"There is so much stubborn hope in the human heart."*
Around Harry, the hubbub of the Leaky Cauldron ringed with white noise against his eardrums. At the same time, his fork clattered on his plate as he let it drop because of his shock. "What do you mean by 'they will know'?"
"Excellent! I've got your attention now." Death put her chipped cup of tea on the table and dabbed her lips softly with a napkin. "I am aware of your plan to stop by Gringotts, and let me inform you that goblins perceive things differently from humans."
Harry made a pleading noise at the back of his throat, as he let his forehead bang against the wooden tabletop. "In other words, problems. Is that it?"
"Perhaps... if we take into account our tendency to—" Death interrupted herself to turn her attention to Tom, as if suddenly remembering his presence. She pursed her lips for several seconds, searching for words that wouldn't betray them. "If we take into account our tendency to manipulate a type of magic that has been banned here."
To reformulate otherwise, the Goblins perceived time differently, and this fact left Harry breathless. Anxiety gripped his throat. "I'm begging you, tell me they can't find out about the hold-up."
"You robbed the Wizard bank?" A silence from Tom's part. "And you really think you can go back there without any worries? No, to begin with, why are you not in jail or— Wait, are you on the run?"
Harry groaned when he heard Tom's voice tinged with suspicion, barely enough to hide his bewilderment at Harry's criminal actions.
Death gloated over her master's misery. With the sharp smile of a reprimanding mother, she said, "yes. He did. A pretty spectacular one on top of that. Escaped on a dragon's back, did you not, my friend?"
At the mention of the dragon Tom swallowed.
Harry gently patted his back. "Some of them are pretty nice, but the rest are feral. Especially the nesting ones..." He turned his attention to Death. "So you came all the way here to warn me not to go to the bank? Would it be that dangerous?"
"Warning you is only one of the reasons I came. Goblins can't know exactly what you've done, they'll feel something off, and that will make them cautious—"
"As if the Goblins weren't already paranoid enough," Harry muttered.
"But don't worry! As long as you only request access to a vault that is considered your own, you'll be fine… Which brings me to the other reason I came here: you need me to open our vault."
"Our vault?" Harry echoed, puzzled.
"Friends share bank accounts now? Or, the two of you are more than that? Related?" Tom theorized, more and more suspicious. "Why did you end up at Wool if you still have relatives—"
Death silenced him as she leaned over the table with a secretive finger pressed against her red, smiling lips. "I will tell you a little secret: he's my master… and, in our world that means anything and everything."
With each additional word, Tom's face became more and more drained of blood. It was reaching such an extreme that Harry feared he would vomit again. The Master of Death raised an eyebrow at her, as if to ask if it was really necessary to torment this mortal.
Death crossed her arms on her chest, her chin raised. 'Did you forget? He ransacked my Limbo by scattering his soul all over the place.'
'Please Death, don't be like that. He doesn't deserve a rough treatment—'
'You're right. He doesn't deserve it...' She flashed at Tom an intimidating smile full of teeth whiter than bones. '...Not yet.'
"Tell me." Harry's big green eyes sparkled with amusement. "Aren't you by any chance, just bored?"
"Fine!" She huffed in exasperation. "Well, yes! It's not the same without you there."
Harry hid his smile behind his hand. "Really? Even with all the work you have had currently?"
"Don't remind me! I like it, but sometimes it's… exhausting."
The boys finished their plate in a tense silence—specially with Tom's highly suspicious mood pulsing in the air with his magic. After that, they left, accompanied by Death.
From the outside, the three of them looked like any other wizard family out at Diagon Alley to purchase supplies for the incoming school year… More like the Zabini family, with their black widow of a mother, but a family all the same. Which kept confusing Harry, because they were absolutely not a little family! They were a Dark Lord in diapers, Death herself, and a time traveler!
'You think too much,' Death teased gently.
As the recognizable facade of Gringotts emerged at the end of the main street, Harry grew more unnerved with each step in its direction. The stairs required from Harry the same strength as climbing a mountain.
Two Goblins guarded the entrance, and they sharply assessed Death with their black marble eyes. The immortal being smiled sweetly at them, something that vowed, 'one day, I will come for you too'. It was enough for the guards to look away with a chill.
Tom leaned in to whisper in Harry's ear, "is it a habit of yours to surround yourself with dangerous people?"
"Do you include yourself in this list?"
"Of course," he said that with a smug smirk.
Because that expression on his face had a way of getting on Harry's nerves, he didn't say anything, but thought loudly, 'Bastard.'
Their entry did not go unnoticed. Curse the paranoid goblins. Out of sheer nervousness, Harry was smoothing his bangs over his forehead and wiping his sweaty hands over his robe. If they managed to get out of here whole, he would celebrate it with a big lavender tea to soothe his nerves.
"Head Goblin," Death greeted once they reached the largest of the counters at the back of the bank's main lobby. "I have with me two young wizards here to claim the financial support from Hogwarts."
On the other side of the high counter, the goblin leaned over to better assess Death. It was only after directing a vicious scowl at her, revealing his shark-like teeth, that he looked at the children beside her. Without looking away from them, the Head Goblin's long spidery fingers snatched two parchments and handed them to the boys. "One drop of blood."
"A Heredity Blood Test?" Harry gasped.
"1000 galleons. Each. Did you have the funds?" When the colors on Harry's face drained, the goblins kept talking, "that's what I thought. This." He pointed a hooked nail at the parchment Harry was holding. "This is a simple tracker. It will reveal if you're already keyed into an account. You wouldn't take what wasn't meant for you, would you?"
At this rate, Harry was going to pass out. Death wrapped an arm around his shoulders—even dead, his coppery skin hadn't been so washed out.
Beside Harry, Tom bit his thumb—strong enough to bleed. He applied exactly one drop to his parchment.
When he saw Harry watching him with bulging eyes, he lifted a brow. "What are you waiting for?" Then, as his wicked gaze swept on Harry, he stretched another smug smirk, which revealed sharp and bloodied teeth. "Want me to do it for you?"
The blood rushed back to Harry's cheek. "Keep that in your mouth and shut it!" he hissed back.
Tom added nothing to that, but snickered lowly.
With a cutting hex, Harry opened his thumb too. Unlike the other, Harry made a mess and applied much more than a drop, but it seemed to work all the same. The paper drank the blood and spat out ink. An illuminated script revealed two names. More names were trying to form—the ink seemed to be fighting to form them— but another force was stopping it. Harry shared a concerned look with Death under his eyelashes.
'I prevent your past from interfering,' she explained in his thoughts.
Many swirls of ink later, the writings stopped struggling. Next to the name Peverell, two numbers appeared, and another next to Death's name.
In the meantime, Tom had already proved that he had nothing and the Head Goblin handed him a pouch. "The first years are granted an additional financial aid of seven galleons for the purchase of a wand. Use your money wisely."
Tom snatched the pouch with only a faint nod of thanks before turning to Harry and Death. "I assume you have more business here?" He said, discreetly glancing at Harry's scroll.
Even with his composed attitude, Harry guessed he was boiling to explore the rest of Diagon Alley—his suspicion hovering around Death's presence momentarily pushed aside. After all, he was just a kid with a whole magical world waiting for him outside, so it was understandable that he didn't want to stay locked up in an administrative building full of not so friendly creatures. Harry was betting that Flourish and Blotts would have to throw him out at closing time… Or the hags from Knockturn Alley.
"Yeah, and I don't know how long it's gonna take."
"I'll meet you at the inn, then." He stepped closer of Harry. "Don't do anything stupid without me."
"I can't promise that."
"Try then." He stepped back, already on his way to make Diagon Alley regret his coming.
Harry returned the parchment to the Head Goblin, but couldn't resist saying one last thing to the other boy. "Spare your time, ask for yew and phoenix feather."
Tom gave him an odd look, but answered nothing. Howerer is pace was hastier, like he was eager to find the meaning behind Harry's words.
"Three vaults?" The Head Goblin said, much more interested now than by a bunch of penniless orphans. "If you want the financial support of Hogwarts, the only condition is to hold less than what is offered. The vaults must be assessed. Odbert!"
Out of nowhere, another goblin apparated near Harry and as far away from Death as possible. Thus, the two immortals followed their new guide into the cavernous basements of the bank. After a quick, neck-breaking rollercoaster of a minecart, they stopped at the first Peverell vault.
Death commented in his thoughts, 'this one belonged to the parent of the identity I created for you. Just a formality to give credit to your existence and some savings that no one will miss...'
"Key?" Asked Odbert.
Harry grimaced. "No. No key."
"So blood. Press it here."
Harry sigh internally, it was a goblin bank or a vampire lair here? He did what was asked, and the door of the vault grunted open. Inside, as expected, there wasn't much. By the stack size, Harry estimated the savings at less than a hundred Galleons. Still, he wouldn't complain about having them. Odbert and his expertise counted exactly seventy-eight gold pieces and twenty silver pieces. He wrote that down on a ledger and pointed to the cart for Harry to go back inside.
Another run. Another stop.
And Death offered another comment, 'it's starting to get interesting. This is the vault of Antioch. A power imbued that one. He amassed his fortune by winning duels. He never had a child.'
This time, instead of blood, the goblin asked Harry to cast a simple spell on the door. The magic signature worked as a key to open it. Harry concentrated on performing a basic disarming spell. His magic made a few sparks crackle against the huge steel door. A click...
But, the door didn't budge an inch.
Death made a thoughtful sound in the back of her throat. "Can we go to the last one and come back after?"
The goblin seemed wary. "I hope you're not wasting my time."
The cart started again. They descended into depths of the bank that Harry had never explored in any of his lives. He sought Death's gaze, hoping to find an explanation there, except that she kept a satisfied smile on her lips without telling him more.
Finally, they arrived in a part of the underground even murkier than the rest. There was no light except for the goblin's lantern and a faint halo emanating from the vault door... or was it the reflection of the lantern's light on the bones that adorned it? Harry wasn't sure.
"An advice: don't consider becoming an interior decorator," he jested, addressing Death.
"I'm sure I'll have a good rating with the appropriate audience."
"What kind? Goths and necromancers?"
"Which category do you belong to? Because if I remember correctly you spent quite sometime in my Limbo without complaining."
Death made her scythe appear in front of the goblin. His expression crumbled upon seeing it. No doubt Death would take care of erasing his memory afterwards. In the most optimistic case… She planted the tip of her large curved blade at the top of the door and brought it down. As the blade passed, the bones parted, crawling out of its wake like a swarm of insects.
With creaks that make your hair stand on end, the doors opened. Harry half expected to see an invasion of the undead escaping from it. Fortunately, only a polar cold exhaled from the vault. Death invited Harry inside. He found the Hallows there. Displayed prominently in the center of the vault chamber. Eventually, Harry almost regretted not taking Dumbledore with him. If only to see him faint in front of the Hallows finally within his reach after he had been looking for them for years all over the world.
"But... if they are here—"
"Who do you think I am?" Death took offense. "I replaced them with copies before recalling the originals. The counterfeits will destroy themselves when the time comes."
Shakily, Harry extended his hand. Immediately the invisibility cloak threw itself on him. The silver fabric was animated by a will of its own and swirled around Harry joyfully. Then came the wand, it streaked through the air at lightning speed to attach itself at Harry's hand. The stone was the last blow to finish him off. Harry fell backwards from the excitement of the objects imbued with Death's energy. Already on the ground, another object threw itself on Harry. It half-stunned his master by throwing itself on his face.
"You're going to make me blush. You decided to take the plunge?"
"Eh? What?" Harry stammered, still seeing stars.
"My book, Harry. You didn't summon it?"
"I don't even know what you're talking about."
"Well… now we know to which kind you belong."
Death crouched next to Harry, her lips harboring a proud smile. "My master, but also my student. Wonderful! Actually, I always thought you'd make an awfully good necromancer."
Harry let out a deep sigh that let his head hit the hard floor. "Can't wait to get an Outstanding in Transfiguration thanks to the creation of an Inferius…"
He got on his feet again, the Hallows still vibrating with contentment over him. He caressed them with affection, almost equally as thrilled to find them again.
His fingers were running over the reliefs of the Elder Wand when a thought struck him. "I can't use it. It is too recognizable. Grindelwald appears publicly with it."
Immediately, the Elder Wand flew out of his fingers to vibrate in the air. The characteristic raised bumps were reabsorbed, allowing the handle to widen to a rough, dark bark. The tip was lightened to the color of the holly wood so familiar to Harry. Then came a strange reaction from the other Hallows. The stone slipped out of Harry's hands and embedded itself in the base of the handle, the bark extended to seal it in. The Invisibility Cloak followed, Harry watched as the silver cloth shrank to the size of a strip. It wrapped around the handle, pulsing with a faint, mystical white halo. It solved a lot of problems. His new wand in hand, he shared a wondering gaze with Death; who answered him with a tender smile.
"Shall we? Other business awaits us."
Antioch's chest opened recognising the magical signature of the Elder Wand, which led to several gruelling hours of administration in the company of goblins, more than determined to make the mountain of gold Harry now possessed grow.
When Harry finally made it out of Gringotts, he was no longer a penniless orphan. And even less a potential thief. At the bottom of the steps of Gringotts, Harry felt a sense of unease growing inside him. What was the point of doing all this? His goal was to prevent the future he knew from repeating itself, not to create a perfect life for himself. He shared his concern with his friend, who smiled gently back at him.
"Oh my friend, first of all, this money will be useful to you, or at least you will not be restricted by its absence. You must not forget that even if you stay temporarily at this time you will come back later, and probably longer. Until you stay there permanently."
"... Yeah, you're right," Harry agreed with a bit of reluctance.
"Then as for the future, don't worry about anything," she reassured him. "You've already accomplished more than you think."
"Really? What?"
Death crouched down on the pavement to be at Harry's eye level, she tenderly stroked his cheek. "You've been there, that's more than enough. "
"But can't I do something more than that?"
Death nodded slowly. "The soul will soon be exhausted. I can feel it... Have you decided what you will do when the time comes?"
"I..." Harry pursed his lips. "I... No, I haven't decided yet."
"Then I suggest you think about it. In the meantime, I'll take care of finding someone who can handle your request, and come back for you when the time is up. "
Harry understood his friend's advice and nodded to show it to her.
Death bid farewell with a purse of coins strapped to her belt and a mission Harry had given her earlier when they were still inside the bank.
As for Harry, he returned to the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley with a brand new wand, a book, an administrative headache and two keys in his pocket. They clinked together, a kind of chime that marked his steps, a gentle song that accompanied his new fate.