It was early morning, the sun barely peeping over the horizon; the residents of Godric's Hollow either still sleeping or beginning their morning routine. You could hear the buzz of the city in the distance as more and more people began their day, the gentle hum of the small village and nearby nature interrupted only by the sound of a faint pop. The pop, the sound of Harry apparating into the village before making the familiar route to his parent's house, the same house that had been destroyed by Voldemort when he had just been a baby; there it still laid in ruin, the community leaving it as a memorial to the sacrifice his parents had made against a tyrant and monster. Before the house sat a sign detailing the events that had transpired there, and written on the sign were comments and words of encouragement from numerous people that had visited this same location over the years.

Even to this day, four years after the battle at Hogwarts, Harry still felt a warmth in his heart at seeing the many words of hope and wishes of success from people he had likely never met. There were actual graves for his parents that he could visit, and he sometimes did, but for Harry, though the remnants of the house looked like little more than a pile of rubble and wood; where many would see nothing but destruction and death, for him it gave him a sense of pride.

Yes, his parents had died horrible deaths in this very house, all to spare his life. It was indeed something he hated thinking upon. But it was also their moment of greatest triumph, the single moment where Voldemort was firmly set on his personal path of destruction. The moment that tyrant appeared in front of this house, was the moment he sealed his own demise. And thinking about that always filled Harry with an immense feeling of pride. His parents had been true hero's, in every sense of the word. Of course, there wasn't a day that passed that Harry wished they could have survived and lived along with him, no other desire ever came close to that for him, not even once and that would never change. But at least there was no doubt in his mind that they were amazing people; indescribably brave, abundantly loving, they were some of the best parents anyone could ask for. Harry was beyond proud to be there son.

Visiting this place always filled him with a sense of calm and peace when he needed it. And lately, he found himself needing it more and more. It wasn't as if his life was in shambles or anything, he had a good job as an Auror; even received a promotion recently to Head Auror in the Ministry, mostly thanks to his battle prowess and knowledge. He had always been decent at dueling, but thanks to his constant run-ins with Death Eaters and fight against Voldemort, he had become something of a prodigy. And as it turned out, he actually rather enjoyed simple duels, especially without the fear of actually dying.

And though he and Ginny had broken up a couple years ago, they were still good friends, and the same could be said of him with the entire Weasley family. Though they had never adopted him, Harry had come to think of them as his family. He loved them all dearly, and couldn't have asked to meet better people when he was so young. Likewise, he was still great friends with Hermione who had become one of the greatest Transfiguration professors in all of Hogwarts' history, McGonagall, who was the new Headmistress, couldn't be more proud.

He did love Ginny, even to this day, but things just weren't working out. With his job as an Auror, his time away from home could be extensive at times; there had been more than one occasion where he wouldn't come home for more than two days. And it wasn't just Harry, Ginny had landed a position as a Chaser with the Holyhead Harpies, and she excelled at it. But it wasn't easy on relationships to be involved in professional sports. With her weekly practice schedules, pre-game rallies, tours and tournaments, Ginny was home almost less than Harry. In fact, there were many days during every month that their flat was completely unoccupied.

The day finally came when they would have 'The Talk', and it honestly went about as well as anyone could ask a break-up to go. Neither of them were angry at, or blamed the other for what had happened. Both Harry and Ginny loved what they did for a living, but also loved each other enough to know that it wasn't fair to either of them to try to keep their relationship going when the most time they might get to spend with each other during the week was maybe one full day, two if they were exceedingly lucky.

Neither of them held resentment for the other, and whenever they saw each other whether it be in passing, or when Harry would visit the Weasley's Burrow, they would still greet with warm smiles and embraces. Molly wasn't too happy to hear of their break up, having genuinely hoped to make Harry an actual member of the family. She had also been afraid at first that Harry might be too ashamed to visit since he and Ginny had broken up; however, Ginny quickly nipped that fear in the bud, telling Harry that he better still visit, and that if he made her mother cry because he didn't come around, she would hex the hell out of him.

Harry knew better than to not take her promise seriously, and knew damn well she could back up her warning. He still remembered the chill that ran down his spine the first time he saw her reduce a training dummy to ash with a single spell. Coupled with the times they had fought together against Voldemort's forces, witnessing how well she handled herself in a fight, Ginny was the last person he ever wanted to provoke, or get into an actual fight with.

So it wasn't his personal life, though he was single, he was content at the moment. He had a successful job as an Auror, and enjoyed his job; the feeling he would derive from taking another criminal off the streets. He loved, and was loved by all his friends and family, and the wizarding world was experiencing true peace for the first time in many years. Why then? Why was he starting to get this feeling of restlessness so often?

Harry couldn't explain it, but it felt kind of like the calm before the storm. He kept shrugging it off as simply being paranoid, but who could really blame him? For most of his life, when things seemed too good to be true, it's usually because they were, and he was doing what he always did, waiting for the other shoe to drop. He hated it, but no matter what he did, he just couldn't get rid of the chill that would creep up his spine whenever he would think, Things can't possibly stay like this for long. And he hated himself for thinking that. It felt almost like he was asking for trouble; chaos, destruction, and death.

His life had already been drenched in chaos, why the hell would he actually ask for more? That was crazy. He should be beyond ecstatic at the current peace the wizarding world was experiencing, that it had deserved to have for so long. He was so disappointed with the general nature of his frequent thoughts lately that he'd begun keeping more to himself, and during his free time, would visit this very spot. Harry would sometimes even find himself standing, staring at the house, and saying absolutely nothing for hours. He knew it was extremely weird, and many of the villagers had more than likely thought him crazy at this point and started some rumors.

However, though Harry genuinely thought himself more than a little paranoid about everything, he had learned long ago to not completely ignore his gut, which had proven to be a bit more intelligent than his brain a few times over in the past. And due to that, he had actually made a trip back to Hogwarts, and under the guise of wishing just to visit with Hagrid, made his way back into the Forbidden Forrest where he combed the ground over in search of the Resurrection Stone. He had dropped it before Voldemort had sent what he believed to be the final killing blow to Harry.

He honestly never intended to go looking for it again, but some unseen force was compelling him to make sure that all three Hollows were in his possession. The search had taken him considerable time, but finally Harry succeeded in locating the tiny stone; which in four years hadn't budged an inch, but had been completely taken over by weeds and roots. Thankfully that moment still stood fresh in his mind, and he was able to retrace his steps to the exact spot he'd been standing in when Voldemort had shot the spell at him.

Harry put his hand into his pocket, feeling the smooth surface of the stone. He often kept it with him, but had never used it since first dropping it in the forest. He would sometimes find himself wishing to see his parents and lost loved ones once more, as was only natural, but Harry knew better. The dead should be left that way. If anything, simply carrying the stone with him made him feel at least a little closer to those he'd lost; each brush against the stone recalling a moment with his lost friends and family; a smiling face, a shared laugh, a loving embrace, the ethereal forms of the deceased surrounding him the one time he had used the stone, giving him probably the most cherished memory of his life.

No one knew that he actually had the stone with him, believing that he honestly didn't remember where he had dropped it. Additionally, no one else knew where he had stashed the wand, and knowing the bloody history of it, the few that knew Harry was the rightful owner of the wand, knew better than to pry; best to let that beast slumber indefinitely. As for the cloak, aside from Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, no one else alive even knew that Harry owned an invisibility cloak, let alone that it was one of the Hallows. However, when or if anyone else found out, it would be plenty easy to pass off as just another cloak, so he had no qualms about keeping that one just laying around the flat.

Harry honestly believed that there was no real threat of the Hallows finding themselves in the wrong hands. Those that at least knew Harry was in possession of two of the items would rather die than give up that information, and would be hard pressed to tell those secrets without truth serum. And Harry was the last person to go blabbing about it all, so the items were definitely safe. Why then, did he suddenly start feeling like he had to make sure that all three items were in his possession. Surely, wouldn't it have been safer to leave the stone hidden in the forest? No one had even known he'd had the stone with him; the stone which until he actually spoke the phrase, 'I'm about to die.' Had safely been hidden in a Golden Snitch.

It didn't make any sense to him. All he had to go on was his gut feeling, his gut, which had been pulling him in a dozen different directions lately, making him feel paranoid and depressed when he had absolutely no right to be so. He hated it. But more than that, Harry wanted to know why. Why was his gut so damned determined to make his perfectly happy life hell again?

But then a thought surfaced, What if they really aren't safe?

"What?" Harry quietly said incredulously to himself, placing his hands on the small fence in front of him as if bracing himself to keep standing, "How could they not be safe? Nobody else knows, and I trust those that do completely." A small portion of his mind wondered if he was actually going crazy, to be standing here actually questioning his own mind and motives.

But honestly, he thought as his face grew more concerned, What if they really aren't safe? These three items have caused so many problems, taken so many lives. Is it really enough to simply try and hide them and hope for the best?

"I need to find a more permanent solution." Harry said, his eyes sweeping back and forth as if scanning the area in front of him, but not actually seeing any of it.

"I think it's time I visit an old friend." He said to himself once more, and without a second thought, the wizard turned on the spot apparating to Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

o0O0o

"How is this even possible?" Mira asked, clearly flustered but managing to keep it together. She couldn't believe this was happening. By all accounts it should be impossible for any two gods to pick the same individual to one day take their place, and even less possible for gods of their caliber. And yet, here they were, Magick incarnate and Death, two of the most powerful elder gods in all of creation, having chosen a single individual to one day take their place.

"I honestly don't know Mira, believe me. In all my life I have never seen this happen before. It should theoretically be impossible for two gods, regardless of power and standing to pick the same individual. There are too many variables to take into account that makes an individual a Potential, and even more for them to become our Chosen." Yes, there were a few times in the past when two or more gods may pick the same individual as a Potential Successor, but by the time they were actually a Chosen Successor, only one god would be able to Claim them. But for Mira and Death, they had already finished their Claiming Tests.

That wasn't to say that it wasn't possible for more than one god to test a Potential for the Claiming; the Tests were what was used to determine which god would come to finally Claim them. And only the god whose tests were successfully completed by the Potential would be able to claim them as their Successor. Throughout all of time, never had there been a Successor to officially complete two elder gods' Claiming Tests. And yet, Harry Potter had.

Both Death and Magick had thoroughly tested and tried him, thrown disaster and chaos at him from every direction, all the while completely unaware of the fact that the other was doing the same. To avoid potential interference from other gods during the Tests, it had been decided eons ago, that it would be impossible for any other gods to know when a god was doing a Claiming, and what Tests they had in store for the Potential. Even gods of their level would be utterly clueless of each other's involvement.

"It just…It doesn't make any sense." She started, clearly losing her composure more and more by the second. Grenth thought she might end up cracking and harming the nearby people. He was prepared to step in, however the next second, Mira snapped her fingers and the two of them were transported to her house in Oregon. It was a large Victorian style home, featuring about five bedrooms from what he could tell, as well as a number of additional rooms including the study which she had just transported them to. It was a spacious room with floor to ceiling shelves adorning two of the four walls, filled with all manner of books. The wall opposite the entrance housed a large window overlooking the enormous redwood trees that surrounded the house.

"Why the redwoods?" Grenth asked as he turned from the window, then sat down in one of the squishy leather chairs set in front of the large mahogany desk, propping one leg up on the other.

"Why not?" Mira replied as she returned the book she had with her to one of the many shelves, "I can think of few places else in the world that are as magical as the redwood forest." She returned to the desk, sitting down in the chair across from Grenth, swiveling the chair back and forth slowly, a contemplative look on her face as she thought on their dilemma.

"Honestly, I don't…" She started, before cutting herself off, chewing on her bottom lip as she tapped the desk and then sighed. She turned her questioning eyes to Grenth, only to see he was just as lost as she was. "What are we supposed to do?"

"I'm afraid my dear, that I'm just as lost about this as you are. Anyone would be. This is unprecedented." Grenth responded, clasping his hands in his lap. "We chose the same individual. Picked him to one day replace us, to finally give us the rest we deserve. We chose him, and tested him. And somehow, through his determination, sheer willpower and love for his friends and family, Harry Potter has managed to do what no other Potential has done."

"There has to be more to it than that." Mira added flatly, "We've seen it time and again. Harry is far from the first Successor to possess those qualities, being the qualities that are frequently desired in a Successor. So there has to be more."

"You are indeed correct Mira." Grenth said with a nod, "Those qualities are frequently the basis of a god's choice in replacement. At least for the noble and good-natured ones." He added with a small wave of his hand, "So then what else?" He said, getting up from his chair and walking back over to the window.

"What exactly is it? What trait? What quality?" He stared out the window for a moment, marveling at the sheer size of the large trees, "Exactly who, and what is Harry Potter?"

"We both knew he was special when we chose him, that much was clear. But I think we drastically underestimated how special. The ones we choose to replace us never have any clue as to the position we've placed them in until our tests are complete and we're ready to approach them. They're completely ignorant of everything, and cosmic law forbids any outward influence during the entire process. So no one and nothing could have tipped him off or assisted him in any way." Said Mira as she began laying out the foundations of the Claiming, trying to determine what they had missed.

"That, and it would be impossible for him to somehow determine the events in his life were merely tests designed by us. To him and all Potentials, they are nothing more than the hardships of life; struggles to overcome, and grow as a result. Unless you saw something I missed, I think it's safe to say there were no clues given to Harry to make him aware." Grenth said as he paced back over to the chair, this time standing behind it.

"No, there were no clues given to him. No one around him had any clue what was actually going on, or possessed any pertinent knowledge on our Claiming. Hell, most of them have little to no knowledge about our actual existence, let alone the whole Successor ordeal. And from beginning to end, regardless of cosmic law, there was no attempted interference from any source. If there was any outward influence, it was from something beyond us."

"Now that would be something." Grenth added, making Mira arch a brow in response, "There are very few sources in all the cosmos that exist beyond the breadth of our power. If any of them did in fact interfere somehow, I shudder to think what it could mean. The ramifications would likely be cataclysmic." They sat quietly for a moment before he continued, now pacing the room.

"I think we can comfortably rule out the last scenario. It's not unlikely that we would have sensed at least something if there had been interference. I honestly believe the source is at least a little more mundane."

"The items?"

"Perhaps, but doubtful." Grenth replied, continuing his slow pace, "Though the Hallows would undoubtedly have helped him through the Tests, the only one he continually had in his possession was the cloak, and that would have scarcely made a difference. And certainly not enough to help him pass both of our Tests."

"Then it circles back to Harry." Mira said, getting up from her chair to move in front of the desk and sit down on its edge, "As hard as it is to grasp, somehow through the events leading up to our Tests, he had managed to gain something. Some significant trait or quality. And this aspect, whatever it may be, allowed him to shoulder the weight of both our tests and complete them."

"That's what it looks like." Grenth said as he sat back down in the chair, "At least at first glance. I'm hard pressed to believe that to be the entire reason, but I think there's something more important that we need to focus on."

"Where we go from here." Mira said, earning a nod from Grenth.

"We don't really have the time to waste trying to uncover this mystery right now. We need to figure out exactly how to proceed. And seeing as there have been no other cases like this, we have no real idea of the best way to sort this out." It was quiet for several moments while the two of them thought on the best solution, until finally Mira spoke.

"I really want you to finally have your Successor Grenth. You honestly deserve one the most, out of anyone. You've been Death for longer than I can remember, and honestly the role suits you extremely well…" She stopped, eyes wandering down as she tried to usher her thoughts, "There has never been a Death like you, no one to command the kind of respect you do with nothing more than your presence. To radiate power and authority, but still retain the ability to be uncommonly kind and understanding. It's not fair that you've been stuck in your role for so long, longer than anyone. Even though I don't think you outright hate your role, it's still not fair. I know you desperately want Harry to be your successor, and I know without a doubt that he'd be an excellent replacement. Why else would you have chosen him?"

Through her small speech, Grenth kept his eyes locked on her. He appreciated everything she was saying, more than she knew. It was true, he honestly didn't mind the role of Death, and he would like to think he was pretty good at it. He tried to be fair and impartial to everyone, the fundamental qualities required of anyone in his role, and the cornerstone of the entire idea of Death. However, it had been a very long time since he had taken over as Successor to the last Death, longer than he'd ever like to admit. He was tired, and worn. As a god, there are very few things you ever could want for, and as an elder god, fewer still. You have everything you could ever ask for, and none of the need for the simple material wants or desires of mortals.

As an elder god, if you need or want something, you get it, and very little can even attempt to stand in your way. So when the time comes where an elder god actually desires something significant, it would typically take no less than the possible destruction of the universe to dissuade them from that desire. And as time continues, the strength of the god's resolve only increases. So for Grenth, who's only real desire for several millennia now has been to find a proper replacement, he had decided some time ago that absolutely nothing would stand in the way of him finally obtaining a Successor. However, the fact that at the moment, the wrinkle in his plans was Mira, made things a bit more difficult. He loved Mira, and respected her immensely. Were it any other god, he wouldn't have hesitated to declare Harry to be his Successor alone, and demand that they back off.

However, because it was Mira, and he had already cheated her out of a couple successors, he had been keeping himself calm and collected this whole time. Grenth still had no intention of easily relinquishing his claim to Harry, but at the same time, he didn't want to completely deny Mira her claim to Harry either. After all he had completed both Mira and his Tests, so they both genuinely held equal claim to Harry.

They had to come up with a compromise. But what could it be? Neither had past experiences to use in deciding the best action, they just had to come up with something. A fair way of deciding who in the end would be the one to take Harry under their wing and train him to one day take their place.

"I appreciate that Mira, I really do." He finally said after a long pause, "However, it's not fair to you for me to take immediate claim of him. He completed both of our Tests, so that gives us both equal footing. Clearly, the boy can't take over both of our roles though. So we have to come up with a tie breaker of sorts."

Hearing this caused Mira to perk up a bit, "Really? Did you have anything in mind?"

"Maybe, but I'm not entirely sure yet. It could be a contest of sorts, or something as simple as asking him to choose. That of course would be the simplest method, albeit the one to be the most awkward for sure." Mira laughed a little at that.

"I think that's an understatement. Not to mention he still has no clue about everything we had put him through. It's never an easy task to inform a Successor about the Tests. It's never taken easily from what I've heard, and it can often take considerable time for them to decide to accept or reject the role they've been chosen for. And quite frankly, what do you think the odds are of Harry easily accepting either of our roles?"

It was an unfortunate, but true fact that even after everything; the time to find and chose someone to be a Potential Successor, the time after that to initiate the Claiming Tests, and then the time after for the individual to ultimately decide whether they wanted to accept or reject the role they had been chosen for. All of this could easily span decades or even centuries depending on the race or species. If after everything, the one they had chosen decided to reject the role, they would have to start all over; forcing them to accept the role was impossible. Which is why gods took such care in deciding who might one day replace them.

"Hard to say." Grenth responded, "It would be a lot to ask of anyone to even understand, let alone forgive the tasks we put them through, and even more to accept it. I'm sure he'll hate us at first, maybe even despise us. I can only hope he can come to see why."

"I think we can all agree that we wished there were easier ways to go about this. We aren't, all of us inherently evil or cruel, but our Tests we put them through say otherwise. We may not be the ones to personally take the life of their friends or loved ones, or put them through horrible pain and suffering, but we are the ones that set the events in motion." She said, getting up from her spot on the desk and walking over to the window. Mira opened it, letting a breeze enter the room carrying the deep earthy scents of the forest mixed with the salt of the nearby sea.

"I really wish there was an easier way." She said quietly.

"Yes," Grenth said as he got up from his chair, walked over and leaned against the wall next to the window and looked at Mira, his arms crossed as he continued, "We all wish there was an easier way. To determine what someone is really made of through hardship and pain has never been desirable. We've all wished for better ways. But the fact remains, our lives aren't all that splendid.

"We frequently have tough decisions to make, to weigh the value of lives and pick one over another. Few choices in life are harder. Despite the individual god's role, we all deal with life and death at some point. So only those that can truly appreciate the value of life, and understand the gravity of making the hard choice can play our role."

"I know." Mira replied, then sighed as she looked back to Grenth, "So the question remains, what do we do? How do we decide which one of us trains Harry? How do we come up with a tie breaker?"

"I actually have an idea." Grenth said with a small smirk, causing Mira to twitch a brow in curiosity, "I think it's time we visit an old friend." He could see Mira trying to figure out who he was talking about. It didn't take long as he watched realization dawn on her.

She gave a small chuckle as the corner of her mouth twitched in a smirk, "This should be fun."