Harry wasn't sure what he was expecting when he pictured being dead, he thought maybe he'd see Daphne, his parents, and Sirius again but all around the only thing he could see was nothing. Even when he had died back in the Forbidden Forest due to the Horcrux in his head he was at least at Platform 9 3/4, this time however there was truly nothing just pure white as far as he could see.
With nothing better to do Harry got up and just started walking he figured sooner or later he was bound to find something anything really. After walking for what Harry imagined to be hours but could have been days or even just a few minutes there was no real way to tell time within this void, he found what looked like an aged dark oak door. Walking closer to the first non-white object within this entirely all white void Harry slowly reached out and opened the door, on the other side he saw what appeared to be an office a very simple office but an office none the less.
Within the office was a desk 2 chairs a few pictures and behind the desk was a girl who couldn't be older then 16 or 17 years old. With no other options available to him Harry stepped inside the office, "Um excuse could you perhaps help me out I don't really know where I am or where I am supposed to be going."
The young girl looked up at him and laughed, "You are right where you are supposed to be Mr. Potter, please take a seat and we can get right down to business.
Taking a seat in one of the offered chairs Harry was a little on edge. "how exactly do you know my name if you don't mind me asking miss…" he trailed off not exactly sure what to call her.
The young girl paused studying Harry's face like she was trying to figure out how to word what she wanted to say, "well you see Mr. Potter I am Death with a capital "D", and I know everything about you I have been waiting for you to arrive here at this spot for over twelve thousand years ever since I set events into motion by creating what your fellow wizards called the Deathly Hollows."
Harry was stunned and wasn't sure how to respond to be sitting in front of actual Death. "You don't look anything like I thought you would have for Death you know."
The little girl now identified as Death laughed, "is this more what you would expect?" Death stood up and waved her/its hand and suddenly became the cloaked grim reaper that many had come to associate with Death in modern times.
Harry laughed in response to the change "actually yes that is exactly what I pictured you as."
Waving her hand Death changed back to her teenage girl form, "that is what many associate me as I blame earlier incarnations for it really, so it's the form I generally introduce myself in but you Mr. Potter are special for you found and united all three of the hallows making you, my master."
Harry was very quick to jump out of his seat, "I don't want to be anyone's master you can take all of them back I don't need them I just want to be with my family and pass on."
Death was quick to placate Harry, "and that is exactly why you are the perfect person to be my master, because you don't want to do it Fate foresaw your arrival over a millennia ago all I needed to do was create the Hallows and then destiny would take over where they would all eventually make their way into your hands."
"So, what I can never die, I can never see my friends my family or my wife ever again!"
Death held up a hand stopping Harry from continuing his rant, "Normally crossing through the Veil no matter who or what you are however I have need of you a request that if you're willing to take it then you could prevent a tragedy that would be worse then anything you experienced in your old life."
Harry sank down into his chair, "What if I say no, what if I just want to finally be at peace."
Death gave Harry a pointed look, "I can in no way make you take on the task I am asking of you, if you say no then I will let you pass on be reunited with your loved ones all I ask is that you first hear me out."
Harry nodded, "okay I will hear you out, but I don't see myself doing this I am old I want to be with my family again."
Again, Death paused not sure where to start for the task she was hoping Harry would undertake was bigger than she had any right to be asking but she was desperate. Sighing she figured the best place to start was at the beginning, "You Harry come from one of many universes each one is slightly different in some way shape or form in some of them for example you may be female, or Tom Riddle never became Voldemort, or you aren't the boy-who-lived." Death paused to give Harry a moment to process before continuing, "The only constant that exists between these universes is the deities who oversee them such as myself I am the one and the only Death, in what we deities consider to be the prime universe that all universe's spawn off of an earlier incarnation of myself created a version of the Hallows, however these Hallows had an extra power that I doubt that version of myself realized. Instead of making one the master of death within their universe it would make the holder Death themselves without any of the restrictions I operate under."
Death paused to give Harry a chance to ask any questions he may have, "What do you mean Master of Death for their dimension? What do you mean by earlier incarnation of yourself? What restrictions?"
Death frowned, "While I am the only Death that exists and all will meet me upon their time I can only do so much and I am limited in how much I can interfere in the day to day of each dimension so early on I created what is referred to as the Master of Death within each dimension whose responsibility would be making sure that those would seek to circumvent their end or the end of others through practices such as necromancy would be stopped and delivered to me. I am but one incarnation of Death as the multiverse grows and expands so to do my powers and as my powers grow so to does my understanding and my awareness in the beginning, I was just a concept but have evolved to what I am now."
Pausing Death stood up and moved to sit in the chair next to Harry, "As each deity grew and gained more awareness not only of ourselves but each other and the dimensions we oversaw, we created rules to bind ourselves which prevent us from directly interfering in the overall day-to-day of any one universe. We cannot kill anyone before their time or change the path someone is walking; we like to give each person and each dimension room to grow and thrive on their own."
Harry nodded, "that sounds fair but still how could someone become Death and take over your power and become you?"
"That is due to one of the earliest incarnations of myself, I realized early on that as magic within the dimension that it existed in grew so too would people grow and as they did they would try and find ways to avoid me, some would do it through the means of a Sorcerer's Stone such as Nicholas Flamel, others would do it through more vile means such as Horcruxes as Voldemort. Then there are others who would seek to bring back the dead and pervert nature becoming what would be known as necromancers. Realizing this I worked within what I could and created the Master of Death someone who would be able to act as my guardian to prevent the abnormal stretching of one's life. However in the Prime universe the very first one I enacted this plan my awareness wasn't complete enough and I put to much of my energy into the Hallows, so whoever unites them would instead become Death."
Harry looked puzzled, "okay but I am still not seeing what you need me to do."
Death nodded, "I am getting there… in all universes it is a version of you is the one to gather the Hallows and become my master, however in the prime universe your magic died due to disease as a child in this universe Voldemort isn't stopped and he is getting close to locating and becoming the holder of all three Hallows. For someone like you who I wouldn't be concerned if you got powers over Death because you wouldn't abuse them, Voldemort however has no morals all he wants is destruction and if this Voldemort gains my Hallows then he will become Death and slowly destroy every universe until he is all that remains."
"One small problem I'm dead and not in that universe what could you possibly expect me to do?"
"The Harry of that universe dies the day he turns ten when he realizes he has no magic and isn't going to get a Hogwarts letter he runs away to save his family the embarrassment of having a squib child. If you agree to take on my request, I will put your soul into that Harry's body you would just need to find and destroy my Hallows before Voldemort can unite them other then that you would be free to live your life how you see fit."
Ever so slowly the wheels in Harry's head start turning, "I won't have to fight Voldemort in this universe no being the boy-who-lived?"
Death nodded, "in this universe your twin sister is known as the girl-who-lived you can choose to ignore the problem and let her deal with it or assist her but the fight with Voldemort will not be your own."
"Twin sister? What about my parents, Sirius, Daphne? Do they exist in this universe would I be able to save them?"
Once more nodding Death continues, "Yes they all exist and are alive within this universe they may not be exact copies of the people you remember but you would get to know them and live a long life with them if that is your wish."
Harry looked at the floor taking a while to think it over on the one hand he could move on and see his Daphne and his parents again on the other hand his saving people thing was kicking into overdrive he couldn't allow this version of Voldemort to unite the Hallows and destroy literally everything. His mind made up he looked up at Death and nodded "I'll do it on one condition, I don't want to be ageless I want to grow old and one day die where I can finally pass on and be at peace."
Death nodded, "I can do that…" pausing to look out the window that Harry had noticed in the office before, Death stared for a minute before nodding once more and turning her gaze back to Harry "You may want to hold on this is going to be a bumpy ride."
Before Harry got a chance to respond everything went black.
