Welcome to the second book in the Angel series, Discovering Death! If you haven't read Changing Destiny yet, I suggest you do so, as without reading it, this story will not make sense. Chapters will switch between the adults' council and the Hogwarts students, as well as the angels' POV.

A quick recap: After discovering Harry Potter's treatment at the Dursleys, three angels (Fate, Destiny and Death) use some magic of their own to fix his life. Harry meets Andromeda Tonks and her family, and is taken to Gringotts to find out his inheritance. Harry is introduced to the Malfoys and becomes good friends with Draco. Harry then meets muggleborn Hermione Granger and his new extended family meets the family. The adults all become friends (Lucius slightly unwilling, however) and Hermione and Draco create a sort-of friendship/competition/adoption.

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of Discovering Death.

"I hereby call this council meeting to order," Andromeda Tonks announced, banging a gavel on the table in front of her.

"How come you get to be in charge?" Narcissa Malfoy asked, raising her eyebrow elegantly. She looked at her sister expectantly.

Andromeda scowled at her. "I'm the oldest."

"I think Lucius is older," Ted Tonks added cheerfully. Said Lucius glared at him, but Ted just grinned back.

"Yes, well, I'm the oldest who hasn't sold their soul to a half-blood maniac intent on destroying the world," Andromeda shot back. "So therefore, I'm in charge."

"The Dark Lord is dead," Lucius cut in. "So your argument does not matter."

"Well," Andromeda smiled pleasantly at him, "It actually does. Because Voldemort is not dead."

"Woah, back up for a second," Dan Granger inserted, a frown on his face. "Voldemort is the evil person who tried to kill Harry as a baby and failed?"

"Yes," Andromeda nodded.

"And he's back?"
"Well, he's not dead," Andromeda offered. "And if we can figure this out, he won't be coming back at all."

"Will they ever get it on their own?" Fate asked Death seriously.

Death shrugged. "They have three reachable to them. I'm bound not to reveal the location of any, or what they are, but they're smart. They should be able to figure it all out."

"And the final trump card?"

Death winced. "Yeah, I'm not looking forward to that. But it needs to happen if we want Voldy defeated."

"Did Destiny give you that one, or did you come up with it by yourself?" Fate asked dryly.

"You wound me, Fate."

"Everybody quiet!" Andromeda yelled, banging the gavel again. "Thank you. Now, the first order of business is to figure out how Voldemort survived."

"Necromancy?" Lucius suggested.

Andromeda shook her head. "He would have to have a Death Eater to raise him, and anyone who would have helped him is either in Azkaban or would have blabbed by now."

"What about the children?" Emma asked. "Are they safe at Hogwarts?"

"Hogwarts is the safest place they could be," Ted explained, Lucius nodding with him.

"As much as I dislike him, Dumbledore is the only person the Dark Lord is afraid of," the former Death Eater added.

"So the children are safe," Dan clarified. Andromeda, Ted, Narcissa and Lucius all nodded.

"Help!" Harry Potter cried. One of his hands slipped off the broom he was currently clutching, leaving him dangling in the air.

"Harry!" Hermione Granger-Malfoy screeched, jumping up and down frantically as if it would help Harry. "Draco, we have to do something?"

Draco Malfoy looked at her incredulously. "There's nothing to do, woman!"

Hermione ran a hand through her hair as she glanced around the Quidditch stadium. "Look, Snape's staring at Harry and mouthing words. He's not blinking, that's the sign of a jinx!"

"Snape's my godfather, he wouldn't hurt Harry," Draco protested. "Quirrell's also mouthing something!"

"Right," Hermione muttered, staring at the teachers' stand with a determined look on her face. "Draco, if anyone asks, I was here the whole time."

Hermione slipped out of the stands and raced to where the teachers were sitting. She carefully climbed the steps, palming her wand as she did so. "Incendio," the Ravenclaw said quietly, aiming for the back of Quirrell's robes. Once she was certain the spell took hold, Hermione scampered from the stands, listening as the teachers flew into complete panic.

Amid the confusion, Hermione noticed Harry clamber back onto his broom and speed towards the ground.

"Well?" Draco asked impatiently.

Hermione smirked at him. "All good."

Draco nodded proudly. "I knew those lessons would come in handy."

"I'm telling you, every eleven year old needs smirking lessons," Destiny argued.

Fate shook her head. "Can we focus on the important thing here? Hello, Quirinus Quirrell just tried to kill Harry. We might have to play our hand sooner than we think."

Destiny was silent for a minute, before snorting loudly. "And they call Hogwarts the safest place in Britain."

"Good morning, Harry," Hermione said cheerfully the next morning, sitting down next to him at the Hufflepuff table. "Why are you up so early?"

Harry shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

"You sound tired," Hermione said sympathetically. "Nightmares?"

Harry shrugged again and lowered his head to rest on the table.

"Draco," Hermione called, waving to the blonde haired boy. "Come join us."

Draco plunked himself down next to Harry, giving the other two a grin. "Morning."

"Morning," Harry mumbled, picking his head up and stirring his cereal.

"Rough night?" Draco asked. "Do you want a headache potion?" he offered after hearing Harry's groan.

Hermione looked at Draco suspiciously. "Where would you get a headache potion from?"

"Mother sent a few with me," Draco answered easily. Hermione nodded, appeased.

"Well, I'm off to the library. I don't suppose either of you want to come with me?" Neither boy answered, instead both choosing to take a bite. "Right. See you in class."

Draco cleared his throat. "So, headache potion?"

"Yes, please," Harry said. "But where did you really get them from?"

Draco smirked at Harry. "I never reveal my secrets."

"Yeah, Hermione does it for you," Harry shot back with a grin.

Draco scowled as Blaise gracefully slid into Hermione's empty seat. "You look terrible, Potter," he commented. "Headache potion?"

Harry groaned, rubbing his forehead. "I should have known. What illegal scheme have you two cooked up this time?"

"No illegal scheme," Blaise protested, his eyes wide with innocence. "Just the Hogwarts black market."

"Great," Harry murmured. "My best friend's going to be expelled before he even finishes his first term."

"I don't think Hermione could ever get expelled," Blaise teased. "But in all seriousness, we have a variety of different potions, sweets, and a copy of these really through notes for each year."

Harry looked at him appreciatively. "How'd you manage that?"

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies, Potter."

"Will you please call me Harry?" Harry pleaded. "You call Draco Draco."

"I mean, you've only been asking me every single day, so no," Blaise remarked.

Harry pouted.

"So how do we go about doing this?" Fate asked Death, her fingers skimming over a package lying on the table between them.

"Easy," Death replied. "We make it seem as if it had always been there. We hide it in plain sight."

Fate nodded slowly. "That could work. Just don't forget that these witches and wizards are smarter than the average ones. They actually think."

Death laughed, before growing serious again. "This has to work, Fate. I can't go myself because of the rules, but these need to be found."

"They can do it," Fate insisted, standing up. "I'm going to go check on Destiny. She was getting bored earlier.

"That's not a good thing," Death commented.

"Definitely not," Fate agreed.

Susan Bones walked slowly to the Charms classroom, where Hufflepuff had a double lesson. She juggled her textbook and bag in one hand and reached out to open the door with the other.

"Good morning Hufflepuffs!" Professor Flitwick cried in his cheery voice. "Take a seat, we have something fun to do today."

Susan walked to where Harry was sitting in the second row. "Hey Harry, can I sit here?"

Harry looked up and gave her a surprised look, before smiling. "Sure, of course."

Susan smiled back and sat down, placing her book on the desk. Of all the Hufflepuffs, Harry was quickly becoming her closest friend. Hannah Abbot, her best friend from before Hogwarts, had been swallowed up into a group of first and second year girls who spent their time talking about boys and makeup. When they weren't talking, they were giggling. Susan, who preferred talking about Quidditch or spells, had felt left out for the first few days. Then she had met Hermione Granger in the library and the two girls had become study partners, continuously getting top marks in their classes. She had met Harry at the opening feast, but they had only talked briefly. Now, the two typically paired up in classes, although Harry tended to be surprised when Susan asked to sit with him. She wasn't sure why, but she pretended to ignore it, and she could tell that Harry was grateful.

"We'll be learning the Lumos charm today!" Professor Flitwick announced. "Can anyone tell me what this spell does?"

Susan raised her hand, and the Professor called on her. "It causes the tip of your wand to light up."

"Excellent, five points to Hufflepuff!" The professor beamed. "Now, a flick of the wand or a slight jab is all that's needed for this spell. Be sure to enunciate the words properly, further instruction can be found on page 17 of your textbook."

Susan flipped to the specified page and quickly scanned the words. Her finger tapped the picture of a wizard casting the Lumos spell. "Do you want to go first?"

"You can," Harry offered.

Susan nodded. "Lumos!" she cast, flicking her wand slightly. She was disappointed when nothing happened.

"Maybe try flicking your wand a bit harder," Harry suggested.

"You try first."

"Lumos!" Harry cast, making a sharp movement with his wand. A bright light lit up the tip, moving in the air as Harry waved the wand around.

"Oh, look everyone, Mr. Potter's done it!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed. "Miss Bones, what about you?"

"Lumos!" Susan said determinedly, flicking her wand with a substantially harder amount of force. She was rewarded for her efforts with a bright light on the end of her wand.

"Good, good, five points for Hufflepuff," Professor Flitick nodded approvingly. "Mr. Smith, if you do not want to take off one of your classmates' eyes, I would suggest that you lower your wand," the tiny professor called across the room.

Susan looked down at her glowing wand and grinned. "Awesome."