A Future King

For: Sarah

Series: Harry Potter

Pairing: n/a

Request: meeting between Harry and "Death"

Word count: n/a

NOTE: Many, many apologies. I went home for the weekend and while I did write, I didn't get the chance to type anything up (bad big bro got me addicted to a game – sigh). Hopefully I can get all I have written up, which will hopefully make up for my lack of updates.

"Hello, Harry dear."

Harry smiled and turned to face the woman who sat on the edge of his four-poster bed. She had always been there to comfort him at the Dursleys', but this was the first time she had come to visit him at Hogwarts. It looked odd, seeing her green, black and silver framed by the red and gold of the Gryffindor dorms, but it wasn't something he would complain about. "Hello, Lady," he greeted. "You're a girl this time."

It was true; Death's form had a habit of changing every time they met. Once, Harry had asked why. The Lady had told him that it was a reflection of what he felt and needed, and that most times what he needed most was a friend. Oftentimes, then, Death appeared as a young man, just barely older than Harry physically. Once he remembered her being in a form similar to a dementor – he had been a child and thought that it was the best thing in the world to have a friend that could scare Dudley – and once it had been something similar to a fairy. He even remembered holding the cutest little black kitten once.

To Harry, she was tangible. He could hold her, and she him.

To everyone else, she wasn't there. They couldn't see her, though she saw them.

She brushed a few strands of unruly ebony hair out of his eyes. "I am," she said. "Does it bother you?"

Harry shook his head. "I wish I could show you to my friends, though. They worry so much; they think I'm lonely. I'm not though. I have them, and I have you."

Death smiled down lovingly at the boy. "Sometimes you are lonely though, and sometimes you want to be alone. This is what worries them. It's okay though; it's not bad. That's why I visit you – so I can tell your momma that you're happy when I see her."

Harry nodded, satisfied with what he had even though it wasn't what he wanted. "Lady, would you tell me Cere's story again? I want to hear about her pups."

Death did. She told her charge about the three-headed she-dog that guarded the gates to hell and her offspring that roamed through the underworld, terrorizing demons. She told him about the smallest of the litter – Stella – and how she nearly drowned when one of her brothers pushed her into the river and the three heads had fought each other for breath. She told of the rescue of the pup and the games they played afterwards. It wasn't really a story in the true sense of the word, but Harry loved it all the same.

When she was finished, Harry was sighing into his pillow and fighting off sleep's hold desperately. "I wish you could stay with me all the time, Death," he whispered.

The woman smiled fondly, brushing her hand through Harry's hair once more. "I wish I could, too, young Harry," she said. She had always tried her hardest to grant his every wish, but sometimes there were things she simply couldn't do. "I wish I could, too," she repeated.

One day, this child would be a great ruler. He would have a kingdom at his disposal, with millions upon millions under his command. It would not be for a long time to come, though.

Voldemort would destroy the magic people left on Earth, and when he did Voldemort would cease to exist. When that happened, Harry would rule over them all.

Not as the living…but as the dead.

Lady Death placed a chaste kiss to her future lord's sleeping head as she disappeared into the night. He would be a great leader not because of his great skill, but because so many people loved him, respected him, and were willing to go to great lengths to protect him.

Those who didn't disappeared after death. It was, after all, her father's wish. And her father was the king of the underworld. Lucifer. Hades. Pluto.

Soon, Harry would take his place.

Soon, but not yet.

THE END

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