this they have a propensity to mistake their own will for that of the Force. Also, the latest tightening of their rules—the rule to only train members from infancy and their celibacy among them—stems from the Ruusan Reformation and were pushed upon them by the Republic Senate.

'Sadly, over the years the Jedi Order successfully enforced these rules and completely internalized them, but what they fail to see is that these—now overly strict—rules will spell their downfall. The Jedi of today eschew emotions as a rule. This is of course hypocritical since every being in the Galaxy has emotions and they can't not feel them. So they teach their Initiates to release their emotions into the Force. But there are those who are incapable of this and instead internalize and lock away their emotions leading to dangerous build-up since they can't release them and they can't speak about them with their peers. Furthermore, releasing their emotions into the Force isn't an automatic thing. It requires great discipline and some time, and rarely can be done in the heat of a life or death situation. They simply aren't taught how to deal with their emotions, which led and will lead to the fall to the Dark Side for some of them.

'If the Order doesn't change and adapt, the Jedi would face their destruction in a few hundred years, even without the interference of the Sith. And because of the size of the Order, they are extremely resistant to change. So I will ask an extremely difficult thing from you. No, actually it is the Force itself that asks this. Do not try to save the whole Order! They won't listen to you if you come to them immediately after your arrival there; really they are more likely to label you a darksider for your "blasphemous" thoughts.' Here Death actually chuckled.

'I want you to position yourself to save as many of them as you can when thirteen years from now the Sith Master plays his hand and begins their extermination. This way you won't be saving too many of them—that would make them resist changes—, but enough so they'll be able to destroy the Sith and rebuild their Order the right way. Also, this way you most certainly won't be saving the most hard-core believers in their flawed rules.

'I want you to learn as much as you can about the force and the ways of the Je'Daii and Jedi after your arrival and to position yourself is such a way that thirteen years from now you can warn some open-minded Jedi about the betrayal by their Clone soldiers and that you can save the Initiates and Padawans residing in the Jedi Temple at the time. And whatever you do, always listen to the Force! Even with the Veil of the Dark Side in place, it will guide you on your journey. And as someone who was touched by the Dark so early and so long, and who used the Dark Arts occasionally, you'll be able to pierce the Veil more easily than the Jedi.' Death paused, as if gathering his thoughts.

'On arrival, you'll be provided with copies of Jedi and Je'Daii texts and your arrival place will also have some of the Jedi holocrons that were lost through the times. I want you to study them thoroughly and learn the Way of the Light Side and then how to walk the line of Gray just as you did through your life on Earth. This way you can save the Jedi, help them change, and help destroying the Galactic Empire before it can cause too much damage. Your place will contain everything you'll need on your journey, including an old but serviceable starship; however, you'll have to arrange a mean of income for yourself. And as I said, you'll have the knowledge that's expected from an 18 year old grown up in that galaxy, plus some more technological knowledge so you can keep your starship in good shape.'

After the lengthy explanation from Death, Harry was silent for a long time, contemplating his options. The first option really didn't appeal to him but the second would mean that he would again be in the thick of conflict. But then, what else did he know? He spent almost his whole life in conflict and despair aside from the 25 years of hard won peace and happiness that was later robbed from him by Lord Indomitus. Since then he was either desperately searching for a way to reverse the effects of the Hallows thus expanding his magical knowledge exponentially or putting down the petulant dark lord wannabes that cropped up in the word from time to time. During the last 50 or so years it was increasingly easy for him to track them down and kill them, so much that even this "activity" became boring to him.

'Please, be honest with me Death. If I chose option one, would there be a time when option two became that you lift the curse of the Hallows from me and let me die?'

'No. The curse is a curse for a reason. I cannot lift it without you providing me with a boon I'm in need of in exchange. However, I can promise you that if you chose option two, upon your death you will be reunited with your loved ones from both Galaxies. I know that this is your deepest wish.' Here Death paused again. 'Also, I have a message to you from your wife.'

'From Ginny?' Harry stood up abruptly. 'Why didn't you say so beforehand? What did she say?' Harry demanded.

'Yes. I didn't say it before, because it wasn't relevant before you've heard both options. She said: "Don't be thick, Harry! Move on and live a good life! I will always love you and will meet you and your new family when you die after a long and fulfilling life. Oh, and neither Ron nor I are angry because of what you did with Hermione. Live on already, and find a good woman to be your wife and the mother of another set of little Potters! And if you're a good boy and your new wife is agreeable, you'll get the threesome I know you've always dreamed about with us in the afterlife."'

'Okay, that was definitely a message from Ginny…' Harry said, embarrassed that his wife gave such a message to Death.

'Yes, she also added the winks when giving me the message. Of course, since you cannot see my face, I couldn't convey them… And let's be honest, it would be downright strange if I was winking,' said Death with some humour and maybe embarrassment.

'Okay Death, you've convinced me. I chose option two. Please, do your thing,' Harry said with a determined glint in his eyes that wasn't seen since avenging the death of his family.

'As you wish. You will awaken on Dantooine, in an old, abandoned Jedi Enclave. It is where all you'll initially need will be located, including your starship. Good luck Harry Potter, and may the Force be with you!'

With that Harry's world faded to black as he fell unconscious. Though he didn't see or feel it, his body slowly became translucent and after a short time Harry Potter ceased to exist on Earth.

He wouldn't know until his time of death that 50 years after his disappearance a new Dark Lord started World War III and after the resulting nuclear slugging match the surface of the Earth became a desolate radioactive wasteland. Only the two million people who moved to the newly established colony on Mars a few years prior survived. However the crypt of the Weasley and Potter families would survive until the Sun became a red giant and consumed Earth.


[Author's Notes for the Chapter]

And this is the second chapter. I know, a lot of long monologues from Death. In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have used this style to explain the second option but I didn't want to just gloss over it by using a one or two paragraph long condensed explanation and stating that Death explained it to him in more details. To me, it would have been like saying "Hey, there was actually an interesting explanation here but I was too lazy to write it so here's the gist of it."

Chapter 3 should be up either today or in a week. Depends on whether I can complete it today. If not, I can only come back to it on Saturday because of work.

Anyway, please review! :)