Sensing Magic
by Teddylonglong

Please refer to chapter 1 for my disclaimer and warnings. Thank you.


On Sunday morning after breakfast, Harry made his way to the headmaster's office, inwardly groaning at the thought of spending time with the old wizard. 'Why did I ever agree to that stupid idea?' he berated himself as he went.

To his relief, Dumbledore decided to forego all niceties. He did not even offer him a lemon drop – not that he had accepted a single one during the seven and a half years since he came to live at Hogwarts – but simply asked Fawkes to flash them both to a certain spot, which seemed to be near the cove Dumbledore wished to visit.

The old wizard pointed to a small, old looking boat. "I believe that we have to take that boat to get to the cove."

Harry looked at the boat and the surrounding water, feeling uncomfortable at the idea. "No sir. I can sense something very strange here in the water. I am not going to board a boat. Why don't you call Twinkle and ask him to pop us?"

Dumbledore gave him a pensive look. "Twinkle!"

An instant later, the elf appeared, looking questioningly from Dumbledore to Harry. "Master Headmaster Dumbledore, what can Twinkle to for you?"

"Over there must be a small cave. Please pop us in front of it."

Reaching out for their hands, Twinkle popped them over, apparently realising that Dumbledore was not to know that Harry would have been able to pop them by himself.

"Twinkle, do you know what's in the water here? I can sense very strange magic."

"These are inferii I think," Twinkle replied.

Harry somehow felt relieved when the elf stayed instead of simply popping away again, and the headmaster did not seem to mind either. He busied himself waving his wand in the direction of the cave.

"Apparently, this liquid is poison and cannot be banished. I will have to drink it all. "Harry and Twinkle, please see to it that I do so, even if I might not want to continue."

Harry stared at the old wizard, wide-eyed. The words 'I am sorry, sir, but I am not going to encourage you to poison yourself' were at the front of his mind, however, realising that if he refused, Twinkle would have to do it just by himself, he did not voice them.

'Don't you believe that he's slowly losing his marbles?' he thought to Twinkle, when Dumbledore conjured a cup, which he filled with the poisoned liquid.

'Ah, don't say such things, Harry. You know that I am his house-elf.'

'Does he listen to you?'

Twinkle let out a small scoff, which he quickly turned into a cough. 'I believe that he doesn't listen to anyone.'

Harry unobtrusively gave the elf a small smile, truly regretting that he was not able to somehow free him, especially after getting to know him during the time, when he had sent all the elves on holidays. 'Poor Twinkle, he's the only elf at Hogwarts who is a house-elf against his own will.'

Dumbledore, who was drinking one cup after the next of the liquid in the cave, slowly began to struggle, and Harry and Twinkle began to take turns encouraging the old wizard to continue drinking.

'Marvolo, what's going to happen to Dumbledore if he drinks the entire poison from the cave?' he asked his mind friend.

'He's not going to die right away. He'll be magically weakened though, and if anyone wanted to attack him, today would be a good timing.'

Somehow, he felt that Marvolo was extremely amused, although he had no idea why that might be.

Only about an hour later, when Dumbledore had drained the complete cave and retrieved a locket, which he held out to Harry wearing a triumphant expression, did Harry understand the reason for his friend's apparent amusement.

He was just going to comment on the locket, from which he could not feel Marvolo's magic, when Marvolo was suddenly standing in front of them. Before Harry knew what happened, he stunned Twinkle.

'Harry, leave the elf stunned. I won't harm anyone,' he instructed him, before Harry could even think about enervating Twinkle.

"So petty, Dumbledore. Have you properly looked at the locket? Have you opened it?"

Harry watched with a combination of excitement and amusement how Dumbledore opened the locket, only to find a small parchment.

'Too late, Dumbledore!'

Before Dumbledore could react in any way, Marvolo cast a tickling charm at the old wizard, and Harry almost felt sorry for the headmaster, when he raised his wand in Marvolo's direction and shouted, "Sectumsempra."

Harry did not know the spell; however, he could sense that it was not exactly harmless, when the spell travelled towards Marvolo. He did not even need his wand, but quickly waved his hand in the headmaster's direction and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" An instant later, he caught Dumbledore's wand in his right hand. He noticed in surprise that the wand was redder than the usual brown of a normal wand, and it felt extremely powerful in his hand. 'This is a very special wand and extremely powerful,' he realised in shock, before he recalled what Marvolo had told him about Dumbledore's wand.

"Petty, Dumbledore, really petty," Marvolo commented, before he enervated Twinkle. 'Harry, do not return that wand to him. It's the Elder Wand. We talked about it the other day, and it's won by conquer. It's yours now. Congratulations.'

'All right,' Harry replied like in a daze, noticing that Marvolo apparated away without further ado.

"Harry, will you please return my wand to me?" Dumbledore held out his hand.

"No, sir. It's mine now." He made sure that his voice was firm and did not show the uncertainty he felt.

"Ah, but Harry, you don't know what you're talking about." Harry inwardly rolled his eyes at the old wizard's kind, grandfatherly voice, which he despised so much.

"Master Dumbledore, I believe that Harry is right. The Elder Wand won't work for you anymore. Harry is now its master." Twinkle held out both hands. "Shall I take you both back to Hogwarts?"

"Yes please." Harry beat the headmaster to a response.

"Apparently, Voldemort cast a charm at the cave to be notified, when someone would come for the locket, even if it was only a fake." Dumbledore sounded very tired. "Yes, Twinkle, please take us back."

HP

When they arrived in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts, Dumbledore let himself sink into the chair behind his desk and slumped down in defeat.

"Thank you for accompanying me today." He let out a deep sigh. "Harry, I believe that I haven't made clear enough just how dangerous Voldemort is. There was no need for you to defeat him earlier. He's the one who killed your parents." He sighed again. "Has your father ever told you why it is that Voldemort tried and will still try to kill you?"

"If you mean the prophecy, I am aware of it. Lord Gaunt told me about it himself."

"Did he?" Dumbledore helped himself to a lemon drop in apparent confusion. "Did he also tell you about the Horcrux behind your scar?"

"Yes sir."

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Do you not understand that it means that you have to die, before he can finally be killed?"

"I believe that you're the only one who is interested in killing him… and in extension me, sir."

"No, I do not intend to kill you. Please leave now. I will ask your father to talk some sense into you. He's a good man."

Harry left without a further word and returned home, eager to speak with his parents about the old wizard and his theories.

HP

"What happened?" Regina was the first to ask, apparently noticing the shock still visible in his face.

"May I call Marvolo here as well please?"

"I shall call him," Severus offered and headed to the fireplace.

A moment later, Marvolo stepped out. "Regina, Severus, Harry."

"Please take a seat. Harry just wanted to tell us about his excursion with Dumbledore." Severus then called Cicero, who brought refreshments for them all, casting Harry a worried look.

Regina and Severus gasped, when Harry showed them the Elder Wand.

"Harry, I believe that you should put it into your vault at Gringotts." Severus looked at him in obvious concern.

"Perhaps, you should even place the Invisibility cloak into another vault," Regina added, apparently sharing his father's concern.

"And then the ring into yet another vault." Marvolo handed Harry a small item, which he only hesitantly accepted.

"Thank you, Marvolo. Are you really sure that you want me to have it?"

"Absolutely."

"Then you own all three Deathly Hallows, which means that, according to the tale, that you're the Master of Death." Regina's voice was laced with amazement.

Harry shrugged. "Does that mean that I can't be killed? I don't really feel like asking Dumbledore to try it out."

His father rolled his eyes, while Marvolo shook his head. "Harry, no one should know about this, let alone Dumbledore."

"Of course. I don't want anyone but the three of you to know. I think I'll take the ring to my own vault and…" He slowly trailed off, resolving to decide on the procedure later on.

"Harry, I must thank you for preventing Dumbledore from cursing me earlier. You probably saved my life. Thank you very much."

Harry smiled. "You're welcome, sir."

"I now owe you a second life debt."

Harry shook his head. "No sir. You don't owe me anything."

HP

It was late that evening, when he retired to bed, where Lucy was already fast asleep, when he noticed a never-felt magic manifest right next to him.

"Master."

"Hello?" Harry asked, sleepily, only to add, "I've told you before to not call me master. I'm just Harry."

"No, you haven't told me before, as we're just meeting for the first time." The voice sounded somehow annoyed, and Harry quickly cast a Lumos charm to be able to see his visitor.

He was shocked to see that it was not an elf. It was a figure who was from head to toe hidden under a black robe, slightly similar to the grey Unspeakable robes.

"Excuse me, sir, but who are you?"

"I am Death."

All of a sudden, Harry was fully awake. "Death?" he asked, incredulously. "Am I going to die now?"

Death made a sound that resembled a snort. "Now, as the Master of Death, you can't die at all. Still, it's only a title. You're not my boss, mind you. I will grant you some privileges, but there are still rules to follow."

"And what might these be?" Harry was now interested in the what he found was an incredulously strange conversation.

"Today, you saved Marvolo Gaunt's life. He should have come to be mine. Therefore, I need some compensation. You must name another person, whose life I can take instead."

Harry stared at the figure in front of him in shock. "Please take one of the Death Eaters who are in Azkaban. Lucius Malfoy, for example. They've killed many people and deserve your wrath."

Death nodded in understanding. "You misunderstand that. He served me many times, which for me was a good thing. Nevertheless, I understand your point of view, and this time, I shall agree. If you have any other wish for a person to die or not to die, please inform me at any time. You can simply summon me to you by calling my name."

"My family please. My parents and siblings."

"Granted, but as they are four people, these four will be your wishes for the next four years. Only after four years, you'll be able to tell me more names of people whom you do not wish to die."

"That's fine with me," Harry replied, pensively. "Please wait a moment." his thoughts went haywire. "By taking the Elder Wand from Dumbledore, I've wronged him badly."

Death let out a scoff. "Did you take his wand, because you knew that it was the Elder Wand and you wished to have it?"

Harry shook his head. "I should have known, but I didn't even think about such a thing."

"Then you haven't wronged him at all."

"Nevertheless, please hear me out. I believe that he is dying due to the curse he's under. Could you perhaps give him some more time? Perhaps the two and a half years I need to finish Hogwarts and take over as headmaster, considering that I'm the owner?"

"What do I get out of this deal?"

"You'll get him in two and half years' time. If I healed him, it might take a much longer time."

Death nodded. "We have a deal. I'm going to have to get used to unfortunate deals anyway, considering that my master is a natural healer. I'll see you."

With that, he vanished as suddenly and quietly as he had appeared earlier, and for a moment, Harry wondered if Death had really been there or if he had simply imagined the whole thing due to all the talks about the Deathly Hallows and Master of Death.

Only two days later, when the Daily Prophet screamed that Lucius Malfoy had been found dead in his cell in Azkaban, did he believe that his mind had not simply played a prank on him.

Harry decided to only tell his parents and perhaps Marvolo about Death's visit. 'No one else has to know that I'm the owner of all three Hallows and the Master of Death. Let people believe that the three Hallows were only a myth.'

HP

When he told Marvolo about the visit, a sudden thought crossed his mind. 'You told me that you'd have a ritual to take all the Horcruxes back into your body on Samhain. Why did I get the ring back so soon?'

Marvolo chuckled though the link. 'I decided to do the ritual on Equinox and save Samhain for the ritual to take the Horcrux from you. It might be safer for you to do it separately.'

'Oh, I see. Thank you for being so considerate.'

'You're welcome, my friend and congratulations for being the Master of Death.'

HP

"So, what exactly are the advantages of being Master of Death?" Severus quirked an eyebrow.

"Isn't it advantage enough that he can't die? That alone is advantage enough." Regina beat Harry to a response, sounding very happy.

Severus nodded. "That's out of the question. I was just wondering if there was more to it."

"I am not really sure. He told me that there were certain rules."

"Such as?"

"For example, he said that because I saved Marvolo's life, I had to tell him some other person, whom he could take in exchange." Harry let out a deep sigh. "I told him to take one of the Death Eaters."

"That's why Lucius Malfoy died so suddenly. Harry," Severus gave him a sharp look. "It's not your fault. He brought it upon himself. Do not ever think that it's your fault that he's dead now."

"Your father is right." Regina carefully leaned over Lucy and pulled him close, causing Harry to gratefully lean into the embrace.

"He also promised me to let the four of you live," Harry mumbled in a barely audible voice, causing his parents to smile.

"Thank you, son."

HP

Harry was extremely disappointed, when Minerva told him that she had invited BABA to play during the Halloween feast this year.

"I won't be able to participate, as I am involved in a ritual at Lord Gaunt's place tomorrow evening," he informed her.

"I already told you that I will be absent tomorrow as well. It's the same event." Severus cast his colleague a sharp look. 'Harry, I believe that you can tell Minerva what is going to happen.'

Harry cleared his throat and pointed at his scar. "Somehow, when Voldemort attacked my parents, he unintentionally made a Horcrux, which is a part of his soul that's behind my scar." Ignoring the old witch's gasp, he continued, "He has already taken back all the other Horcruxes into his body apart from the ones within Nagini and me, and he wants to do that on Samhain."

Minerva stared at him in apparent shock, pressing a hand in front of her mouth.

"We trust that you do not inform Albus about this." Severus cast her a sharp look.

"Of course not. Will Harry be all right?"

Harry nodded. "I will. Marvolo wouldn't do anything to endanger me. He even invited Unspeakables Felina and Whisker to join us tomorrow night. It's just sad that I can't hear BABA tonight, let alone play with them."

"I'll ask them if they can come again for the Yule Ball," Minerva promised, smiling.

HP

Unfortunately, missing BABA's concert would turn out to be a minor problem. While Marvolo managed to extract the Horcruxes both from Nagini and Harry and add them back to his soul, Harry ended up in a coma, and Nagini's condition was critical as well.

When Harry's mind returned to consciousness, it was completely dark around him. From the magic surrounding him, he realised that he found himself in his own bed at home with Lucy very close by, probably cuddled against his stomach. 'Why can't I see?' he thought in shock, memories from his first years at Hogwarts coming to mind.

'Harry, you need to wake up,' a soft voice penetrated his mind. 'Tomorrow is Christmas, and you don't want to miss BABA's concert again.'

'Luna?' Harry thought back, wondering when Luna had managed telepathy. 'Christmas?' 'The last thing I knew was Samhain,' he thought to himself.

'Yes Harry, you've been in a coma ever since Marvolo took the Horcrux out, and your father was so kind and taught me telepathy, because he said that you might be able to receive thoughts, before you'd be able to hear spoken words.'

'That's great,' Harry thought back, feeling confused. 'What can I do to wake up? I feel awake, but I can't move, hear or see.'

'Sorry, Harry, I don't know. Let me get your father for you.'

'Thanks.'

'Harry. How generous that you've decided to grace the world of the living on time for Christmas.'

'Dad,' Harry thought back, indignantly. 'Can you rather tell me what I can do to properly wake up?'

'I am not sure, but can you try to focus on your healing magic and try to heal yourself?'

'Oh, all right, I'll try. Thanks, Dad.'

Following his father's advice, Harry concentrated on his healing magic and his own body that needed it. He did not know how much time had passed, when Hermione's voice suddenly penetrated his ears.

"Oh Harry, wake up soon. I really need your help and encouragement, so that I can manage to get my second Animagus form. I really want to change into some kind of cat to be able to play together with Crookshanks. Can you believe that he's jealous of Teddy, because I spend so much time with him? I mean, he's my boyfriend after all, and he's just amazing, no matter if he's in his human form or just his elven self. Now, I'm going to travel home tonight to spend Christmas with my parents, but I'll be back for the Yule Ball tomorrow night, and I hope that you'll be up and about by then. I really miss you."

"Mione," Harry whispered, slowly moving his hand to caress Lucy's ears.

"Harry! You're awake!"

Harry smiled at the ecstatic girl. "Thanks for talking to me even if I wasn't."

"Did you hear what I said?"

"I heard you, and I'm really happy that Teddy finally got around to ask you to become his girlfriend. I know that he wanted to do that for ages. As to the second Animagus form, you'll manage. Perhaps, I'll try for a cat next, too."

"Oh Harry, that would be amazing. Wait, let me fetch your parents. They'll be so happy that you're all right."

'I just hope the rest of my friends won't make such a fuss,' Harry thought, as he cuddled Lucy close, smiling when the canine let out a series of sounds clearly expressing her joy.

The same happiness was shared by Felix and Eileen, who stormed into the room instants later, slowly followed by his parents.

HP

"The typical fifth-year student," Severus drawled. "Too lazy to attend classes but ready to wake up on time for Christmas presents."

"Sev!" Regina playfully slapped his father's arm.

"Daddy unnice," eighteen-month-old Eileen commented.

"Always." Four-year old Felix gravely nodded his head.

"Is not!" Harry glared at his younger siblings, only to jerk up in shock. "What? It's Christmas? I need to make presents for everyone. Sorry, Felix and Eileen, I need to go to the lab."

"No!" Harry could not help grinning at his siblings' upset expressions, and gratefully nodded at his mother's suggestion.

"Why don't you just give everyone one dose of your brilliant fresh-and-go potion? I trust that you have a large enough stock, so that you won't have to brew them on Christmas Eve."

"That's a good idea." Harry cast Regina a grateful look, ignoring his father's feigned groan, mumbling something sounding like "Imagine a hyper group of fifth-years roaming the castle after curfew."

"You don't even have to send your gifts by owl, as all your friends are going to return to Hogwarts to attend the Yule Ball tomorrow," Regina said in a soothing voice.

Harry cast her a horrified look. "I don't even have a date."

Severus quirked an eyebrow. "You don't believe that Miss Lovegood would abandon you so quickly, just because you decided to sleep for a few weeks?"

'Luna, will you accompany me to the Yule Ball tomorrow night?'

'Harry! You're awake! Of course, I'll always be your date.'

"It seems to have been worth teaching her telepathy." Severus smirked at Harry's broad grin.

"Yes, thank you for that. She told me she'd always be my date. Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to give her some kind of promise ring or friendship ring or such. But where can I get such a thing on Christmas Eve?"

His parents exchanged a glance, before Regina was the first to reply. "We could go to Gringotts and have a look at our vaults. I am sure that you'll find a pair of rings, which you could use."

"Thanks, Mum. Yes please." Harry slowly pushed Lucy and his siblings aside to get out of bed. "Can we go right away?"

"No. First of all, we're going to have dinner, and then, we'll have to find someone to look after Felix and Eileen. Perhaps, my sister will be willing to do so." Regina's voice was firm.

"No! Ei go wif!"

"I can stay with Lucky."

"Cicero!" When the elf arrived, grinning happily at the sight of Harry being awake, Felix immediately informed him that he wished to stay with Lucky during the evening.

"Of course, Felix," Cicero replied, giving Severus a questioning look.

"Felix, don't you want to eat dinner first?"

"No, Mum, I can eat with Lucky."

"Thanks, Cicero." Harry smiled. "I'll come by later on to fetch him and say hello to Misty and Teddy."

With a nod from the relatively tall elf, Cicero and Felix were gone.