Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Marvel, Hellraiser, or any other comic/book/movie/etc. referenced to in this fanfiction.

Chapter Five: Suffering, meet Death

"Talking"

Thinking - Emphasized word - Spells

"Demonic/Godly/Cosmic Entity Speech" - Incantations

He was sitting in the library, 'Mione by his side, researching magical creatures when professor Snape barged in, followed closely by the ringleader of yesterday's...festivities. Both stopped close to them and Snape whispered harshly. "I'll see you expelled, Potter. Follow me to the Headmaster's office."

Giving 'Mione a wink, and dropping the book he had been reading, Harry stood to his full height, showing his usual clothing instead of the school robes. "After you, oh hooked one." He watched the man bristle at that and chuckled, making a show of following him as they walked the grounds of Hogwarts.

"Mister Flint tells me you terrorised my house yesterday evening, and despite scanning their minds not showing anything, we can use the memories with the Headmaster's pensieve." Harry nodded, but tilted his head to the side, as though curious about something.

"Wait, you're telling me that you used legilimency on students, and found no evidence to support their claims? And you still want to go through with this?" He shook his head, chuckling. "I knew wizards were lacking in the intelligence department, but you're a half-blood, Severus Snape, I honestly expected better of you...wait, no I didn't. The man that went running to Voldie, thinking Dumbledore was being told a true prophecy, selling out my parents in the process, clearly has no brain. That you believe your obsession with my mother is anywhere close to love just cements that hypothesis."

He watched as Snape stopped walking, turning to him with utter loathing in his eyes, and as he raised his wand, Harry's eyes flashed, and the sad little stick exploded into hundreds of little pieces.

"Oops, was that important?" He paid no mind to the wide eyed look from the professor, turning his attention to their other companion. "So...Flint, was it? How about them nightmares?"

As he entered the Headmaster's office, Harry came face to face with a phoenix, and surprisingly enough, the beast did not react to his presence as he thought phoenixes would react to dark wizards. It levelled him with a gaze momentarily, gave him a sad trill and carried on as though nothing had ever happened. So he did the same, coming to stand before Dumbledore's desk and looking at the old man.

"Yo Dumbles, how's life?" He watched as the old man mouthed "Dumbles?" with a questioning look on his face, and heard the snicker coming from behind him. "Now, normally I wouldn't come within ten meters of you unless it was to show you your deepest nightmares given life, but good old Sev over there pressed the issue." He turned to the man in question as he spoke. "By the way, Sev, anything happens to 'Mione in my absence, your suffering will be legendary, and when you finally go to Hell, you'll be forever known as a fool."

As though he hadn't just threatened a staff member with bodily harm in front of the Headmaster, Harry turned his attention to said old man, and grinned at him, noticing he had gotten up from his sitting position. His attention was quickly pulled to the stick in the man's grip, a flash of his eyes and the little stick flew into his hand, his audience left gaping at him.

As soon as the stick hit his hand, though, something happened. The office he was standing in faded away, giving place to his representation of his inner world, the bloody labyrinth from five years ago. His mother, as always, was standing right beside him, her face set to surprised, much like his own was. Because standing right in front of them, was someone that definitely hadn't been there before, he would've noticed.

Her skin was the same shade as his, white. Her hair was the same color, and so were her eyes, which didn't have irises or pupils...just...white, funnily enough, her eyebrows were black. Her lips were blood red, and Harry idly wondered if they tasted of blood too. Ignoring the smirk that appeared on her face; just a coincidence, he decided; he continued his assessment of her.

Her neck had a...was that considered a collar or a choker? Anyway, it was silver grey with a golden animal head in the middle, and it most likely held her cloak that swished in a wind that just didn't fucking exist. Her...uh...bust was barely covered by...did that even count as a bra? Anyway, it was black in color and appeared to be made of leather. It had a golden skull between her breasts, and some silver ornaments under her bust.

Her arms were mostly covered, leaving only her shoulders and hands free, the material was the same as the...bra. It also had little silvery spikes on the upper side of the arm. She held in one hand a really cool looking sword. On the other hand, a scythe.

Looking further down he blinked. A...panty? That barely covered the essentials, of the same material as the rest of the clothing he'd seen so far, with a golden skull at the front, she also wore...he didn't know the exact name but the closest he'd get to naming it would be thigh high boots with straps that went around her waist.

"Cool sword." He said simply, after checking her out; mostly to avoid embarrassing himself even further; but at her raised eyebrow he couldn't help himself and explained. "Alright fine, you're the most beautiful woman I've seen yet, and the wolf in me is all but howling for me to claim my mate. But despite my looks and thought process, I'm eleven, so I'm not ready for any of that just yet so yeah...cool sword."

The woman just laughed, although she nodded, probably conceding his point of being rather young. "Didn't stop you checking me out." He felt his cheek burn at the teasing undertone in her voice, but pointedly ignored her remark, choosing instead to look at his mother, who was staring at the woman wide eyed.

"Death…" He heard his mom mutter. Not in fear, but recognition, and his eyes darted back to the pale woman, who just bowed elegantly.

"Indeed. I am Death. I already know both of you, Harry James, and Lily Joanna Potter, so no need to introduce yourselves." Her attention then fixed on Harry, and she stared at him for a long few minutes. "Hmmm...I see, you constantly struggle with yourself because of what you consider your dark desires. You suppress yourself so much, you're consciously sabotaging your chance of getting to grow used to your own powers. It's going to come back to bite you in the ass sooner than you think."

She continued to stare at him, as if seeing farther than just his eyes, and it unnerved him somewhat, even if he didn't let it show. "My Hallow chose you, young Harry James, and although I wished for the chosen to find the Cloak first, in order for it to prepare whoever found it for the power the wand would bestow them, well, there is no such need to worry with you, is there?"

"Maybe I should explain a few things, from the vacant looks I'm getting, that seems like a good idea." Death all but laughed at the two of them as she said that. "First, let me give you a history lesson on the powers you inherited. You see, long ago, in a Universe not much different from this one, there was a race of hellish creatures called Cenobites. They served at the whim of their god Leviathan, one of the cosmic entities.

Of his children, the most powerful and feared was the one called Hell Priest. For countless eons he served, but eventually he...tired of his service, and rebelled against his master. He found a way to free himself from hell, entering the mortal world and beginning his reign of terror.

The other cosmic beings, namely, me, One Above All, the Watchers, Celestials, among others didn't think him too much of a threat and decided not to intervene. Back then we could intervene, more on that later. He went on to ascend to godhood first, becoming the god of pain and desire, that was when the red lights should have started to flash for all of us, but still we didn't do anything. At this point I need you to understand that, as cosmic entities, we oversee not one Universe and planet, but all of the Multiverse and everything within it. So despite our love for the Multiverse's many versions of Earth, in the end one planet was a sacrifice we were willing to make, he wanted to be the only god on that Earth, so we let him have it, we took the gods that resided in that Universe to safety and that was the extent of our intervention.

But he continued to grow, and one day, as if to prove himself superior to Leviathan, he launched an assault on Hell and conquered it, eventually even managing to defeat and consume the cosmic entity, absorbing all its power in the process. Finally the red lights flashed in our heads and we tried to stop him then, but he'd grown too powerful. See, he was, by himself, strong enough to oppose a cosmic entity, a being of unparalleled power, and now he had that being's power added to his own. We fought him for what felt like centuries, but he came out victorious.

We retreated, and in the time we took to heal, Pinhead; an affectionate nickname he'd earned when he was still just The Hell Priest, started invading other Universes, in order to spread his religion of pain, intending to be the only god in all of creation. It took the combined forces of the cosmic entities, and all existing gods to finally defeat him. But Pinhead, despite not being a cosmic entity himself, had the essence of one, so he was a true immortal, and we couldn't be rid of him that way, so we came with the second best possibility, seal him away for all time.

But obviously that plan was flawed, and he found a loophole to transfer his immeasurable power unto a new recipient, fully intent on taking over their body. He did not, however, expect either of you. You, Lily, defiant until the very end, and then there's you, Harry, who, if we're being honest here, is being called among us cosmic entities The Unbroken, given your constant remarks about not breaking, despite coming close, you resisted, fought back, and drove all traces of his influence from your soul.

But a power this dark, this corrupted, does not come without consequences,and it's one of the reasons you really shouldn't suppress yourself as much as you do at the moment. I respect the why of it, but in the end, you can't really be a master of yourself unless you accept all sides of your personality. I'll give you a piece of advice, your powers don't define you, they are a part of you but not who you are."

Harry just listened to the story, occasionally looking to his mom, who sent him apologetic looks throughout. He just smiled reassuringly at her, and continued to pay attention to the story. When Death finished the tale, he just shrugged, he wasn't happy having to fight with himself every moment of his life, and a part of him wanted to be able to let go and be who he wanted to really be, but he despite what the sorting hat told him, he was terrified of his mother being disgusted by him, that he repressed his powers, and changed his personality to more controlled levels.

"Interesting as that story is...why, exactly, are you here? You spoke of Hallows, and during the story you said something about intervening...I'm no genius but even I understand that the creation of the Hallows is intervening with us mortals."

Death looked at him, a smile he couldn't quite place on her face as she nodded. "Indeed it is, Harry. But if you remember, I also said there was a time when we could intervene in mortals' lives. I did so many times out of boredom, the creation of the Hallows being one of the last ones. After we sealed Pinhead, we cosmic entities convened and among us, decided that we couldn't risk another one of us being devoured as Leviathan had been, so we made a pact of non-intervention, and created for ourselves a pocket dimension from where we'd watch the Multiverse. Of course, there are some of us who don't really take our pact as seriously as they should, but part of my burden is, I can't lie, so when I said I wouldn't interfere anymore…"

Harry nodded, but was pensive. "Isn't talking to me now interfering in some way?"

"Is it? I didn't give any information you can use, and the knowledge about the Hallows is something I have to give you as you are my chosen." Death answered, and Harry nodded again, but was still pensive. Chosen, she kept repeating that word, but what exactly did it mean, chosen what? As if reading his thoughts; which was most likely the case, he didn't know the scope of her powers; Death answered before he could voice his question. "Just chosen. That can mean anything you want it to mean. I'm no one's servant, despite what the stories of the Hallows say, but we can be the closest of friends, we can be lovers...I chose you as the one I can interact with among all living beings in the Multiverse. So while I can't interfere with events of your life, and that of the Multiverse, I can just as well be with you physically from the moment you find all three of my Hallows onward.

It was unintended but my Hallows gave me a loophole I can exploit to walk among the mortals again. We'll still be able to meet and just chat like we are now whenever you sleep, it should give us time to get to know each other, and for you to know what role I'll have in your life."

Harry nodded again. He understood the sentiment, at least somewhat. Wanting to be a part of something but being denied it, as he remembered his time with the Dursleys. He just wanted to be part of the family but they never allowed him even that much, they didn't acknowledge him as one of them, he was just a burden they had to bear because of some old codger's manipulation. That particular thought gave him pause, he was in his mind, what was happening on the outside, how much time had passed?

Again, before he could voice his question, Death answered, confirming to him that she could, indeed, read his mind. "Don't worry about that, Harry, when you leave here, no time at all will be passed. Well, maybe time enough for you to blink, but not enough that your inaction will be noticeable." He muttered a thanks, and looked to his mother, who was silent through the whole exchange. He did wonder what was passing through her mind, but he couldn't use legilimency on ghosts, apparently.

"It's not legilimency…" Death said, a grin on her face as he looked at her, the question clear on his face. Not legilimency? How? That was the only art that allowed a wizard to read another's thoughts. The only other power that did so, that he knew of, was the mutant power of telepathy…

"I'm a mutant…" he whispered. "Nothing to it, just another power I'll have to learn to control. It does explain the splitting headache I got when I woke up after being bit. It was like I could hear everything around me, feel their emotions...it took me weeks to fully control whose thoughts I read. Even then, it was more like I was directing my power than really controlling it, now whoever I set my eyes on I can just see their whole life story, it got to the point I mostly ignore it, unless I can use anything I learn...I wonder if I have any other mutations, since I know from research that sometimes a mutant will awaken more than one power." He shrugged. Now was not the time, he was meeting Death, and since she had a non-interference vow blocking her, she probably couldn't help him much with that, and his mom wasn't a known mutant, and at no point during their talks did she even suggest being one. His mind went to known telepaths, and the strongest with that power, he would have to visit this Professor Xavier at some point, to learn more about his own powers.

"Good, you know what to do. Honestly I don't have anything else I have to tell you, and since this was just my introduction after you were chosen, I'll let you return to the outside." She began disappearing from his mind, but before she was completely gone she added. "Oh, you seem to count yourself among mortals...don't."

And before he could truly comprehend that, he was back to looking at the wand in his grasp in surprise, feeling the rush of power that slipped from the wand and into him, turning the powerful stick into just another piece of wood, and moments later it just turned to dust in his grasp, leaving three gaping wizards and a grinning one.

"Wandless, silent casting…" was the astounded whisper from Dumbledore, which he mostly ignored, looking at the dust that was slipping from his hands silently. "Do you understand the implications of what you've just done, my boy?"

Harry narrowed his eyes at those last words. He wasn't a boy, he hadn't been given the chance to truly be one, even at six years old he was treated as something not worthy, and he had to grow up to look after himself. "Let's make something very clear, old man. My name is Harry James Potter. I am not your boy. Never was, never will be.

I believe that you are fundamentally a good person, Dumbles. I truly do, otherwise Hagrid wouldn't hold you in such high esteem. But for reasons I don't yet know, you manipulated events in such a way that led to my parents' murder, the bastard over there becoming your personal Death Eater, among other outcomes."

He was lying, of course. Even as he spoke, he was collecting information from Dumble's mind, and what he found was truly astounding. The old man was full of self-loathing, a desire to be better, but he was a victim in someone else's game. This Gellert Grindelwald, a former lover who Dumbledore still held affection for and visited in his prison, had his claws dug so deeply into Dumbledore's subconscious, it was no wonder even he didn't know whose ideal he was following.

"So, for Hagrid's sake, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, old man. But never question that I will retaliate if I feel threatened. I know you won't expel me, you need me in Hogwarts, don't you? How else are you going to show the world that you have your fangs on the Boy-With-Too-Many-Titles? So whatever this farce of a teacher feels like he is entitled, I know the maximum I'll get are detentions. So go ahead, proceed with the puppet theater, this marionette cut loose long ago."

He turned his attention from the Headmaster, who he truly wished he could hate, as that was mostly the reason he started attending Hogwarts in the first place, to get revenge on Dumbledore. But he now knew who he really needed to enact his vengeance upon. Gellert Grindelwald, who was apparently such a master of the mind arts that he could subtly manipulate even one such as Dumbledore without the man even realising it. A thought occurred to him then, something he'd dismissed until his talk with Death. If he was a mutant, maybe there were wizards and witches who were born with other powers too...that made him wonder if Grindelwald was more than just a master of the mind arts, maybe he had some mutation that allowed him to subtly control people. He mentally shook himself off that course, there was nothing he could do about Grindelwald at that moment, so he pushed the man to the back of his mind, along with all the fun he'd have with him.

Looking at Snape once more, he relished in the man's contrite expression, and the dumbfounded one on Flint's face. With a smirk in his face, he simply left, having said all he needed, he had other things to plan, new objectives to plan to, and of course, he worried for 'Mione.

AN: New chapter! Woohoo \o/ Of course this was already written, but I revised it a little to straighten the edges a little. I'm going to get back to writing full time because guess what, I was fired! Woohoo \o/

Anyway, this chapter is exposition galore, not much actually going on this time around. Next few chapters are similar, but things are going to start picking up soon.

Okay, likely no one cares but it's getting close to the meeting of Harry and his first wife and I can't contain myself, as I'm rather proud of this...unorthodox pairing (at least I think it is) so I'm gonna reveal Harry's first wife: Firehair! For those not in the know search for Avengers of 1,000,000 BC. And yes, expect all wives to be...unorthodox(as is not conventional pairings for Harry)

Other than that, at present I can't think of anything I wanna add, so let's get to something I forgot to do last chapter:

Reviews!

HellFire45: Thanks! And Yeah, him being heir Black is going to play a role going forward. Maybe beginning second year...

Agnar: Hey, not for everyone, I get it. Thanks for taking the time to read in the first place!

Guest: Thanks! Hopefully you'll continue to enjoy the story as it goes forward.

HellFire45: Hey again! =P Thanks and I won't spoil too much but...something to that effect.

ScientistXXXX: Okay, let's address it real quick. Harry being tall and having a dark appearance in the human world won't call that much attention because Goths were a thing in the nineties, so, as they don't know his age they'll just figure it's an adult with...unique tastes. The only thing that would garner attention are his sclera, but not many look him in the eye.

The Wizarding World on the other hand, before they knew he was Harry Potter, it was just a mudblood wanting to show off (as stated by Malfoy in the first meeting during the train ride). After they realized he was Harry Potter, however, things get a little more complicated. He is Harry fucking Potter, defeater of the Dark Lord, yadda yadda yadda we all know the drill by now. Dealing with him in a public manner wouldn't be good PR (I think that's the term right? Unless it doesn't mean Public Relation and I've been interpreting it wrong.) And no one wants do deal with him secretly, much like despite hunting for Greyback, they never put that much effort into it, there's a primal fear of the alpha, and remember, Harry is the alpha of the Wolfkin. So he gets free pass for the moment.

Hopefully that explanation suffices. Because I'm trying to rationalize it in a world where everything can be summed up as magic.

EmoryJMorill: Welp, you got it. I was already planning on amping it up a little in the next appliable torture scene, this just gives me motivation.