Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. The Harry Potter universe is the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Brothers, and any other lucky folks I missed. I'm not associated with them in any way, I don't make money from this, I'm just dabbling about in their sandbox.
Harry Potter and the Eccentricities of Death
Chapter Seven: A Dog Named Barghest
The silence stretched for nearly two and a half minutes as Harry and Hermione simply stared dumbly at Death who in turn looked merely amused. It was finally broken by a rather odd declaration from Death, "Barghest!"
Out of nowhere in particular arrived a large shaggy black dog that reminded Harry of both a Werewolf and a Thestral. The dog was positively massive, it's claws looked too big by far and it's teeth would have looked more at home in a Dragon's mouth. Despite his size he was skeletally thin, with long strands of shaggy black hair that made him look perhaps a little larger than he really was. The most striking characteristic however were it's eyes. They glowed an eerie blood red with pupils just as black and lifeless as that of Death.
Harry had little doubt that he was looking at the infamous Grim. Trelawney, no doubt, would be pleased.
Death, it seemed, had become annoyed at their continued silence and rose to his feet, folding the paper he had been reading and placing it back on the table.
"Please, if you would, take a seat so that we may talk. Would you like anything to drink? Butterbeer, pumpkin juice, water, firewhiskey?" Harry was a little annoyed at being treated like a guest in his own house, and Hermione was too it would seem.
"This is our house you know."
"Is it?" Death asked, staring unblinkingly at Hermione until she at last decided to drop the matter and take the offered seat.
"Well," began Death as he poured himself a glass of butterbeer, "I am happy to see that the two of you have made yourselves comfortable, yes? Settling in just fine, I take it? Very good."
Something about his tone however made Harry think that it wasn't 'very good'.
"Have you met my companion, Barghest?" Death asked, gesturing to the grumpy looking black dog.
Both Harry and Hermione merely gave a vague nod, having little interest in getting to know the demonic beast any better. Death frowned at their lack of enthusiasm, but soldiered on nonetheless.
"So, what have you two been up to, eh? How is the little one? Coming along fine I take it?" While Death's questions seemed innocent enough, something in his tone continued to betray him but Harry couldn't for the life of him figure out what was wrong.
"Uh, yeah, she's coming along fine," answered Hermione; Harry rather thought that she too had picked up on Death's mood.
"Good, good. I've noticed you've been enjoying plenty of quiet time and hanging about with the neighbours? Yes? Do you find your new neighbours to be enjoyable company?"
"Er, yeah, they're great."
"That is good to know Harry."
It didn't sound good to him, for some reason.
"May I ask, what of the, ah, tasks, that I asked you to complete? How goes your progress there?"
Suddenly it clicked in Harry's mind and he realized why Death seemed so displeased, the two of them had completely ignored their tasks in recent months. It wasn't that they didn't want to destroy Voldemort, they did, but neither had the slightest clue how the Dark Lord had survived. Even Harry, with his knowledge of the Dark Arts, knew of nothing that could make a person immortal.
The so called Deathly Hallows were another dead end; while they were both able to toss aside their initial disbelief that such items could exist, they hadn't a clue how to go about finding them.
"You have gone nowhere in your, let us call it a quest, for the Deathly Hallows, am I correct? Nor have you bothered in the slightest to figure out the secrets of Lord Voldemort's ability to survive the rebounded Killing Curse. I must say, I am rather disappointed. I had hoped that the defeat of Lord Voldemort would be at the top of your agenda, I had thought that you were both intelligent enough to use the tools around you to discover the Dark Lords secrets."
He paused and cast a sad look upon the two, "It seems that I was mistaken."
"Wha..? No, it's just, we have tried! But I have looked through all my Dark Arts books and not found a single thing that could explain it!" Harry was annoyed that Death would insinuate that they didn't try, but if he wasn't going to give them any help then he could hardly expect them to succeed.
"Really? You have exhausted all of your resources?" Harry and Hermione nodded. "Interesting. It seems I was mistaken, you are not lazy nor uninterested."
At this Death looked the two of them over before declaring, "You're merely unintelligent. A pity."
Hermione bristled at this notion.
"We are not unintelligent! How do you expect us to know things that nobody else but Voldemort does? Even Dumbledore doesn't know how he survived! You...you...how...argh!" Death's amused expression seemed to have only enraged Hermione more to the point that she couldn't even speak. Harry was silently hoping that he'd push her over the edge and she'd find a way to kill him. He was confident that if anybody could figure out a way, it'd be Hermione, she's clever like that.
"I presume you are angry at my lack of, hmm, help? Yes?" Harry nodded for the both of them, Hermione being too busy glaring daggers to do anything else. "Well, I cannot simply give you the answers you seek, the two of you must yourselves find the answers. If I were going to simply give you the answers I would just as well do it myself and send you two on to the afterlife. That, however, would be most unwise."
"Why?"
"Why what Mrs. Riddle?"
"Why can't you do it yourself? You've already done so much, why not go all the way?" as usual a puzzle that she could not solve seemed to calm Hermione down. Odd girl, Hermione.
"I have, ah, done little in reality. A few nudges here and there brought about Hermione Blackraven and Harry Riddle, but they were limited. A gentle push as Dahlia Purbaton tried to break Voldemort's enchantments, and viola, she was free. A simple nudge during birth and Hermione Blackraven lives after all. Of course, I did do a little influencing in the name department, I will admit that.
"Then of course I had to have you two meet, which wasn't that hard really. By pure chance you ended up in Rome at the same time, a simple notice-me-not on one pub led Harry to another, where he found you. Add a bit of spice to the drinks and you two hit it off in no time. That is, in reality, all that I have done. I was, I admit, rather surprised I did not have to do more to get the two of you together, but I must say I was pleased nonetheless. Wasn't I Barghest?"
The Grim looked at the two of them and replied in the most shockingly posh accent, "Oh yes, giddy as a schoolgirl he was, wouldn't shut up for a week. It was dreadful."
Harry spared a moment to take a glance at Hermione to see that she seemed to be thinking rather hard about something. Death merely smiled and waited patiently for Hermione to speak her mind.
"In, uh, in the letter that you gave us... you said that people would only vaguely remember us? That was why you didn't want us going to Hogwarts, wasn't it?"
"Hmmm, yes and no. Harry never would have went to Hogwarts so that is irrelevant, you on the other hand had a chance for either Hogwarts or Beaubatons, as your parents living in France was not changed from your previous life. I may have very subtly pushed them in the direction of Beaubaton, but it was nothing of consequence, more to be certain than anything else."
"And peoples memories?" Hermione prompted.
"Ah, yes, that was an unfortunate side-effect of my interference. It is complicated to explain to others. The short answer, however, is that my direct interference, well, it's rather like if you chuck a pebble into a lake. Doing so will cause ripples proportional to the size of the pebble, yes? However eventually everything evens out, does it not? The amount and severity of the ripples depends on how much I interfere, unfortunately my interference has far greater consequences than disrupting the water. It is unwise to send too many ripples through the fabric of the universe, it has a tendency to cause most unfortunate events."
Harry could have sworn that Barghest the Grim snorted in amusement at that statement.
"Er, uh, what other side-effects are there?" Harry asked though he rather feared what else could end up happening.
"Nothing that you need to worry about, I assure you." Harry nodded, though he didn't trust Death much. "So, now do you see why I cannot interfere more directly, Hermione? The consequences would, unfortunately, be far worse than allowing the Dark Lord to run about and do as he may."
Hermione nodded at Death's question but still didn't look satisfied, picking up on this Death continued, "however you may be sure that all you need to know is readily available to you, you need but look. You're going to dispute me, are you not? Yes, I see it in your eyes. You've read everything that you consider relevant but yet have found nothing that could explain the Dark Lords apparent immortality, am I right?" The two nodded, they had looked through everything thoroughly after all.
"For all your knowledge you lack wisdom, Hermione. Anybody can be knowledgeable, you need but study. Wisdom, however, is the ability to look beyond mere knowledge. Is it any wonder that the wisest people are often amongst the most eccentric? Things are not black and white, Hermione, but many shades in between. The information you need is here, you need only to connect the dots, accept that the improbable, while unlikely, is not to be tossed aside lightly."
Hermione just gave Death a vague nod, obviously quite lost in her own thoughts. After several moments of silence Harry spoke up with something that had been bothering him. "Uh, um, Death? I was wondering, er, what happened to the others?"
"At the Department of Mysteries, you mean?" Harry nodded, "Aside from Mr. Longbottom whom I previously told you about, the others made it through alive even if not unscathed. Members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived shortly after you deaths. Beyond that, I know not."
"What? Why, er, why don't you know? I mean, I thought that, well, you know everything? Don't you know what ultimately happened in that reality? Did Voldemort win or was he defeated?"
"You flatter me Harry, but no, I do not know everything. I know all that has happened and all that is happening at this very moment, the future however is murky at best. The future, you see, is not set, it is always moving, always changing. Every decision we make, no matter how large or how small, has an impact that echoes an eternity. However it is all irrelevant, as that future no longer exists, that reality no longer exists."
"Er, but, aren't there like, you know, like infinite numbers of alternate dimensions and stuff?" Harry was sure he'd seen this somewhere, perhaps it was in one of Dudley's shows or something.
"A common belief, especially amongst muggles and science fiction writers, but nonetheless incorrect. There is but one reality, one dimension, one universe. Do you know how many dimensions there would be otherwise? Do you know how big a number infinite is? It's big, trust me, it's bloody huge. Who'd do all the work then? Not I, oh no, I'd quit this job. Then the universe would go straight to hell."
Seeing that Hermione had come back to reality Death turned his attention on her, "well now, are we all set? You two will do better, yes?" they nodded, "excellent. Well then, one last thing, my dear Hermione, how are you after your recent, ah, ordeal?"
"What? Oh, oh, I'm fine, I'm fine. The healers said that the baby is going to be okay, it nearly, well, it hurt me, but my magic was able to protect the baby."
"Yes, it nearly killed you, that is what you were going to say, correct?" she nodded, looking fearfully at a dumbstruck Harry. "I had not anticipated you getting cursed so quickly, can the two of you not stay out of trouble? No matter, you are alright, and that is the important thing. You are in fact quite lucky, throughout history there have only been four women to go through the same ordeal as you that lived. Admittedly part of that is because those who use such curses are usually disinclined to leave survivors, but I digress."
By this point Harry was confused, scared, and angry. Hermione had told him that everything had been fine and that the Healers were just being extra cautious because she was pregnant, now he was beginning to think she downplayed things a bit.
"However, numerous others have died as a result of their magic's attempt to protect the child first. This reaction is the reason you must be careful, your magic will always seek to protect the child before yourself, and it is not advisable for that to happen. It has been known to, how shall I say, cause a few problems down the road."
Hermione was looking rather alarmed by this point and began sputtering out a response before Death interrupted her, "the consequences can vary, from destroying the child's magic to causing mental or physical, ah, defects." He glanced down at Hermione's stomach with a frown, "while the Healers at St. Mungo's may be able to detect physical problems, they are unable to detect any mental problems that may arise, especially at this point. However," and without another word he reached out with his right hand, gently pressing against Hermione's wombs. He frowned for a second before pulling his hand away, Hermione had a look of terror on her face as Death stepped back. "she will be fine both physically and mentally. She'll be just as sane as I am."
Harry wasn't sure if that was supposed to cheer them up or scare them, but he was still glad she'd be okay, even if she was as loony as Luna Lovegood.
"I am afraid, however, that her magic did not fare so well," Death announced gravely. Hermione shot up from her chair with a wild look in her eyes.
"What do you mean! The Healers said she'd be fine, they said everything was fine, there is nothing wrong! There can't be anything wrong!" Death merely laid a hand on her shoulder and guided her back to her seat, apparently doing something to calm her.
"Her magical core is not developed fully, and at this point in development the Healer's at St. Mungo's wouldn't be able to tell if she were a witch or a muggle. If she was further along then likely it would not have injured her magical core, as it would be far more developed. Mind you, if she were too much further along you'd likely be dead, and in all likelihood the child with you depending on how far along you were. I cannot say what will become of her, she may be a squib, she may be perfectly normal, or she may never be able to control her magic. As I told Harry, even I cannot see the future, she is still developing and until she is older we will not know how much damage has been done. Though I'm fairly certain she'll not be a squib."
By this point Hermione was crying softly with her head against Harry's shoulder as he had gone to sit by her and comfort her. There were still a few things bothering Harry however, so he shoved his own emotions to the back of his mind so that he could speak with Death while he had the chance.
"Er, I was wondering, it's not that I'm, er, unhappy or anything, but just why is it that we, er, why is it we're having a child anyway?" Harry suspected some plot by Death and wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"Did you not listen before? I did nothing to influence that, nothing at all, that was down to the two of you. As for the how and why, I had assumed that you were already informed of this? I realize that part of you is only fifteen years old, but I had assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that you were aware of procreation and all of that? No?" Harry, who was well aware of all of that and had no interest in being given 'The Talk' by Death, hastily reassured him that he knew very well how it was done but was only wondering how in their case. Perhaps a bad question to ask Death, however.
"Oh, doggy style."
Harry just stared at Death.
"What? You asked how. Don't be such a prude, I'm sure the two of you will eventually have many kinky encounters of a sexual nature. It's always the bookworms who are the naughtiest Harry, just to put you on your guard." Apparently Harry's embarrassment had brought back the cheerfulness that Harry had become used to from Death.
Wanting desperately to get off of this topic, Harry asked something else that had been bothering him and hoped that it would be less embarrassing.
"Er, before, when we were, uh, wherever that was before we came here, you said I couldn't save my parents? But then you did it yourself, well, er, not that I'm not thankful, but, uh, why?"
"Simple, I feared you would still do something stupid. Even if I put you at this same time, after their deaths, you'd still likely do something to free Mr. Black, thus ruining your, ah, cover. Ultimately I decided that it would be best to allow them to live, Mr. Black was their Secret Keeper this time, and the Longbottom's perished instead. Better off dead and enjoying the afterlife than insane and laying about St. Mungo's, I believe." Harry nodded, he and Hermione had already discussed this and both came to the conclusion that it was likely better for Frank and Alice. They were still concerned for their friend Neville, but hoped that perhaps with all that had happened he'd be more confident going into Hogwarts this time.
And frankly, Harry had to admit that Death was right, he'd probably have done something stupid and ruined everything otherwise.
After a moment Barghest, who had been chewing on something that resembled a dinosaur fossil, said something quietly to Death who merely nodded before turning his attention back to the Riddles.
"Well, it would seem my time is up, I've got less interesting things to do, unfortunately. Do remember your tasks, and remember to keep an open mind. You have what you need and I have every confidence that you'll succeed in this quest. Good night." On that note Death disappeared in a whirl of black smoke.
The Grim, unfortunately, stayed, preferring to continue with his exceedingly large bone. Harry and Hermione remained sitting side by side in their kitchen for another ten minutes before Hermione raised her head and looked at Harry searchingly.
"Harry? What.. what are we going to do?" Harry looked confused so she clarified, "the baby, Harry. You haven't forgotten again have you?"
"No. What do you mean again?" Harry asked, genuinely confused. Hermione seemed rather upset by something.
"I mean you never seem to care about my, about our child!" Harry wasn't sure what she meant, but rather thought this must be what she'd been in a bad mood about recently.
"What do you mean Hermione? Of course I care about her."
"Well, you certainly have a funny way of showing it," she said, her voice rising a bit and her previously pale face now flushed.
Harry wasn't sure what she was talking about, but still he felt a need to defend himself.
"What do you want me to do Hermione? I care, of course I care, just like I care for you, but.. I don't know, I'm just, I.. it's all so confusing, isn't it?" Harry really hadn't dealt with his feelings very well on this subject and some of the others that had come with their recent changes in life. It was not easy to go from a fifteen year old student to a grown adult who was married and starting a family.
"It's not that I don't want a child, Hermione," guessing at her biggest fear, "I do, I always have, really. I never had a family, not a real family anyway, it's something I've always wanted. But, it's just, well, it's all so fast, isn't it?" Hermione nodded. "I don't know how to feel about it, I'm just so confused Hermione, this isn't what I had pictured when I thought about my future. Sometimes I just feel as if, I don't know, as if I'm looking in on somebody else's life, like it's a show on the tele and I'm just watching it. Know what I mean?"
Hermione nodded, "I know. I'm sorry Harry, I'm just, I'm so scared Harry. I'm not ready, not at all. What if I'm a horrible mother Harry? What.. what if.." but Harry stopped her before she could carry on much more.
"Hermione, you'll be brilliant, you always are. Everything is going to work out, love, everything. I don't know how, but I just know it will. The three of us are going to have a long and happy life together, okay, she's going to be perfectly fine and go to Hogwarts and be the smartest prettiest witch at the school. I'll have to scare off all her boyfriends, and then one day when she's all grown up she's going to start her own family, and then we're going to be Grandpa and Grandma Riddle, and they're never going to know what it is like to live with Voldemort hanging over them."
Harry looked down at Hermione after his impromptu speech, her eyes were a mixture of hope, happiness and something else that Harry couldn't exactly place. After a moment though she frowned and said, in a very small voice, "I'm sorry Harry."
Harry was quite lost at what she was apologizing for and told her so.
"You're stuck with me. I know it's not what you wanted, of course, not what either of us wanted."
Before she could go much further though, Harry cut her off. "It's fine, Hermione, it's fine. I won't say that it's not weird, being married to a girl I thought of as a sister," the two smiled at each other, obviously having felt the same way about one another. "However, everything will work out in the end, I promise Hermione. I promise. I loved you before as a friend, Hermione, as a sister. You're amazing, you're wonderful, I'm sure there will be no problem loving you as a wife. It'll just be a bit weird, is all. Of the two of us, I'm the lucky one." Hermione simply agreed with him, much to Harry's chagrin.
As it was late, very late, the two soon made their way up to bed. Over the course of the next month things started getting better, a tension neither of them realized was even there started to ease. They were still adjusting, but now both had a hopeful outlook on their new life.
In one months time, Harry would finally find what he'd been looking for, they would finally get a lead on the secrets of Lord Voldemort.
Author's Note: Ah, there we go, a bit of background cleared up. A quick note, folks, if you want you can go into my profile and click on 'Homepage' to find my Yahoo Group. Comment there if you would like. I'll probably post my first draft of each chapter there, so you can get an early look at chapters if you want, admittedly unedited versions.
Also, from now on, I think I'll put a small note at the end of chapters with a preview of the next chapter. Comments on this would be welcomed, good idea, bad idea, whatever.
Chapter Eight: The Secret Diary of Dahlia Purbaton
Harry reads through his mothers diary when he makes a most startling discover. As time goes by somebody they care for must pass on, while another joins the family.
