Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
That was the first of many nights where Harry had trouble sleeping. Between the visions he received from the abomination now that he was returned, and his own nightmares, Death spent most nights checking on Harry at some point. He didn't have anyone at his relatives. They were at least less violent now that they were concerned a wizard would find out what they did to Harry, but they still would never be kind or supportive to him. Needless to say, they were at the very top of Death's "List."
And then, it happened again. He had warned the dementors, but they pigheadedly didn't listen and instead pledged support to the abomination. In Death's mind, this was treason of the utmost severity. Two of them went after his Harry on Voldemort's orders, and Death joined Harry on their normal bench in Kings Cross Station.
"Why did they kill me instead of taking my soul?" Harry shuddered at the memory. He was too busy trying to save his cousin, and they were on him before he could conjure a patronus. "I saw them try, they really did, but instead of my soul, they sucked the life out of me."
Death sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "It would seem that your soul is bonded to me in some form or fashion. They can't take your soul because it's already claimed."
"What is a soul bond? It sounds like a marriage?" Harry tilted his head, confused.
"I'll have to do some research. I'm not really sure, and I don't like not knowing things," Death grumbled irritably. "I've been around since the beginning of time, but every time I interact with you, I feel like I know nothing and am just a child. Fate told me something a long time ago…have you ever heard of the Deathly Hallows?"
"No…why?" Harry asked, even more confused.
"It's probably nothing, especially if you haven't heard of them before," Death mused with an exasperated look. "I'll ask around and try to find out what's happening. Don't worry about it right now though; you've had enough to worry about for a lifetime. I can handle this one."
Harry was silent for a while. "Am I going to get to see my parents this time?"
Death sighed yet again. He just wasn't sure what to do with his Harry. It seemed he was fated to die, but Death just couldn't see him stop growing and maturing yet. He wanted to see how the boy would change as he got older and see him find happiness among the living. "Not this time."
"Tell them I said 'hi' then and that I miss them and love them, ok?"
"Of course," Death said, reaching out a hand to his friend. "You're returning to the same place I took you from, so you'll need to do a patronus as soon as you get back. Can you do that? Do you have a happy memory?"
Harry smiled. He remembered the first time Death called him love. That was always his happy memory. "I'm good," he said confidently as they crossed over again.
"Is there a reason why all the dementors seem to have disappeared?" Harry asked Death from the library in Grimmauld Place late one night after his trial. "They mentioned it at the hearing. Everyone has been concerned that they've just…gone."
"Let's just say they are in time out," Death said darkly from where he was sprawled in the armchair in front of the fire. "Maybe for forever if they don't learn to respect their true master and do some very intensive groveling."
"You know you don't have to come see me every night. I'm not with my relatives anymore," Harry said, not too concerned about the dementors at all. He had no clue what Death's version of time out was, but he was sure they deserved it.
"I'll check in on you every night until you return to Hogwarts. You had a good streak going with staying alive, and I want to start that back up again. I don't trust these so-called 'adults' in your life to look out for you."
Harry just walked over and wrapped his friend in a hug. He could feel Death smile into his hair.
It was a good thing that time was relative to Death or he would be very behind on his normal duties, but time really meant nothing to him. He could stretch and bend it as he needed in order to spend time with his Harry. Lily was still giving him those strange looks every time he saw her, and James was also starting to as well. It was all very confusing. Maybe he would talk to Cedric next time. Cedric might tell him what Lily and James were up to.
Cedric was in on it with the Potters. Death was not happy. Now he had three of them all looking at him like they knew something he didn't. He didn't like it. He was the immortal being after all. He asked Harry about it one night over chess, but Harry seemed just as confused as he was. Harry was very happy that Cedric was hanging out with his parents though.
Harry had dark circles under his eyes and had lost some weight. Death was thinking of dosing him with some Dreamless Sleep if he didn't get a good night's rest soon. It was after Christmas and Harry had just gotten back from Grimmauld Place after having saved Arthur Weasley's life. "I think I'm going dark, Dis," Harry said quietly, obviously very worried.
"Why would you think that, Love?" Death asked as he leaned against one of the bedposts to look at Harry better.
"All that I see in Voldemort's head. I was the snake, Dis. I think I'm going crazy."
Death shook his head confidently. "No, I removed the piece of the evil one, his soul will not feed on yours," Death explained. "Yes, you are connected to him, which is why you saw from his eyes as he was looking through the snake's. It makes it easier for him to get into your head, but you are neither going crazy nor evil. Dark is different from evil. As the Lord of Darkness, I take offense that people equate the two as equal. They are definitely not."
"So...I am going dark?" Harry asked, but less concerned this time.
"Probably," Death nodded. "I think you are closer to a creature of darkness now, like me, than a normal human. You've experienced too much of my realm."
"But this isn't a bad thing? I'm not going evil?"
"Of course not! You are the farthest thing from evil I have ever seen! For the love of Tartarus! You died this summer because you were too busy trying to save your bully of a cousin to save yourself," Death rolled his eyes. "If I could die, I'd say you'd be the death of me. But, regardless, I never want to hear you thinking you're going evil again. You're my Harry, and I like you just the way you are."
"Uh huh," Harry smiled. "I love you too, Dis."
Death snorted and crossed his arms in a huff. "So, what's going on with school now?"
"Dumbledore wants me to learn Occlumency with Snape," Harry said with a sigh. "Our first session didn't go well at all. Also, I'm afraid he'll learn about you…or the Dursley's."
Death looked thoughtfully at Harry. "Occlumency is probably a good idea. It may stop the abomination from sending you as many visions or even sending you false information."
"What about you though?" Harry asked almost frantically. "What if he sees Kings Cross?"
Death had an idea. "Would you mind if I take a look in your memories? I promise to be respectful?" Death asked.
Harry sighed, not looking forward to the pain. "Of course, Dis. You are not the one I'm worried about in my head."
"Thank you for your trust, my love," Death said. He placed his hands on Harry's temples and closed his eyes.
Instead of the blinding pain of legilimancy when he was with Snape, it felt like the brush of a feather when Death entered Harry's mind. He carefully and respectfully sifted through Harry's memories and helped construct occlumency shields just around anything dealing with himself and Harry. He then, just as carefully removed himself from Harry's mind.
"Wow, that was…that was," Harry was at a loss for words. He wanted to say something like 'hot' or even 'erotic,' but knew that was a bad idea. "It wasn't bad," is what he lamely settled on as he awkwardly cleared his throat, feeling stronger feelings for his friend than he had in the past.
"I'm glad I didn't cause you undue pain," Death said with his hand still resting on the back of Harry's neck.
"Why can't you just put up shields around the rest of my mind?" He asked, very aware of the hand caressing his neck.
"You wouldn't be able to maintain them," Death explained, sitting back against the bedpost again. Harry missed the warmth of his touch already. "Full shields must be actively maintained; these were just small ones that you were already trying to construct yourself since it was what you most wanted Snape to avoid seeing. You can maintain these easily just with your desire to keep him out. You will have to work to construct full shields for yourself though, unfortunately."
Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Death hissed and had grabbed Harry's hand in a movement so quick that Harry hadn't even seen him move. Harry just blinked at him in confusion. "Who did this?!" Death asked in a low and extremely dangerous voice.
Death's tone also made Harry shiver in excitement like when he had felt their minds touch. What was wrong with him, Harry wondered, trying to pull himself back to the conversation. "Erm, Umbridge's detentions. She makes me write with this weird quill."
"How dare she use a blood quill on my Harry!" Death seethed with darkness starting to pull around him like a cloak. Harry had never seen his friend this angry, but his brain seemed to short-circuit once he heard Death refer to him as "his" Harry again.
"Did you tell an adult?" Death asked.
"Erm, I tried to tell McGonagall, but she said to keep my head down," Harry shrugged. "Honestly, I've had worse. At least this isn't going to kill me." Knowing Death as well as he did, Harry knew Umbridge had just been added to the "List" and McGonagall had probably moved up. He didn't really feel bad about either one though. Umbridge was just plain evil, but McGonagall had let him down more than once by either not believing him or not hearing him out.
Death tenderly brought Harry's hand to his lips and kissed the raw, injured hand. The pain immediately left Harry's hand and the redness and inflammation went down. The scar remained, but it looked old instead of brand new. "Thank you," Harry gasped, breathlessly.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take," Death said tiredly.
"How much of what?" Harry asked, confused.
"People hurting you," Death said with an intense look in his eyes. "I'm not supposed to be involved in this world. I'm not human, a mortal, I'm outside of this place. I can't just watch you be hurt and killed over and over again though. I feel a change coming. I feel myself changing. I don't know how to describe it."
Harry just laced his fingers through Death's and held his hand. He didn't know what was happening either, but he agreed. If nothing else, his feelings for his friend were different. He wasn't sure what to do with them. Harry may never have known it, but Dolores Umbridge had nightmares every night for the rest of her life after that conversation and had much to fear when she finally did cross over. Death decided he was no longer sitting on the sidelines. He had to make people realize, they couldn't mess with his Harry.
"We need to talk," Death said as he sat Sirius Black down on the same chair in the Singapore airport waiting room that Cedric had sat in a year earlier.
"Erm, yes, sir," Sirius said, terrified as he looked at the angry face of Death.
"You aren't on my 'List,'" Death assured him.
"Your list?" Sirius asked, wondering what in the world, or rather afterlife, was going on.
"Yes, my 'You've Harmed My Harry List,'" Death explained. "You treated Harry well and tried to care for him, even when you weren't mentally able to care for yourself. You did the best you could under the terrible circumstances."
"Your Harry?" Sirius started blankly.
"Yes, my Harry," Death said irritated. "Who do you think keeps bringing him back to life?"
"Back to life? Harry's died?!" Sirius stood, more concerned for his godson than the terrifying man in front of him.
"Yes, five times now, and we were lucky it wasn't more," Death almost growled. "I keep telling him to be careful, but it's everyone else that's the problem."
"You…talk with Harry?" Sirius sunk into the seat again.
Death waived his hand dismissively. "Kind of my best friend," he almost mumbled.
"Your WHAT!?" Sirius bellowed as he stood yet again.
"This is besides the point," Death rolled his eyes, trying to get them back on track. "How do I protect him when everyone wants to hurt and/or kill him? I need your advice."
Sirius gaped at the pleading figure of Death sitting beside him. "Kill Voldemort," Sirius shrugged as he sunk back into his chair dazedly.
"I can't kill," Death shook his head. "I have broken many rules for Harry, but I cannot break that one. It is against my very nature. My very being is to preserve the balance between life and the afterlife. I cannot upset that balance."
"Then, can you make sure a competent Defense Against the Dark Arts professor gets hired at the school so Harry can protect himself?" Sirius asked with another shrug.
Death looked off into the airport with unseeing eyes. He gave it some thought. "Every DADA professor up until this point has tried to seriously injure or kill Harry."
"Wait? All of them?" Sirius asked. "Surely not all. Moony was there for a year, and the second-year guy didn't do anything, right?"
"Quirrelmort tried to kill Harry, Lockhart tried to Obliviate all his memories, your friend, Lupin, almost killed him, even though it was an accident, Fake Moody tried to have him killed, and Umbridge tortured him with a blood quill," Death rattled off.
Sirius stared at him in shock. "How did Harry die so many times? Did they kill him? Remus didn't actually kill him, right?"
"No," Death assured him. "That abomination killed him when he cast the killing curse at Harry as a baby, his relatives killed him twice, he died in his first year when he tried to protect himself from the abomination again, and the dementors actually killed him this past summer."
Sirius looked like he would have a stroke if he wasn't already dead. "TWICE!" He bellowed. "His relatives killed him TWICE!"
Death nodded, feeling the same anger as Sirius. "Starvation and then they beat him to death. I gave him some ideas for how to get food and healed his injuries, but I couldn't take him away from them. It would mean that he had to move on to the next realm. I wanted him to get a chance to grow up."
Sirius ran his hands through his hair. "Why do you care so much? Why do you keep sending him back?"
Death opened his mouth and then closed it again. He cared because he loved Harry. It was so simple. Those words immediately took on so much more meaning though. He finally recognized and understood the looks Lily, James, and Cedric had been giving him. He didn't just love Harry, he was in love with Harry. No, he thought, it can't be…but…. "Sirius?" Death asked, clearing his throat. "Harry has an invisibility cloak. He's mentioned it before, but I always thought it was such a long shot, but maybe it isn't. Can you tell me…this cloak…would you describe it as an above average cloak, a really good cloak, or a surprisingly perfect cloak?"
Sirius looked at Death like he had lost all his marbles. And they say I'm crazy, he thought. "Surprisingly perfect," Sirius answered. "It never failed us in a prank when James had it, and he got it from his father who said it had always worked for him. Why do you ask?"
Instead of answering, Death's eyes just got wider. "Harry doesn't happen to have an old elder wand lying around or a magical stone…right?"
"You mean like the children's story?" Sirius laughed and then then stilled mid-laugh. "Wait…is that real? Is Harry's cloak the cloak?"
"I'm starting to think it might be." Death looked at Sirius stunned and cleared his throat. He was only going to talk about this once, so he couldn't do it here. "It's time for tea; we should head on," he stood. "I know a couple of people who would like to see you."
"Did you come up with an idea for what to do about the DADA professors?" Sirius asked as he stood and followed Death.
"Of course…I'll just have to teach it myself next year," Death nodded as they crossed into the next realm, a shocked Sirius followed him, but the shock quickly turned into the most mischievous grin that any marauder had ever sported.
Heads up, we're heading into more AU territory from here on out. Anything you particularly want to see from Death as a DADA professor?