Okay, I know. Another new story? Finish what you've already started woman my gods! Anyway, I've been reading a lot of stories inspired by the Reptilia28 challenge, the rules of which you can find below. And I figured, why not try writing my own? When I have the time, toddlers are hard lol anyway, the usual 'I don't own Harry Potter blah blah blah' applies. Obviously. I don't know how far I'll go with this one, depends on my muse and life in general, but I had fun writing this chapter at least, and it's a fun way to go back and redo things in Harry's favour. So, enjoy. Or not. Whatever floats your boat.
The Plot Rules
1. Harry is killed at 17 during the Final Battle with Voldemort. He's sent to Death's office (explained later) and finds out that this isn't the first time that this has happened.
2. Harry's Death (who can have a human name) is mad upon his arrival. Apparently, people dying before their time is a black mark on the various Deaths' records, and harry is getting perilously close to getting this particular Death fired.
3. When Harry asks what was supposed to have happened, his Death goes off on a rant saying how he was supposed to have killed Voldemort, found his soulmate ('some Granger girl') and lived to be a centennial age. But since Harry keeps getting into life-threatening situations for one reason or another, he keeps dying before that happens. Harry is surprised about the soul mate part.
4. Death gives Harry a paper to sign that allows him to retain his memories (the previous times he had died he wasn't given this option for whatever reason). Harry is deposited to a previous time of the writer's choosing.
5. Eventually, Harry gets it right. He kills Voldemort, gets the girl, and lives to a ripe old age of whatever. And Death doesn't get fired.
The Requirements
1. Harry must have died at least three times before this main plot driven death.
2. The memory keeping contract must be included.
3. Death must refer to Hermione as 'some Granger girl' when Harry's soul mate turns up in his rant.
4. Obviously, the story must be H/Hr, also known as Harmony.
5. Have fun.
Optional
Dumbledore's manipulations can be a factor in Harry's premature demises.
CHAPTER ONE: THE LAST DEATH
Harry didn't know what to expect when he died. Sure, he knew he'd stop living, but was he going to wake up in some afterlife, with his parents and Sirius and everyone else around him? Would he have his own personal heaven? Or would he go to hell? Or would he even wake up at all? After all, who really knew what happened when you died? Only those who did knew, and they couldn't tell anyone. Sure, ghosts were dead, but they hadn't moved on, they didn't know what came next, if anything even did come next, they were too afraid and so stuck around on the earthly plane. Or something like that. Anyway, Harry watched the green light of the Avada speed towards him, and before he could even close his eyes, he was dead. Gone. Didn't even feel himself begin to fall. Felt nothing at all actually.
And then…
'Oh you have got to be kidding me!' A voice cried out.
Harry thought whoever it was sounded upset. He looked around, and realised he was standing. And everything was white. Like, pure white. No hint of colour at all. Except for the being in the robes that seemed to be made of a rainbow.
Harry blinked. Whoever was standing in front of him looked like a shop mannequin, smooth, slightly shiny, white, with a face that had no discernable features but still somehow managed to look disappointed in him. And the robes they wore were a soft riot of colour in an otherwise white world. The colours seemed to swirl and fade into one other without ruining the effect somehow.
'Um, hi?' Harry said.
''Hi' he says,' ranted the figure, throwing their arms up in the air. 'Back here again and all he can say is hi. Bah!'
'Well if hi isn't good enough for you, how about hello, how are you?' sniped Harry, getting angry at the being.
'Ooh, now he has an attitude. That could come in handy I suppose. Alright, let's get down to business then. Harry James Potter, welcome to Death.'
Harry said nothing, just looked at the being.
'I said, welcome to Death! Nothing? Usually I get more of a reaction than that. Usually 'oh no it can't be I can't be dead I need to go back etc etc,' The being frowned for a moment, then brightened. 'Ah well, this is better than that I suppose. The whole begging thing got old quickly. Moving on.'
'Excuse me,' Harry said slowly, 'But, who are you?' He smiled a little as he remembered he had asked Hagrid that question when they had first met.
'Ah yes, sorry for not introducing myself. You can call me Rainbow.'
Harry raised an eyebrow at that. It definitely fit the being.
'Yeah I know, real original, my name is Rainbow, I wear robes made from a rainbow, but hey at least my name isn't Sunflower, those things get itchy when they dry out. My robes eventually fade away, but never while I'm wearing them thankfully, because that would be real embarrassing. Well? Come on. Follow me.'
'Where are we going?' Harry asked he jogged to keep up with Rainbow.
'To my office of course. Can't conduct business out here in the open can we?'
'What business?'
Rainbow smacked their forehead with their right palm. 'Of course, you don't remember me.'
'How can I remember someone I've never met before?'
'But we have met before Harry. In fact, this is our sixth time meeting. Here we are, this is my office, we can talk in here.'
Harry looked at the white archway in front of them, which seemed to open to no where, and raised an eyebrow at Rainbow.
'Oh, just go on through will you?' Rainbow said as they gave him a slight push through the arch.
Harry blinked. And then blinked again. Through the arch there was in fact an office. A very white office. Why was everything so white here?
'Alright, take a seat there in front of my desk and we'll get started.'
'Get started with what?' Harry asked as he sat in a plush white armchair. It felt like he was sitting on a giant marshmallow, only without the stickiness.
'Ah, right on time, come on in.' Rainbow said, beaming a radiant smile at someone behind Harry.
Before he could turn to see who it was, he felt a light familiar weight settle on his shoulder.
'Hedwig?' he breathed as he turned his head and reached a hand up to one of his first friends.
'Yep,' said Rainbow, 'Can't very well send you back without your trusty familiar by your side.'
'Familiar?' Frowned Harry, even as he gazed lovingly at his beautiful snowy owl.
'Right, they don't teach about familiars at Hogwarts anymore. Damn headmaster. Not every witch or wizard is lucky enough to be chosen by a familiar. Most are chosen by the person, but when you magicals let the animal chose you, then you get a familiar bond. Haven't you ever noticed how this little lady here seems to understand you more than the average post owl? How easy it is to talk to her? You may not understand each other's words, but you still communicate, just on a much deeper level. But, we're getting away from our target here. You can research familiar bonds once you're back.'
'Back?' Harry asked, finally looking away from Hedwig. 'What do you mean back?'
'I mean back. As in, to Life, as opposed to here, which is Death.'
'This place is Death?'
'Yep. and I am one of Death's Reapers. And this will be your last attempt at Life, so pay attention and try to get it right this time. Because if you fail again I'm going to be fired and I really don't want to get fired.'
'You make it sound like being fired is the worst thing ever.'
'For us Reapers, it is. When I say fired, I mean fired. As in, we go up in flames and burn for however long our Master deems it necessary for us to learn from our mistakes. Sometimes it's days, other times it can be centuries. Can you imagine that? Being in constant pain with no end it sight?' Rainbow shuddered. 'Please don't do that to me Harry, please get it right this time.'
'I'll try, but get what right exactly?'
'Oh yeah, the Destiny thing. Alright, listen up. It is your Destiny to kill the Dark Lord Voldemort and send his sorry ass straight to Death to punish for daring to defy him, to be with your soul mate, and live to a ripe old age of 309 and a bit years.'
'Hang on! I killed Voldemort already! And I was with Ginny! Does it really matter that I live that long?'
'First of all, no you didn't kill Voldemort. He killed you, remember? Though I guess it's not your fault, you were brainwashed by Dumbledork into thinking you had a Horcrux in your head and that only dying by Voldemort's own hand would you somehow win the battle. And that red headed potion dosing shrew is not your soul mate, it's actually some Granger girl, and yes, it matters that you live that long so that you and your soul mate can bring about some much needed changes to the magical world. Now, any questions?'
'Uh, yeah!' Snapped Harry. 'What do you mean there's no Horcrux in my head? That's how I got this bloody scar and can speak Parseltongue and how I could feel Voldemort's feelings and see those visions.'
'No, that scar was given to you by your mother. it's actually a rune mark, Sowilo to be exact. It translates to sun. I recommend choosing to study Ancient Runes this time around. And see if you can get some training in healing too, never know when that can come in handy. Anyway, your mother gave you that scar because it was part of a ritual she created to keep you safe. When she refused to move aside for Voldemort, she tied her life to yours, so when he shot the Avada at you it destroyed her soul instead of killing you.'
'You mean she's gone? Like really gone?'
'Yeah kid, afraid so. Sorry.'
'But I saw her, I saw her when mine and Voldemort's wands connected in the graveyard, and again in the forest when I used the resurrection stone.'
'No, those weren't her. And there's no such thing as a resurrection stone, or the elder wand, and your invisibility cloak is just a cloak that an ancestor put a lot of work into. I mean that guy was befriending demiguises all over the place to get them to donate hairs for that cloak. Other invisibility cloaks fail because they're made from demiguise skins, it's sick and horrible what wizards do to make those things. But your cloak wasn't made from skins, it's made from freely given hairs from dozens and dozens of demiguises. That's what makes it special and unique. But back to the stone. That was just an illusion charm cast on a black river rock that Dumbledore stuck to a ring that was actually a horcrux. Sorry Harry, but the old man has been manipulating you your whole life. And not just you, there wouldn't even be a Voldemort if Dumbledore hadn't of pushed him into becoming what he is today.'
'Right,' Harry said, his head swimming. What Rainbow was saying made sense in a way. 'Then what about this whole soul mate thing? If my soul mate is Hermione like you said, then why was I with Ginny? Wouldn't I be drawn to my soul mate?'
'Usually yes, but the shrew was potioning you, with help from her mother of course, like that little chit could brew her way out of a apothecary.' Rainbow snorted. 'Ronald Weasley was involved too I'm sorry to say. He was potioning Hermione in the end, couldn't let you two be any closer, it would have ruined all their plans. I'm actually surprised the loyalty potions didn't interact with the love potions.'
'Loyalty potions? What the hell are you talking about now?'
Rainbow flinched at the word hell, but kept explaining things.
'Remember the night you saved Hermione from the troll?' Harry nodded. Of course he did. 'That was the night you and Hermione activated the soul mate bond. Ronald got concerned at how close you to were getting so fast, he didn't want to share you with anyone else because that would mean less attention for him. With the help of his mother, he started dosing you with loyalty potions. Nothing too strong, they didn't want to alert anyone to what they were doing, but it was enough to keep you close to him and made you easy to suggestions like taking easy classes instead of what really interested you, not putting much effort into studying, putting too much emphasis on quidditch. Then after Ginny started at Hogwarts, that whole Heir of Slytherin thing, which we need to talk about, don't let me forget, well she was already infatuated with the idea of The-Boy-Who-Lived, then you saved her life and after that she was obsessed. But she only started the love potions in your sixth year, she wanted to get some experience first, to keep you happy if the potions started to lose their potency over time as can sometimes happen.'
Harry thought about that, it did seem kind of sudden the way he had started to notice Ginny. And he had been wanting to take Ancient Runes instead of Divination. And why was he so obsessed with quidditch while at school but didn't follow the sport over the summer holiday? He frowned as the thoughts swept through his mind, had the Weasleys really done this to him?
'Anyway, that whole Heir of Slytherin thing, long story short, yeah it's true. You're Salazar's heir.'
'Wait, what?' Harry gaped. 'But I was sorted into Gryffindor!'
'Yeah, but you should have been in Slytherin. You think it was your convincing that Hat? No, Dumbledore had Confunded it, pretty difficult thing to do, but yeah, it happened.'
'But I pulled Gryffindor's sword from the hat in the Chamber, only a true Gryffindor could do that!'
'Well yeah, only a true descendant of Godric can do that, but that wasn't really his sword was it?'
'It wasn't?'
'Nope. Sorry. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful piece, but it's not Gryffindor's. He didn't like adorning his weapons with gems and fancy things, he just forged good strong weapons.'
'So then how, wait, it was Dumbledore again, wasn't it?'
'Yeah, the old geezer had been messing with your life from the start. Sorry.'
'But how am I descended from Slytherin? My Mum was muggleborn, and Dad's family were all Gryffindors.'
'Your mother, and therefore you, are actually descended from a long forgotten relative of old Sal,'
Harry gaped at the thought of one of the founders of Hogwarts being called Sal, but listened closely.
'This woman, one of Sal's granddaughters, she was a squib. Poor dear, tragic really what happened to her. She married a muggle, got pregnant, her husband died before she could give birth, and she tried to save him with potions, little known fact, squibs can still make and take potions, they're just not quite as strong as those of you with actual magic, anyway, she was caught picking herbs under a full moon, very suspicious back then, and was sentenced to be burned, but not until after she had the baby because babies and children are innocent in the eyes of the muggle god, so yeah, she had the baby in prison, it was adopted by a local family, the poor woman was burned at the stake without even getting to hold or even see her baby, they had to tie her to the stake then carry her out to the pyre, it was all very horrible, but that baby continued Sal's line all the way down to you and your mother while the rest of his line died out centuries before.'
Harry sat there silently, absorbing this.
'Now, when you go back, you'll have to go to Gringotts and get a family blood test done to confirm this with the goblins. Make sure you stay on good terms with the goblin who does the test, they'll be instrumental to you at later dates. Speaking of which, we have to decide when to send you back.'
'What do you mean? Aren't I just going back to the moment I died?'
'Not this time kiddo, no, we have to choose the perfect time for you to start making a difference. Remember, this is our last chance. If you fail this time that's it, no going back for you. And I get fired.' Rainbow shuddered.
'Alright then, but how am I going to make a difference if I won't even remember any of this?'
'Because this time you will,' Rainbow said as a contract appeared on the desk. 'Miss Hedwig, might I trouble you for a feather?'
Harry frowned, but before he could object, Hedwig had plucked a feather from her wing and dropped it on his lap.
'Thank you,' Rainbow said with a small bow to the owl. 'Alright, let's review this contract and get going, time waits for no one after all.'
They both bent over the contract and began to read and review the terms. In the end they ended up with something they both agreed to, including the approximate time Harry would be sent back to. Time wasn't an exact science after all.
Contract between Harry James Potter of Life and Rainbow of Death
1. The Life will be sent back in time for one final chance.
2. The Life will retain all memories of the previous Life and this meeting.
3. The Life agrees that if he fails this time he will have no more chances.
4. The date chosen by the Life and the Death is as follows: No later than the first day of the ninth month of the year 1991, and no earlier than the first day of the eighth month of the year 1991.
5. The Life understands the tasks he has been set and will not speak of this to anyone besides his soulmate if he so wishes.
Signed:
Harry James Potter
Rainbow
'Alright, so you know what to do then?' Rainbow said nervously as they headed towards Time's office.
'I think so,' Harry said. 'I need to get to Gringotts and do that blood test while also making nice with the goblin who does it. I also need to stay away from Ron and Ginny, but make friends with Hermione again, preferably sooner this time around. I should also be sorted into Slytherin this time, that will be interesting. And choose to do the classes that I want to do, as well as pursue learning in Healing with Madam Pomfrey, but that can wait until third year at the earliest. Try to make as many positive changes as possible, and not die before my time. Sound about right?'
'Yeah, that sounds good to me. Now remember, while you will have the knowledge and memories of your previous life, your magical core will still be that of your younger self, it has to mature as you age, so don't attempt any advanced spells, stick to first year spells in the first year, then second, and so on and so forth, otherwise you could exhaust your core and damage it.'
'Got it. I'll do my best.'
'I'll be rooting for you. Okay, here we are.' Rainbow gave him a final smile, and knocked on the white door in front of them.
'Enter.' Came a whisper, which was still easy to hear somehow.
They entered the room, and Harry was shocked to see that it was black. Everything else here had been white, but this room was black.
'Harry James Potter for a redo,' stated Rainbow formally. 'Passover complete.' Rainbow waved to Harry and left.
'Step onto the Moon.' the whisper said.
Harry did so, looking around the room for the source of the whisper, but it seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
'Close your eyes.'
Harry closed his eyes, Hedwig did the same, griping his shoulder tightly. They were ready to go back.
'Be gone.' The eerie voice whispered one more time, and Harry felt his stomach drop as they fell.
Author Note
And that's it for the first chapter. Anyone got any thoughts? I'm hoping to work my way through all seven books, but we'll wait and see what happens. Obviously won't be as long as the actual books, and plenty of changes will be made, and creative license used of course. Alright, that's all from me. Ciao!
