Disclaimer: *old, crazy grandma voice* If someone thinks I own this thing, they're – they're crazy! I'll beat them with my cane if they come crying to me about it! It was those rotten grandkids of mine, wasn't it?! I'll get them, and their little dogs, too!

Chapter Nine

Death somehow… expanded?... the doors to fit Harry's larger bulk. They didn't seem to expand, but Harry walked through them fine. Maybe Death shrunk him?

They wandered through the entranceway, an imposing structure of neutral colors. They walked directly into the family room, fire already crackling merrily in front of a soft rug, squashy couch, and armchairs. Death settled itself into the main seat directly in front of the fire. Harry sat down on the rug in between the two.

"Let's start with the switch, shall we?" Death questioned. Before Harry could reply, Death stated in an almost feminine baby-talk, "Now, if you don't wake up, I'll never give you belly rubs for the rest of eternity."

Something in Harry perked up. Instantly, he was overtaken by his instincts. Instincts that made him whine, rub his head against Death's knees, and lay on his back, revealing his stomach to prove that Death had no need to contemplate such a horrible future.

If Harry the human had been in control, he would've balked at acting like a puppy, much less touching Death itself! Unfortunately for Human Harry, he was not in control.

"Aw, aren't you a good boy? Yes, you are! Yes, you are!" Death continued in its baby-ish voice, which sounded strange in its androgynous whisper that he still heard. Harry felt his tail wag as Death's fingers scratched against him. No, no, to the left, right – ah… Death scratched his belly right where his back leg started to kick from the pleasure.

When Death stopped, Hellhound Harry couldn't help but let out a whine. "Child, you must not fall asleep in this form, or your human will panic."

Hellhound Harry barked. He didn't mean to cause his human side to panic, but he was so tired! Even though he was technically full grown, he was still so close to being a pup he was exhausted once he turned twice in twenty-four hours, not to mention that it was his first transformation combined with the violence of the second.

"Now let your human come out to play. We have much to talk about."

Hellhound Harry turned inward, forcing his human to the surface and taking his form with him. Maybe next time, his human side will want to play.

Human Harry lied on the ground, panting. Only the scraps of his underwear hung on; he still hasn't learned yet how to keep all his clothes on afterwards, so this was a bigger improvement than most would realize.

He scrambled to his feet, a blush spreading across his cheeks at how he acted around Death. Death, for its part, sat on the seat, hands folded over its lap, and no other discernable emotions in its form. Even when it was rubbing Hellhound Harry's belly, it could've easily seemed as bored with the world as much as enjoying all it had to offer.

With barely a flick of its now cloaked over hand (Harry still wasn't certain if it were actual fingers under there), Harry stood in a dark cloak of his own. It matched Death's to the point of his fingertips being swallowed by fabric and his own hood brushing against his back, not covering his head like Death's. If Harry wasn't so confuddled, he might've felt the similarities with his own cloak of invisibility. Another time, perhaps.

Death gestured to another seat, that, while not being directly in line with its own seat, stood in such a way it'd be comfortable to talk between the two and not feel too casual. Harry didn't know if he could handle sitting directly at Death's side just yet.

"It is amazing," Death muttered at last, "only two transformations, and already your animal side respects you so much. It is… as confounding as it is enjoyable, to see such potential already, my apprentice."

Wait… what?

"Ah, my bad," Death, while not physically looking any different than before, sounded slightly embarrassed. "Yes, to fully harness your capabilities in this form, I am afraid you will have to become my apprentice. While it may not be the most… fun… to learn from me, it must be done, if only to keep your animal side at peace enough to not cause too much of a ruckus."

Harry didn't think he could jump up and spit his normal fire at the - deity's? – words if he wanted to. While normally he would rant and rave at the injustice of not having a choice in the matter, his limbs went cold and wouldn't respond. Not that it mattered, anyway. He was too shocked to make a single coherent thought.

Death seemed to stare at him for a moment, as if waiting for a reaction, before continuing with its dialogue. "Do not worry, any who've become such a creature has apprenticed under me, one of your ancestors, included. I have no doubt you will become just as great as him and his brothers."

Even in his shocked stupor, Harry soaked up the information about his family, no matter if this ancestor wouldn't have been important even if his parents had lived.

"First matter of business, your training grounds," Death continued. "While I, myself, could appear anywhere to help you, Life tends to get touchy about how I would ruin the balance, blah blah blah blah blah. Also, it would help you if you had some normality, or at least, regularity, within your training. Besides, I doubt you want all your dreams to feature me, no matter how amazing I am."

Death wasn't necessarily preening; it hadn't even moved yet, which caused an instinctive caution in Harry. Nothing living stood so still. Then again, Death wasn't quite living, was it? There was, however, a smug pride tugging at its voice.

"I believe this will be suitable housing. It is in neutral territory and you have proven you can travel here, so you already have some form of familiarity with it. Even better, no others have claimed this lot, yet. Yes, I believe you will come to enjoy visiting here, if nothing else. As a matter of fact, this one's yours!"

Harry finally snapped out of his confusion, "What?"

"We'll go over the details later." And snapped right back in. If Death's body had been more expressive, Harry was sure it would have waved off his question. It started to seemingly talk to itself, although the almost lack of volume change was off-putting. Maybe because it was already whispering, Death couldn't lessen its volume? Harry just didn't know, nor did he care.

"You'll also need other teachers, before I can personally train you. I think I know who should do that." Death snapped at a nearby… lamppost? "You, go get me Alpha Fire, Beta Water, and Omega Earth." A shadow shifted and flowed from the room. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes! Other teachers, along with better training grounds than what's out there now. Also, sparring partners. Yes, and if they live here… Ah, I'm a genius! Now, what about-? No, no, that just won't due. I'll worry about it later. Great! I think that's every-. No, no, there's also the-. Well, that should be easy enough…"

Death continued in this manner, not actually giving away anything useful for Harry to discern what was going on. The rambling only lessened when three distinct howls echoes.

"Ah, yes. Here they are, your tutors."

Harry watched as three familiar figures slinked into the room. All were varying shades of grey, and they all seemed to have the exact same build and features. The only differences they held were what was going on with their… fur?

The three hellhounds - for, that must've been what they were – sat at attention, noses pointed perpendicularly towards Death; although, the one closest seemed to shoot glances at Harry in regular intervals.

"Boys, I know you have enjoyed your forms for as long as you have, but I also know you yearn for your forms once past. Well, now you get that chance! You three will tutor Harry, here, to become a proper hellhound of the royal bloodline. Harry," Death's head turned back from looking at the imposing figures to him, "these three will be your tutors. I think they will be a great help to you; after all, they are your ancestors. I think with their training, you can make your bloodline proud."

The hellhounds' ears perked at that as their heads turned towards Harry. Harry knew if he were in his spiritual form, he would have done the same. Ancestors? Bloodline?

"Your training will officially begin at a later date, but I feel it would be imperative to get to know your relatives a little better before starting. Unfortunately, boys," the hellhounds turned back to Death, "I cannot grant you back your bodies until you reach that part of the training, and at the moment, we don't want Harry to transform again so soon. He is too close to being a pup to transform once again in the time we have left."

The one that kept sneaking glances at him stalked towards his form, snuffling at his clothes before finally licking Harry on the cheek. For some reason, before this action, Harry was intimidated by the other hellhounds, even though they were not in their more intimidating form. Harry's own instincts forced him to subconsciously realize that these were pack, and not only pack, but pack elders. He knew, if they did not accept him, he would be heartbroken. Even if consciously, he would have no idea why.

The one's lick seemed to make the intimidation factor lessen, and the other two snuffled at his face as well, their tails wagging away (although they did not lick him like the first).

"So, Harry, in terms of oldest to youngest, first we have your so-many-greats uncle, Antioch, the strongest of the lot." One hound seemed to raise its (his?) head at the introduction, so Harry assumed it was he whom Death spoke of. This one was the darkest of the three, with almost orange eyes and flames licking from the very tips of his fur.

"Next, we have your other uncle, Cadmus, the intelligent one." This one raised its paw, as if in greeting. A medium grey coat with gleaming, blood red eyes met Harry's own eyes' perusal. Its fur was the longest of the bunch, rippling as if its owners were swimming through a body of water.

"And, finally, we have you so-many-greats grandfather, Ignotus, the crafty one." The final hound was the one who licked him. While Harry's own hound eyes held an intensity that made it difficult to determine an exact shad, this one's eyes held the exact opposite problem. A dull red stared back at him, although they were so diluted compared to the others' eyes, it was difficult to tell. The dullness, however, did not distract from the emotion in the beast's eyes (although what emotion it was, Harry couldn't place). His fur was borderline white, and seemed to have darker grey dust speckled in. Harry could feel bits of dirt clinging to his skin where the hound had sniffed him.

All three hounds settled around Harry, as if claiming him as one of their own. Their postures relaxed, and Cadmus even lied down. Harry felt a warm glow inside that his relatives accepted him for who he was; although he now held even more questions, such as why they were hellhounds, and why would they teach him?

"And now onto the less sentimental portion of this meeting before I must send you back," Death whispered. "You are in a realm between Death and Life. Both me and my sibling have claims for various plots of what would translate to you as 'land,' although technically they are only here in a metaphysical sense that I don't want to go into the logistics of. Unfortunately, outside these 'plots,' are the intermediate lands. They are dangerous, with several species of spirits that hold no love for either living or dead, and they will attack you. So, in other words, while here, don't leave the property line, ever. Capisce?"

Harry nodded his head emphatically, even though a portion of his brain muttered, I have to explore outside, now.

"Luckily, the line is clearly in view, what with the fence directly on it, so you won't accidentally wander out like the third-floor corridor in your first year." Harry knew it was saying this as a warning more than anything.

"This particular property of mine will fall under your jurisdiction, now. It is one I know you are familiar with, and it has no owner currently. Only hounds, angels, and reapers who still live may oversee such properties, so your ancestors will not be able to take over for you if you so desire. They may help you with understanding such responsibilities, but responsibility will still fall on your shoulders.

"You will, at least for the time being, use this as a training facility. I understand you wish to continue staying in the living realm, and I will not stop you. However, you and your family will determine a schedule for you to come here and train. While you are gone, they may live here as they so desire." The three hounds nodded their heads once to show that they would. "You may bring various creatures here, especially those more closely related to death. You may not, however, bring any human-esque beings here, such as werewolves, elves, mermaids, or humans themselves. They will die if you do so."

Harry nodded once more, although much more somberly and seriously. He didn't want anyone to die because of him.

"You may meet other deathly beings at some point while you are here, although when will be determined by circumstance. Do not worry over staying here for too long, time flows differently, more slowly, here than in the living realm. Finally, before we teach you how to go back and forth from here, you must read this book. While full of lies, it will give you somewhat of an idea behind your family's story." Death tossed a worn-out book from his sleeves. It landed perfectly in his lap, allowing Harry to see the title: The Tales of Beedle the Bard. One look, and all his ancestors started growling at the offending stack of parchment. "More specifically, read The Tale of the Three Brothers; it will give you minimal answers to your question, or at least, how the wizarding world views these subject matters we will be speaking of during my next visit." A bookmark appeared where Harry guessed the story took place. "Oh, and read this one; much more factual and helpful. Of course, more dull, too." So, You Want to Take Care of a New Deadly Property, Volume III landed in his lap with the same precision as the first.

The rest of the visit, Harry learned from Death and his extended family how to come and go from the property and how to bring visitors. It involved a method of travel involving the shadows, so Harry just called it "Shadow Travel." He did wish he had more creativity, but they wouldn't tell him what the official name was. He might have asked more questions, but any time they did not involve his current training, Death would brush them off. It said, "Too much information only makes those who can either process it or ignore it happy. Everyone else is left scrambling to remember anything."

With one last parting wave, and a slobbery kiss from Ignotus, Harry shadow travelled back to the campgrounds, where he found a befuddling sight.

Finished! (At least, for the chapter.)

I can't decide what I want the three brothers to look like, thoughts?

Thanks for all the support, guys! I'm glad I can make some of you happy! (And hopefully wherever I take this story will continue to do so.) Over 280 favorites and 420 follows, I'm proud of that! (Especially when I first posted I thought I'd get, like, single to double digits.)

Time313: Thanks… I think? Your reviews looked positive, so I'm going to guess they were…

VizeerLord: Do you mean post more chapters or more in the chapters? Either way, my only goal is one chapter whenever I can with a minimum of 1,000 words in the actual story. After that, I stop in places that make me go "Good enough!" Horrible way of determining things, but there you have it.

Jetray1000: Now? I just write when the spirit moves me off my rear end.

snowyassas1n: Nope, nothing with Alex. Are you talking about the kiss on the cheek from chapter five? Think of that as the sisterly, embarrassing kiss, where the point is more to smear lipstick on the sibling's cheek. It was meant to embarrass him, and both Harry and Alex know it.

Once again, I have no plans for romance in this story! If it happens, it happens! But don't interpret anything that the oblivious could take as familial or friendly for romantic gesture. I want to try to be able to develop more in those relationships for Harry at the moment than romance. I feel he needs those more, and I am still new at writing, so I'd rather focus on building up proper relationships before Harry has any of those feelings. If you want romance, my other fanfic, Children Are Beautiful Creatures, will have something of the sort in it (although how much I haven't decided yet).

Published: 7/14/18

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