Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Harry and Death both stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas break. Ron had tried to get Harry to go to the Burrow, but Harry pleaded study time; he really just wanted to stay with Dis. After a full semester of being exposed to Death's aura, Dumbledore and Snape both seemed to be at their wit's end. The students were starting to get used to the aura as Death pulled it back as much as possible in their presence, so the students were really starting to enjoy DADA classes and Death's novel approach to light vs. dark magic. However, Death enjoyed messing with Dumbledore and Snape, so they weren't so fortunate to have Death's aura tempered for them. Death had done absolutely nothing he could be fired over though. He had only spoken the truth to the students throughout the term and wasn't teaching dark magic, but Dumbledore was still abnormally interested in asking the students just what had been taught each day in the DADA classes. Harry guessed it was probably Dumbledore that broke first and called in Remus Lupin when Harry saw him enter through the main doors of the castle on Christmas Day.

Harry quickly ducked back around a pillar and ran up a few flights of stairs and through a secret passage until he reached Death's quarters. "Fluffy!" He called as he quickly pushed inside.

"Didn't you just leave? I was about to go to work for a bit and do my real job," Death sighed, it was tiring having to bend time as much as he was having to do in order to stay with Harry, but he would never say it wasn't worth it.

"Remus…castle," Harry gasped, clutching the stitch in his side.

"Take a breath," Death said, leading him to the couch. "Do you mean Remus Lupin is here?"

Harry nodded. "Probably called in because you're supposedly a friend of the family. He'll know you aren't."

Death just waved a hand dismissively. "He wouldn't have known every friend of your family, especially since we're claiming I was just a kid at the time. I can really only pass for 20-25ish, so I would have been around 6 or 7 maybe when your parents died, and we'll say I met Sirius after Azkaban when he was on the run."

"I think either Dumbledore or Snape is trying to cause problems," Harry explained his reasoning. "You've been turning the aura on pretty strong for both of them."

"It's not my fault I just love hanging out with them," Death said with a smirk as he stroked the red and gold plumage of the phoenix Harry just noticed was dozing on the armrest.

"What's Fawkes doing here? You give him one bag of treats and he's your friend? Aren't you concerned he's somehow spying for Dumbledore?"

"I told you, the phoenix is of my realm. We have an understanding. Also, I do keep the good treats on hand."

It was then that the wards alerted them to someone at the door to Death's office. "Show time!" He said gleefully, careful not to disturb the napping bird as he stood.

"You're enjoying playing human way too much," Harry rolled his eyes and followed the immortal.

Death settled himself in the chair behind his desk as Harry went and opened the door to a tired looking Remus Lupin. "Moony!" Harry exclaimed as he hugged the werewolf.

"Good to see you, cub! Happy Christmas!" He hugged Harry back.

"You must be Professor Lupin," Death said walking over to them and offering a hand to Remus.

"Call me Remus, this isn't my office anymore," Remus took Death's hand with an uncomfortable look on his face.

"Nonsense," Death scoffed, motioning them inside and to the chairs. "Once a teacher, always a teacher."

"I hear from the headmaster you were a friend of Sirius's?" Remus asked Death as he sat beside Harry and glanced around the office wistfully. Harry gave a look to Death communicating a nonverbal "I told you so."

Death smiled and launched into the story he and Harry had worked on earlier in the semester. "I was a kid down the block from the Potters when Harry was very small. I enjoyed playing with the baby and was sad when the family disappeared and went under the Fidelus Charm. I was distraught when I heard of their deaths. It took me a while, but I was finally able to get back in touch with Harry after all those years to see how he was doing. When was that Harry? Your first year at Hogwarts?"

"Summer between first and second," Harry corrected their fictitious story. Truth was he didn't get any letters that summer because of Dobby's well-meaning interference.

"Ah, anyway, we kept in touch, and I reached out to Sirius when Harry told me his godfather was back in the picture and innocent. I was really hoping he would get to take Harry in and keep him away from those horrible people he calls relatives."

"Sirius would have liked that," Remus agreed sadly. "I wonder why he never mentioned you though."

"I was never in the country. I was very busy working on my defense mastery abroad, so I wasn't here to be a major part of any of your lives. However, Sirius mentioned last year in a letter about all the troubles with the DADA position, and well, when he was no longer here to look after Harry, I decided to stop by for a year or so, just to be a friendly face," Death said with his smile that tended to turn people's blood to ice.

Remus shivered. Harry saw and rolled his eyes. "Come on he isn't that creepy! I swear everyone's a wimp at this school," Harry said exasperatedly. He really didn't understand everyone's adverse reaction to his friend.

"Unfortunately, it's not just the school," Death laughed. "You really are unique in not finding me terrifying."

Remus looked at them confused. "May I ask why everyone thinks you're terrifying?"

"I'm like you, not quite human," Death shrugged, downplaying that he really wasn't human at all. "I'm much less dangerous than a werewolf though, really I'm all fluff, but I have an aura that tends to set people on edge."

"Mum didn't think you were creepy," Harry corrected him, remembering something he said. "You said she hugged you."

"She originally was affected. I think it was exposure that helped. Lily can be terrifying in her own right though, so maybe she's just a kindred spirit," Death mused.

"What are you then?" Remus asked, silently agreeing about Lily Potter.

"I'm not dangerous, that's what I am, and I plan to leave it at that," Death said with a tone of finality.

"Don't worry Moony. I know all about him, and he's really not dangerous. There's just a lot of prejudice as you well know," Harry assured him. "We wouldn't want a repeat of what happened when you were outed, would we?" The fallout from parents learning Death was teaching their children would make the werewolf incident look positively welcoming.

Remus was still concerned about whatever creature the new professor might be, so he stayed for dinner in the Great Hall and flew with Harry around the quidditch pitch for a bit before taking his leave. Harry and Death both were positive he would be reporting to a certain headmaster before he left the castle. It seemed he bought their story, but Harry knew the headmaster would now be researching all magical creatures with auras, not that he was going to find anything written about Death more than myths. Death made sure of that over the years.

It was just after New Year's before Harry pushed into Death's quarters, visibly shaken. "I think I know why Dumbledore hasn't trained me up until this point," Harry said, sitting on the couch and putting his head in his hands.

Death immediately joined him on the couch, concerned for his love. "What happened?" He asked as he traced comforting circles on Harry's back. "I thought he was just showing you Tom Riddle's past, before he became what he is now."

"Can…can you just look and see if you agree?" Harry asked, motioning at his head.

"If you are ok with me doing that?" Death waited for consent.

Harry nodded and Death placed his hands on Harry's temples. "Just think about what happened, Love, and I'll see it too."

Harry felt the feather-light brush of Death entering his mind as he thought through the evening. Harry showed his friend the memory of Morfin Gaunt and then the tampered memory of the old Potions Master, Slughorn. Harry moved onto Dumbledore explaining that he was trying to get the real memory from the old man, but Slughorn was very paranoid or ashamed or something. They finally talked about horcruxes, and Dumbledore showed him the ring that used to house a piece of soul, the one he conveniently didn't mention was the resurrection stone.

Death left Harry's mind just as delicately as he entered. "So, Dumbledore knows about the horcruxes, and probably has for a while. Why do you think he hasn't outright told you about them? Why this round-about method?"

"That was my first question," Harry said darkly. "Then I started thinking, what if Dumbledore knows I used to be a horcrux? What if he hasn't trained me because he needs me to die when I face Voldemort? What if he wants me to die? All of these round-about explanations are just to ease me into the idea that I have to sacrifice myself for the greater good."

"It makes a kind of sick sense, but why wouldn't he try to remove the piece of soul from you instead of just condemning you to die?" Death asked, anger creeping into this voice.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe he assumes there isn't a way to remove it?"

"I would be very interested to learn if he even tried asking around and researching," Death frowned angrily. "When will you see the man again?"

"Dumbledore said that even without Slughorn's original memory, he assumes there are several horcruxes (as we both already know to be true) and that they are probably important things from Hogwarts' history since Riddle was obsessed with the school. He said he has a lead on one and he'll take me with him."

Death scoffed. "You will not be leaving campus with that man. I plan on you actually reaching your 17th birthday without me having to bring you back to life again so that I can court you properly."

Harry smiled at the older man, suddenly feeling much lighter. "A little old fashioned, but I can live with that."

"I wonder if Snape knows about Dumbledore's plans to let you die?" Death mused, thinking.

"I doubt he'd care," Harry snorted skeptically.

"Dumbledore's dying and Snape invariably knows since he would have to brew the potions to keep him alive this long. That's probably why he agreed to help young Mr. Malfoy as you overheard a while back. I might not be a seer, but I can read souls pretty well. Snape is a scarred soul. He has a very strong sense of duty and responsibility. He's just let the horrors of his past cause him the bitterness he meets the world with now. I think he's as much on the side of right as is possible for him to be," Death surmised. "Your mother told me once, when I was complaining about his treatment of you, that they used to be friends and grew up together."

"Snape was friends with my mother?!" Harry could not believe that at all.

"Best friends according to her," Death nodded. "They had a falling out at some point in school, but even so, I doubt he would be ok with anyone wanting her son to die."

"Well, I could go up to him and tell him I know Dumbledore's dying and that Malfoy's supposed to be killing him or something and that I know Snape promised to help. I can tell him that I know I'm supposed to die because I'm a horcrux but really my friend Death took care of that for me," Harry paced, close to ranting at this point. "I could put his mind at ease and tell him that I don't really need to die for the war to end and that I frankly don't really care about living through all this anyway as long as my friends are happy."

"I could explain all this to them and tell them it's all going to be ok, but why should I?" Harry asked angrily. "They're the adults. Why should I be the one taking care of them? Why should I tell them information when they don't tell me anything? It's beside the point that I already know a lot of this. Why can't I just be the teenager for a bit, and they be the adults?"

Death pulled him into a hug to stop his pacing. "I know it's not fair. None of this is fair," he said pulling Harry to the couch and sitting him down, still holding him close. "I just want you to be happy, but so many people won't let you."

"I have you, Dis," Harry finally said after a shaky breath. "I have you and Ron and Hermione, and even Neville and Luna. It could be so much worse. I really am happy, most of the time anyway. I even get to hear about tea with my parents and how they're doing with Sirius. No one else gets that. In some ways, I'm very lucky."

"About not living through all this, I really would like you to live," Death complained for the millionth time.

"I'm not planning on living to 150 and having 30 grandkids, you do realize that," Harry raised an eyebrow at him with a look that said he should have figured this out before now. "I don't want 30 grandkids; I just want you. And, the birds and the bees talk didn't really cover relationships with Death, but I'm guessing kids aren't one of the options."

Death shifted awkwardly. "No, I don't suppose so," he finally admitted. "Um, Harry…?"

"What, Dis?" Harry asked, comfortably leaning against his friend.

"What is the birds and the bees talk?"

"Ask Sirius," Harry laughed with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "He was the one that told me."

Nope, never again. He could never show his face at tea again. Harry should have warned him. He was going to make the little imp pay. He had no clue what he was getting himself into when he asked Sirius why Harry told him to ask about the birds and the bees. He realized it was a euphemism for something, but not that. He should have seen it coming though when Sirius got a devilish grin on his face, James turned bright red, Cedric spit his tea everywhere, and Lily just started giggling behind her hand.

It was even more confusing when Sirius refused to tell him anything. He said that he told Harry, so it was either James or Lily's turn. James seemed to think that Cedric should give it a go, which had the boy stuttering and talking about his dad's sock puppets until Lily saved him. Lily then bravely poured Death another cup of tea and calmly explained everything. Death already knew most of it, not that he ever had a desire to do any of it before Harry, he didn't care much for humans and human emotions before then. But still, sitting through that lecture given to you by the mother of the boy you loved. Well, he could never show his face at tea again. It was decided.

Death frowned sternly at Harry when he did his oh-so-familiar stroll through the portrait hole and crash onto the couch. "That was not funny. You could have warned me."

Harry laughed, clutching his sides. "So, you asked him?! Oh, Merlin, I wish I could have seen that. He was so awkward when he told me. It had to have been ten times worse!"

Death glowered. "No, he refused to tell me. They kept passing the responsibility. And, someone really needs to explain to Mr. Diggory the correct and incorrect usage of sock puppets."

At that, Harry just rolled off the couch. "I can't…I just can't…!"

"I'm glad you're amused. I can never show my face at tea again."

After calming down slightly, Harry pulled himself back onto the couch. "Who finally told you? Cedric?"

Death grimaced. "Your mother." Harry turned pale. "And, frankly, she knows way too much about all of this and was comfortable talking in far too many details."

"Well, now I have a lot more incentive to live until they all forget about that," Harry said with eyes going huge. "That should get Snape off my back for a while."

Death frowned at the connection he didn't see. "Snape thinks I'm suicidal," Harry explained with a wave of his hand. "He's probably going to march me to Madam Pomfrey any time now."

"And why would he think that?" Death asked sternly. He could just see Harry pulling some crazy stunt that would lead to Snape's assumption.

Harry shifted awkwardly. "It's not my fault he's a suspicious git and decided to invade my mind during class. Which is illegal, might I add. He didn't go deep, so I didn't catch the intrusion quickly enough. He must have heard me daydreaming about looking forward to seeing Death (you by the way) and wondering how tea with my parents would be in the afterlife."

"What was his reaction?" Death nodded. It was very suspicious out of context.

"He just stopped in the middle of a sentence, turned all pale, and told me I had detention tonight at 7pm. I have no clue what he's going to do then."

"I'll come with you, invisible of course," Death decided. "We may have to tell him about me if you can't come up with a good story. We don't want you to be sent to St. Mungo's or something like that."

"Thanks," Harry perked up. "On the note of death and all, Sir Nicholas wanted me to pass on to you that the ghosts appreciate you helping Myrtle move on. They would like you to speak to Peeves at some point as well if you haven't already."

"He keeps running from me," Death grumbled. "I'm loath to use too much of my particular brand of magic in the castle to trap him since I'm not sure how it'd react to the wards. I think it'd be ok, but I'm not willing to chance being thrown out of the castle if it perceives me as being too dark. The Bloody Baron would definitely move on, but not until Peeves does. It's all very frustrating."

"Just let me know if you want to use the map. I'm happy to go ghost hunting with you."

"Another time. There's something I need your help with right now though, before your detention. Follow me?"

"Anywhere," Harry smiled with a raise of his eyebrow, suggestively.

Death led Harry to a familiar stretch of wall on the seventh floor by the painting of Barnabus the Barmy. "You want to do something in the Room of Requirement?"

"Ah, is that what this place is?" Death said, an understanding look on his face.

"You didn't know?"

"I can feel a piece of the soul somewhere behind this wall, but I couldn't understand how to get to it."

Harry's eyes widened. "There's a horcrux in the Room of Requirement?"

"Yes, do you know how to access it?"

"Not sure how to get it exactly, but we could always just ask." Harry paced three times in front of the blank space of wall muttering that he needed the room with the horcrux in it.

After a door appeared on the third time, Death's face lit up. "Brilliant!" he exclaimed. "This room is an excellent piece of magic. I haven't seen the like in centuries. Merlin would love to hear about this. I'll have to have a chat with him soon."

Harry opened the door and walked into the most cluttered room he had ever seen in his life. "How in the nine circles of Hell are we going to find the horcrux in his mess?!"

Death snorted. "There aren't nine circles, and just follow me." Death strolled through the piles with his hands in his robes like he was antiquing on a weekend.

"There," he finally said, pointing at a diadem precariously perched on an ugly wig. "Must be Ravenclaw's diadem."

"Ok, so how do we destroy it?" Harry asked, casting several dark curse detection spells Death had taught him at the crown to see if it was safe to pick up. "Can you just pull the soul out like you did with me?"

"I can't pull it out when it is still in this realm, yours was already in the other realm. The spell that created the horcrux prevents me from taking it while it's in its vessel. Fiendfyre or basilisk venom are the most effective means. As I'm not trusting a 6th year to cast Fiendfyre, how about we go visit our dead basilisk friend in the Chamber of Secrets?"

Harry picked up the diadem, confirming it was safe to hold temporarily. He wrapped his arms around Death. "Onward, noble steed!" He exclaimed.

Death sneered at being reduced to a mode of transportation, but still shifted both of them to the chamber. "If you call me a steed again, I'll refuse to ever let you stay in the afterlife. You'll just have to wait until you're 150."

"We have a messed-up relationship when your threat is that you won't let me die," Harry laughed. "Don't mention this to Snape or he'll really think I'm suicidal."

"You'll have to do it," Death motioned to the basilisk fang still on the floor. "Keep one in case we need it later."

"Yeah, yeah, just get ready to grab the old bugger."

"Can you get yourself back up when I'm gone?" Death wondered if he'd need to hurry back or if he could take care of some more of his regular business.

"Yeah, I can levitate myself back up to the entrance. See you at 7 though?"

"Of course."

Harry quickly stabbed the diadem, very anticlimactically, until the soul rushed out screaming. Death grabbed onto it and immediately vanished with the cloud of evilness.

Harry stood at the door to Snape's office at 6:58pm with a very visible Death. "You going to go invisible, mate?"

"I am, Love, you can always see me though. Courtesy of the weird soul bond thingy. If anyone walks by, you'll look crazier than you already are talking to the air."

Harry playfully punched Death in the shoulder before knocking on Snape's door. "Enter!" was called from inside.

Harry took a deep breath and entered with Death following behind. "You wanted to see me, Professor?" Harry asked as he walked up to the man marking papers at his desk.

"Have a seat Potter," Snape snarled, looking much more out of sorts than normal.

Harry sat in front of the desk with Death standing encouragingly behind him. "Is this about my grade, sir?" Harry asked, knowing full well it had nothing to do with his grade.

"Look…Potter," Snape began, looking for all the world like he would rather be somewhere else. "I'm worried about your mental state. I'm afraid you may be contemplating taking your own life. You can't…well…you have people who care…Weasley and Granger and that Lovegood girl."

"Oh, I'm not planning to take my own life, Professor," Harry smiled. "There are plenty of people out there who would rather do that for me, if I were so inclined. You know full well I'm not going to make it out of this war alive though."

Though he hid it well, Death could see that, yes, Snape did know Dumbledore's plans for Harry's imminent demise, and he was not happy. "And…you are just…ok with that?" Snape asked incredulously.

"Let's just say that I have a different…relationship with death than most people," Harry explained. "I'm not suicidal, but it's not something I fear either."

"That is very…" Snape couldn't seem to come up with what it was.

"I do really appreciate your concern though," Harry said, surprising himself that he did actually really appreciate Snape's concern. "I promised a good friend that I'd do my best to make it out of all this alive, so that's my plan, regardless of the plans of others." Death gave Harry's shoulder a little squeeze of appreciation.

Snape's eyes crinkled in confusion and also a little sadness. "If that's all, professor…" Harry said turning to the door.

Snape cleared his throat and went back to grading. "Yes, that'll be all, Potter."

Hi all! I counted and I'm aiming for around 5 more chapters before we wrap up! Chapters should all be a little longer, like this one, from here on out as well.

Up next: End of 6th year and the hallows