Chapter 25

It was dark, and so cold. He opened his eyes to pitch black nothing, but there was anything but nothing in this stifling darkness. He called on the shadows to wrap himself with the familiar semi-permeable substance. They did not respond, but something else definitely heard the call. Unseen fingers wrapped around his throat from behind and yanked. He flew backward into the darkness, flailing in vain and panic setting in at the unknown. 'Lita!' His mind screamed, hoping for an answer to this unexpected event, for comfort. 'My Lord…' his long-time companion's voice broke through the white noise that filled his ears, barely there. Her presence expanded to encompass his whole body and he allowed her to control him. Black, cold flames engulfed him. The darkness shrieked in agony and retreated. Wings sprouted from his back, allowing him to land softly on the ground he didn't know was there. Lelita retreated back into the depths of his mind, her aura feeling sluggish.

Wide green eyes stared wildly around himself, trying to catch sight of the threat. A spell saw a bright light encompassing his hand to flood the space around him at least ten feet ahead. He saw shadows retreat from the light. His breathing calmed down some more as he gained his bearings. The environment was familiar; the cold but dry landscape, the dry air, the slight scent of sulfur permeating the thin air. A look at his hands showed they were translucent. He was beyond the veil, only a thin strand of magic tethering him and Lelita to his body and the living world. Frustration thrummed through him. Had the wards failed? Were the creatures trying to drag him away somehow stronger?

Harsh whispers drew his attention ahead. "Son of the light, born of the dark and branded by evil." "Wretched!" "A sight for sore eyes." "Poor soul, ripe for the picking." The voice was prowling around him, as if to gauge his strength and ready to pounce. "Who are you?" Chuckling filled the empty space, reverberating into his bones. "I'm surprised you don't remember us, youngling." "Are we so forgettable that you don't remember who we are, oh hallowed chosen one." It, or rather they, hissed. "Beast among demons, queen of darkness, the holy one." Contempt dripped from every word, their hate evident. Harry was confused. 'It must be Rakshasa, my sisters.' 'The three sisters whose souls are forever joined in one body?' 'Yes. They've always hated me for being so powerful.' "You speak as if Lelita and I are one." Harry announced. "Are you not?" "You are bound, soul and all, for eternity. Doesn't it irk you, sister?" "To stoop so low?" "Lelita chose me of her own free will." The demoness hissed. "Does our sister not speak?" " Speak!" Harry winced at the collective voices. Lelita took hold of his body once more. "What do you want, Rakshasa." The voices purred and stepped out into the light. Their skin was deathly pale, almost grey. A single cloth covered their body, falling over vivacious curves only to reveal their bare feet. Sharp-nailed fingers pointed at Harry. "There you are, sister of ours." They giggled in delight. "How we've missed you." "Odd." Lelita grumbled in Harry's low, soft voice. "Last time we saw each other you tried to kill me." Rakshasa laughed once more, clapping their hands in excitement. "Your survival was a fluke, Lelita. We can't wait to try again." Their eyes narrowed. "And this time, we won't miss." "You pierced me in the chest with holy light! I was forced to wonder among the living for strength!" Lelita howled in rage.

"You deserve nothing less." Rakshasa sneered, full lips curled in disgust. Their bottomless black eyes bored into green. "We will take your place once you're gone." "Oh? I thought you already did." They snarled. "Your reputation precedes you, sister. Only your corpse will prove we are worthy." Lelita smiled pleasantly. "Too bad I'm now bound to another, in a body the underworld knows nothing about." They grumbled in discontent. "They will know." "You're stupid as always, sisters." "Don't look down on us!" The demon lashed out in anger, a tail sprouting from her backside to bat her away. Lelita tumbled back too surprised to react. She dragged herself up. "Demons are not allowed to interact with the living without being summoned. Maybe I should bring this up with the court." Rakshasa giggled. "Signing a contract with the dead was practically an open invitation. I'd hoped you wouldn't forget." They stalked forward. Lelita cursed under her breath. "How did you find me?" "Your aura, sister. It's entangled with the boy's, his presence is yours, his power is yours, his contracts are yours. You both invited us. Let's play sister, it's been so long."

Lelita stepped back to put distance between them. "You cannot touch me." Rakshasa gave a grin full of jagged teeth. "Oh, but we can." She leapt for her, claws ready to tear him apart. Lelita waved her hand in desperation. White-gold light flooded around them. They both hissed and attempted to move away from it. Lelita instantly stopped the holy spell. Her master's hand was burnt. It wasn't in vain though as Rakshasa was further from them, visibly reluctant to get closer once more. "You weald holy light without summoning a piece of the Veil for protection?" they hissed, scandalized. Lelita grinned through the pain. "You forget, I'm human now." The demoness screamed. "I will have you!" she lunged once again. Lelita meant to use the holy light once more to protect them. Before she could she and her master were yanked back once more.

~Scene Change~

"Harry-sama! Harry-sama!" Harry groaned. He had a pounding headache and he felt so cold. He then realized he was shivering ceaselessly, the tips of his fingers were frost-bitten. "W-what…" he trailed off. Nagato waved his wand to apply more warming charms over him and wrap him up in a warm blanket. Naruto and Deidara were hovering at the door, unsure what to do to help. "The wards suddenly went off. I don't know what happened but they failed and…you were gone. It showed on your body; it rapidly lost heat and you were quickly approaching heart failure on top of a severe case of hypothermia. It's only been an hour." He urged Harry to rest as he ran diagnostics and healed what he could now that Harry's soul was back in his body to sustain the spells. Harry eyed the two blondes and tried to smile. "I'll be fine." Naruto scoffed. "You almost died, again." A frown marred Harry's features now. Lelita had gone back to sleep, his hand gave phantom pains from the holy light she wielded in his stead.

"It seems a demon is hunting me down because of a grudge against Lelita." Harry said. Nagato froze. "I thought only spirits could interact with you." "Apparently not." Harry burrowed further into the warmth of the bed. Nagato spelled some potions into him and he slipped away into sleep.

~Scene Change~

Draco sipped his cup of hot chocolate appreciatively, wrapping the thin blanket around him tighter to revel in the softness. It was about two weeks before Christmas, and he has yet to pick presents for the people he appreciated. To be honest he has never been good at picking gifts, he didn't think so, but his family and friends seemed to appreciate them. This year he'll be spending his Christmas with uncle Severus, or father if the relationship between his godfather and father continued at the pace it was. He was happy for them and was excited to have his godfather present more often in his life. With them, Harry and his childes he could say he had a great family.

"Dragon, are you ready?" Lucius asked, stepping into the balcony. Draco froze like a deer caught in the headlights. "What?" The older blonde rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "Honestly Draco, have you forgotten tea with the Zabinis?" Yes, yes he had. Smiling in amusement, Lucius flicked his wand in Draco's direction. Draco grimaced at the uncomfortable sensation of a freshening charm and his banished hot chocolate. "Papa, I was drinking that." He whined. "You'll have more later." He had his arm gently grabbed and, once Lucius deemed him appropriately dressed for casual tea, he was ushered to the fire place so they could floo to the Zabini household. Despite being rushed, Draco was excited to visit his best friend.

Once they arrived at Zabini manor, Draco was immediately greeted by his good friend. A little smile played at the dark-skinned boy's lips. "Good, you didn't forget." Draco flushed slightly. "O-of course. Good to see you, Blaise." Blaise scrutinized him for his odd behavior but brushed it off. He bowed at Draco's father belatedly, blushing at his lack of etiquette. "Lord Malfoy. We are glad to have you at our humble home." Lucius nodded shortly. "It's my pleasure, heir Zabini. I hope your mother is ready to receive us?" Blaise nodded. "Please, follow me." The blondes followed the boy to the tea room. Lady Zabini was already waiting for them. Draco wondered where Mr. Zabini was; he has never personally met any of Blaise's eight fathers. Did Lady Zabini usher him away for this outing or had he already passed on? It's only been three months since he was married into the Zabini household.

He sat on one of the couches comfortably after handing his cloak to a house-elf. His father was quick to engage Blaise's mother on the latest gossip, which she had in spades. Another reason he and Blaise were such good friends is that his mother gave zero shit about the fact that Lucius was a submissive. She was surprised, of course, but quickly got over it. She treated him the same even though the blonde sometimes felt compelled to defer to her judgment. It only showed how much she was trusted. The Malfoys in turn harbored no ill will to the fact that Lady Zabini basically murdered her husbands every couple of years. It's highly possible she ate them too, given she was a succubus. Her incubus son may as well do the same in the future. Draco glanced at his friend as he talked and subconsciously shuddered. Blaise seemed to have read his mind because he grinned and his teeth were unnaturally sharp. He lightly punched his shoulder. "Stop that."

Blaise laughed in good humor. "I was thinking of going to Italy for Christmas shopping. Wanna come?" Draco nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Merlin knows, I can't shop alone to save myself." Blaise winced at the last gift he received from Draco, subtly rubbing at his fingers. "At least no one else would be losing their fingers." Another blush crept up Draco's cheeks, embarrassed and still feeling guilty about the incident. Catching his blunder, Blaise hurried on. "I bet Professor Snape would love exotic ingredients from Italy." Draco nodded affirmatively. "It's been a while since uncle Sev has spent time brewing, just for himself." Blaise leaned back and slumped in his seat. "Adulting is busy work. I'll gladly spend the rest of my life as a kid." "Oh, so you'd rather not do very adult things with…" Blaise leapt to cover Draco's mouth. "No!" "Blaise!" the boy whipped around to face his mother, an embarrassed look on his face. "What compels you to assault poor Draco?" Lady Zabini asked in a scandalized tone. Blaise shuffled his feet. "Ma, we're just having a bit of fun." He mumbled. With some reassurance from Lucius she let it slide, for now.

A strangled sound registered to Blaise and he turned to find Draco chortling into his fist, his eyes bright with amusement. He glared balefully. "It's your fault." He said through his teeth. Draco grinned impishly. "Don't want word of your crush getting out?" he teased. Blaise pouted. "She's a seventh year." The blonde patted his shoulder sympathetically and left it at that. The two drifted off to other topics and soon the Malfoys left after the Zabinis promised to visit after Christmas.

~Scene Change~

Lucius bit off a groan when a wave of dizziness hit him. He placed his hands on Itachi's shoulders to encourage him to stop feeding. Itachi reluctantly pulled away, licking his lips clean of the blood. A blood replenishing potion was placed in his hands and he took it in a few gulps. "Thank you." Itachi stared at him in concern. "When last did you feed my brothers?" Lucius averted his eyes guiltily. "Two weeks ago. I'm sorry, did I not provide enough?" The raven waved away his concerns. "I'm not as greedy as my brothers. I must warn you against providing more than you can give. It's affecting your health. Does Harry know you're disobeying his orders?" Lucius winced at the question and shook his head. "I know it's wrong, but I can't help but feel it's right." He regarded Itachi determinedly. "My blood alone is not enough, but I'd be damned if I let you starve because I'm incompetent."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "We are perfectly capable of drinking the potions prepared for us." "The potions you needed to stop taking because they were starting to have a negative reaction to them." There was silence before he sighed. "Harry is unable to take care of your every need for now. I want to take his place until he is fully capable. He needs to heal for a few more weeks." Itachi folded his arms. "You're doing a great job. Sasuke and Naruto are adjusting. There is absolutely no reason for you to place your health at risk." Lucius' shoulders sagged but he looked grateful. "Thank you. Is Harry at home?"

Itachi took a moment to think about it. Harry had arranged a meeting for tonight. Then, against all of Nagato's wishes, he would be going to Godric's Hollow to meet with Bathilda Bagshot the next day. Then spend the rest of the week at Potter manor researching something. "He has a busy week, but maybe you can see him briefly today." The blonde nodded and got up. He staggered for a moment but recovered, waving Itachi off when he tried to help. "Let's go, then."

~Scene Change~

'Jest Jester. Cry Crier. Bleed Bleeder. Partake of your pain.' The words flowed into Harry's ear and he stabbed the knife into his hand. He gasped in pain and his eyes rolled to the back of his head in pleasurable agony. He swayed to the thrum of magic, the candles flickering dangerously. His tail was swishing back and forth in his partial transformation into his fae form. 'Eat Eater. Drink Drinker. Indulge Indulder. Partake of your blood.' Leaning back he raised the bleeding hand over his mouth and gulped down the crimson liquid. He started glowing slightly and a spasm went through him. 'Grow Grower. Reap Reaper. Kill Killer. Partake of your death.' And without hesitation, Harry drove the ritual knife deep into his heart. Then he fell over on his side, dead. The candles blew out and there was silence.

An hour later he gasped awake, coughing violently as he took in huge gulps of air. His stiff body moved seemingly on its own to the prepared set of potions on an alter in the middle of the room, all the while chanting under his breath. "God of Death. Halt the souls of my enemies. Cloak me in your tattered embrace, that I may be separated from death. Bring me closer to death oh father, to life." He drank a potion to repress his life force so he was back in a half-dead state. He was wrecked with tremors when his body temperature plummeted dangerously and the tether linking his soul to his body was strained. "The Son of Peverelle comes before you." He drank a potion to freeze his body in that half-dead state. "Douse me with life. Douse me with life. Douse me in death, oh most gentle father of life." The soul tether snapped abruptly and once again he slackened in death. The room became a few shades darker. Out of the shadows a figure stepped out, dressed in dark robes with pale skin and lanky. In their right hand was a pale staff with a blood red moonstone as a focus.

They came closer to him and knelt down. They placed a hand over his hand and pulled back. Harry spasmed violently as his soul left his body. Another female form rose from his corpse. Death sucked their teeth in intrigue. "It's been a while since I've seen a fae daemon. Interesting, interesting." Their voice was flighty and gentle. Lelita promptly prostrated herself on the floor in reverence. Harry followed her lead but only got down on one knee. Somehow, the being wasn't offended. "Lord Obitus." Their eyes settled on the demoness. "Yes, yes. Lelita. And your master." Harry stiffened under the god's gaze. "Little Potter." Harry lowered his head in deference. "My lord." "You summoned me, descendent of Peverell. Why?" "I need protections against the undead and demons." "Why?" Harry took a moment to answer the question. "I made a reckless decision under duress. I connected myself with the undead in an effort to find my childes who were taken from me. I suffer the consequences of that decision, but I don't want to be running from ghosts and demons for the rest of my life."

Death regarded him for a few moments then broke into fitful giggles. Harry's head snapped up in surprise. Lelita, despite herself, glared at the being for laughing at her master's expense. "Everyone reaps what they sow, child. Whether you were dying in the fires of hell or you stubbed your toe, all the decisions you make will come back to bite you at some point." He turned around dismissively. "Don't call me to fix your mistakes."

Harry got up, face marred by rage. "I summoned you. You'll at least hear me out." He commanded. Death turned around slowly. They spread their arms mockingly in acquiescence. "Then speak." Harry let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "For centuries wizards have been hiding from muggled for their own protection. It will never be enough. The recent dark lord Voldemort had seen this threat and naively thought he could wipe out the threat. I'm not so foolish. My goal is to integrate the magical world with the muggle world. I made a promise. I cannot lose my soul before then." "So I should bow to your whims because of some silly promise you made to a silly snake." Harry ignored the jab at Hershia lest he get derailed. "Magic is essential to balance the world. Before the days of witch hunts magic was practiced freely and the earth was properly nourished. Hidden away as we are we cannot be free with our magic. We cannot practice the old rituals that our ancestors partook in to celebrate our gifts because such rituals have a large impact on the world at large and thus can be detected by muggles. Some parts of the world are almost depleted because of this suppression. Natural disasters have been more frequent in this century than any before it. Sooner or later there will be a violent reaction to this deficiency." He paused a moment to gather his thoughts. "I want not only to keep my promise to Hershia, but I want to save the future of my kind."

Lelita gave him a sidelong glance before affixing her sights on the floor. Death grinned, jagged teeth making his visage terrifying. "Your sweet lies are like honey, child." Harry stiffened once more. "Keeping promises and saving futures?" Death's lanky form stooped so they were eye-level with the teen. "No no no. You're far too selfish to be so noble. Your worldly connections may tether you but you're a fae, child. You're destruction incarnated." They giggled excitedly again. "I was always fond of Fate's creation. She is always unwitting when she stubbornly decides to mess with the flow of life." They hummed, tilting their head as if to study something within Harry. "Yes, yes. Such darkness within you, child." They jumped up with sudden energy, making Harry take a surprised step back and Lelita to stumble closer to Harry as if to protect him. Death didn't even seem to notice her. They grabbed Harry's chin in a vice-like grip. The teen grunted in surprised pain. "Grow Grower. Reap Reaper. Kill Killer. Save the wizards. Then," Death grinned maliciously. "Destroy."

With those eerie words the personification of death disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Some of his essence flowed into the turn and his eyes turned completely black for a brief moment. Then it was over. Harry shook himself from the odd experience. Nothing seems to have a changed and for a moment he was filled with rage. 'My lord, your soul is completely tethered to your body.' Lelita's words brought him out of his thoughts. It was then he realized he was in his body. His perfectly healthy body. 'So he fixed me.' 'He did more than that.' Lelita seemed perplexed. 'You…your magical capacity has expanded significantly. You seem to now have a high affinity for necromancy. It seems you also have a gift.' Now she sounded amused. 'Gift.' There was a pulse as Lelita summoned his magic and a translucent portal materialized. Out of eat walked out… "Rakshasa." He grinned. "Destroy, huh?"

~Scene Change~

"Harry!" Harry turned around at the sound of his name only to catch Lucius' form. The blonde nuzzled into his neck to immerse himself in his scent. "My sub. I didn't know you'd visit today." Lucius pulled away. "Itachi said you may have time to see me today. It seems he was right." Harry nodded. "I was on my way to lunch, would you join me?" Lucius agreed and made his way to the dining room. Itachi came forward to bow his head briefly at his sire. "I'm sorry if the arrangement inconveniences you." He said. Harry drew him close and let him take in his scent. The man relaxed marginally. They pulled apart. "There's nothing to it. Arrange for dinner with the Malfoys after Christmas. I want to spend time with all my childes."

~Scene Change~

Akatsuki was gathered in the meeting room. Harry addressed them as he paced around the room. "My…friends." he started. "So far, my goal has not been clear to you. I have led you ever since you chose me. We have increased our coffers, cultivated our connections and committed heinous crimes in my name." There were a few mummers otherwise the room was silent. "Some of you joined me because you had nowhere else to go. Some because I could pay you handsomely for your services. You stayed because you saw potential in me as your leader. Now I have earned your loyalty." He stopped behind Yahiko's chair. The orange-haired man didn't react. "The question now is; how far will your loyalty carry you?" The room descended into silence once more, then Obito asked. "Why the sudden questions, Harry-sama." Harry regarded him briefly then continued to pace. "After years of hesitation I have found my resolve. I will not force you to follow me because this may be unsettling to you." "Spit it out, danna." Deidara quipped, getting tired at Harry's evasiveness. Harry rolled his eyes but continued. "My goal, and now Akatsuki's goal, is to free magic by bringing back all those fancy rituals and customs purebloods love so much. We will rebuild the magical world by any means necessary. No magical child will remain in the hands of muggles, no child born from a magical family will be cast out. No creature will be discriminated against." "How?" Nagato asked. Harry grinned. "We will destroy the system."

A/N: Ooook. So we get to the point where I'm trying to wrap up the fic. It will take a long while to get there but I'm building up to something. To be honest, I'm kinda excited to write a world domination kinda fic, sadly I'm not good enough to make it satisfying. I hope it gives others the incentive though.

See ya later. Read and Review please.