Long ago in the land of Greece, there lived a man. He was a simple man. He owned a small vineyard that he inherited from his father and lived a simple life. Not much would distinguish him from his fellow men, except for one thing. It could be said that this man was truly happy. Now the source of his happiness could be traced to a single person, his true love.
His true love was unlike any other woman in Greece. From a young age, she distinguished herself from her peers by her intellect. She was often ridiculed and bullied by her peers, but she had since risen above them and unofficially ran the town. Why she loved the man, he never understood, but he rarely cared.
One day the man and his love were taking a walk, holding hands and enjoying each other's company. They walked far from town, past crop fields and vineyards, past trees and hills, farther than they usually went. They stopped in a field full of flowers. The man sat down and watched his love frolic and pick flowers.
Suddenly, his love disappeared. He was staring at her one moment, and the next she was nowhere to be seen. The man jumped to his feet and called out for her, but there was no reply. The man searched frantically until night fell and had to return to their village. The next day, he returned to the field and searched again. But it was for naught, for he found not a single hair from her head.
The man was now desperate. With no other option he made an offering and called upon the gods to help him. The first to come to him was the god of forest. "Why do you summon me here mortal?" The god of the forest asked. "Oh please great one," the man said. "I was walking with my true love in this field yesterday when she was suddenly taken away. I know not where she is and am desperate to find her. Did you see what happened?" The god of the forest shook his head. "No, mortal I know not what happened to your woman. I was watching you yesterday when you were in the field. He that took your love was much more powerful than I and hid himself from my sight." With that the god of the forest left the man.
The next to appear was the goddess of the flowers. "Oh lovely one," the man said. "Please help me. I was walking with my true love in this field yesterday when she was suddenly taken away. I know not where she is and am desperate to find her. Did you see what happened?" The goddess of the flowers shook her long flowing hair. "I did not see what happened young mortal. Whoever took your love was much more powerful than I and hid himself from my sight. I am sorry." The goddess of the flowers left him.
With no one left to call on, the man called upon the all seeing sun itself. The god of the sun came riding down from the heavens on a chariot that shined like fire and warmed the entire field where they stood. The man fell to the ground, blinded by the light. "Listen mortal man," the god the sun said. "I see all that happens on this earth when I ride through the sky. Not a flower falls or seed planted that I do not see. The one that took your love was powerful indeed and to cross him would be foolish. However, you have shown yourself to be dedicated to your quest. So, I will tell you that the one who took your love was none other than the god of the dead himself." Without another word, the god the sun flew back up into the sky.
The man fell to his knees and stared up after the figure flying away. *The god of the dead! What can I do about him?* The man stayed in that position till nightfall, he did not know what else to do. What could he do? His reason for living was gone, taken by one of the most powerful beings in existence.
So, the man stood up and began to walk. He did not know where he was going. He had no food, no water, no supplies. His only thought was to get away from the town and memories stored there. He walked through fields and forests, across rivers and mountains, he walked farther than he knew land went.
After nearly two days of walking, he stumbled into a small village. He barely made it to the center of town before he collapsed of exhaustion. How long he laid there, he did not know. When he awoke, he found himself lying on a mat on the floor of a small one room house. In one corner was a small bed, neatly made. In another was a table with two stools.
The door to the house opened and an old woman walked in. "Good, you're awake child. Let me make some soup for you and you can tell me your story." The man simply nodded, still too tired to complain. The woman started pulling out vegetables and putting them in a pot over a fire. Soon the delicious smells of cooking soup filled the small house.
The woman dished him out some soup and handed it to him. The man took it numbly and began to eat. The woman watched him as he ate his soup. When he was finished, the woman took the bowl from him and asked him for his story. The man sat quietly for a moment, before it all came spilling out. How he was deeply in love with a young woman, their life and plans together, and how she was taken from him by the god of the dead.
The woman looked at him with pity. "Oh, my child. I'm so sorry you went through this. The gods have been harming us mortals since before my grandmother's time. There is not much we can do about their actions." The man's shoulders slumped at her words. The woman breathed deeply, carefully considering her next words. "My child, if there was something you could do, how far would you be willing to go?"
The man looked up at her. His eyes looked both dead and full of rage. "She was my only reason for living. My parents were killed when I was young. I tilled their vineyard in their memory. I hate grapes, but I did it for them. Then she came around. My life had meaning, it had purpose. Without her, I have nothing."
"Well then, my child. Let me tell you a story." The woman leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. "Long ago, when my grandmother's grandmother was a little girl and when the gods still walked the earth. One god was more involved with mortals than any other. He was the god of death, with hair like fire and eyes like ice, he visited every man eventually, sending them off to meet his master."
"One day, sixteen men banded together to kill him and stop death. They managed to kill the god death with great struggle. This did not stop death for they did not kill Death himself, only his god. However the god of death left behind three holy objects. His sword which could kill any man, a vile that could stop any death, and his cloak which let him hide from everything. It is said that if one could gather all three, he would become the master of death itself."
"If you can find all three items and master them, you might be able to face the god of the dead." The man sat on the floor thinking, he had heard similar stories when he was little. He had always thought of them as just that, stories. However he was desperate and he was willing to risk anything.
The young man stayed with the woman for another week before he left. The woman gave him a blessing and he gave her a kiss on the forehead. The man knew that the road laid before him was long and arduous. But now, Harry Potter had a plan to save his Hermione. And he would face Death itself to do it.