Chapter 14 – Making a Deal

It didn't take very long for everyone to realize that the heir of Slytherin had taken another victim, this time, permanently. Draco Malfoy was carried out of the castle by night, and the media was all over the grounds once again that year. It seemed clear to everyone that the school would have to be shut down, until one of the ministry inspectors found a confession letter. A finely penned letter had been left in one of Draco's drawers confessing to his crimes. The letter said that he couldn't take the pain anymore, and that he wished that all of the mudbloods and blood traitors could die soon, but that he was finished with this world. The healers at St. Mungo's determined he had suddenly had a heart attack, but with no apparent reason behind it. Only the most diehard pure bloods believed that there had been any foul play, and all accepted that the young boy had been a tragic loss to youthful depression and racism, and perhaps the same ailment that had taken his father before his time. All was seemingly back to normal at Hogwarts.

"Well that's great isn't it!", yelled Ron over the end of term feast. "We didn't have to do anything to get that slimy git to off himself. And, I've actually got some info for the task force for once. This is the best day we've had in weeks." The feast was grand, and many people were giving heartfelt goodbyes.

"I just don't feel right about this. What was Malfoy doing that made me hear a voice anywhere I was in the school? And the way he died makes me suspicious."

"Who knows? Does it matter if he's dead?" Ron was shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth. He whispered quickly, "I know you didn't do it, so even if some death god did take him out, what does it matter? "

Harry had been thinking intensely in a way that wasn't healthy at all. He knew that there was nothing he could do about this, and he was feeling exceptionally useless in his work for the task force. He hadn't managed to find any useful information about the philosopher's stone, memory charms, or what was going on with Quirrel, Snape, or the death eaters. He only had one power, the DeathNote. He couldn't just use it, could he?

Cho was simply musing happily over the letter they had received earlier that day.

Greetings to Cho Chang, Ronald Weasley, and Harry Potter,

We are excited to announce that the Grecian Mandrakes have been a complete success in restoring miss Marietta Edgecombe and Hermione Granger in motion and in mental faculties. We expect that they will be returning to Britain as soon as possible. Until then, they wish it to be known that they are excited to see you again.

From,

Konstantinos Ouzouni

Healer for the Athens Hospital of Magic

All three had jumped for joy, and couldn't wait to see their friends again. Cho was extra excited about having Marietta get to know her new friends. They all expected them to return by the end of Christmas break, and only Harry still had any concerns.

"Hopefully they'll have some information about what happened to them. Then perhaps we'll have our answer." Cho said, without a care in the world. Even she was getting into the festive spirit.

"Hey Cho, I had a question." Ron said in between bites of chicken.

"What's up?"

"You're Cantonese right? Do you celebrate Christmas?" Cho looked put off by Ron, but rolled her eyes and accepted it.

"I was born in London, so I've celebrated it all of my life. And you can just say Chinese. All of my family does anyway."

"So you'll be spending the holidays at home I expect."

"Correct! I'm heading home tomorrow, but I'll be back before New Years. I want to make sure I'm here to see Marietta and Hermione when they arrive."

The rest of the day would have passed simply, but Harry had a conversation he'd been meaning to have for awhile with a certain God of Death. He made his way to a deserted alcove before speaking.

"Vim, come down here." The leathery wings beat slightly, and Vim appeared. She had been getting more and more depressed lately. Harry thought that the lack of killing might have had something to do with it.

"Yes? What do you want?"

"Do you have any idea what happened to Malfoy? From what the healers have said it sounds like someone killed him with a DeathNote."

"Not telling." She shut her eyes and turned away.

"What?"

"I don't have to answer you. This is a two way street. I know you haven't gotten any farther in figuring out how to get past those Dementors, and until then, why should I answer questions that I'm not required to answer?"

"Then here's my next question. Do you know if there are any other side effects of being possessed by you?"

"That I am forced to talk about. Other than losing your ability to go to heaven or hell? Not that I know of."

"I've recently discovered that I am immune to memory charms. A friend said that almost never happens unless something powerful is protecting the wizard."

"Well there is one thing that might be connected. And I'll tell you, for a price. I need to kill someone soon."

"Don't try this again Vim, we've been through this."

"This time it's serious though. If you don't give me a page or the notebook back, I'll be getting dreadfully close to dying."

"Why?"

"I absorb lives from people when I use the DeathNote. I can see the remaining life spans of all humans floating above their heads, and when I kill them, I add that amount of life to my own. You could see it too, if you wanted to make a bargain with me and receive shinigami eyes." Harry had gotten less angry and more simply tolerant of the Shinigami as time went on. He couldn't believe how scared and awed he'd been by her the first time they'd met. Now he just saw some childish creature that only killed to live, and didn't have much else interesting going on in its life.

"How close are you to dying?" Harry was intrigued. Could this be his way to be rid of this monster? He saw the sense in some of what she said, but still couldn't see any benefit from letting this thing do it's business.

"About 4 years. But that's nothing to a shinigami. I can feel the last threads of life slipping. If you haven't noticed, I'm not the most active shinigami in history. I usually just kill someone every 10 or 100 years or so. I was really behind when I lost my notebook."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to wait 4 years to see you gone."

"Oh come on! You might need to make the eye deal some day. What if you wanted to know how much longer a dear friend had to live in their natural lifespan. Or if there was someone anonymous you really wanted to kill."

Now there was something he hadn't considered. Harry had of course thought of stopping the Heir of Slytherin with the DeathNote, but he didn't know his name. And he thought back to the attack on the Hogwarts Express. What if he was about to be killed instead of just captured. If he could get that power, there would never need to worry again. He thought of Hermione, and Ron, and Cho, and the numerous new friends he had. If he could use this thing to help them without actively killing people himself, could it be worth it….

"Here's my idea Vim. You willing to make a trade?" Vim jumped to attention.

"What's your deal, human?"

"I let you write a name in the notebook that I want written, but I stay the owner. With that, I get these shinigami eyes, you answer my questions about the DeathNote or Shinigami whenever I want, and you get to add some years to your life span." Vim looked upset. Harry could see that the shinigami was trying work out if the deal was fair or not.

"I also want a way to get past those Dementors fast. As in three weeks fast. If I'm going to be stuck on Earth for the rest of your life, I need to make sure it's relaxing, and having those monsters coming at me to suck me up isn't going to help. Usually you'd have to pay much more than this, but I'm in a bind. Deal?"

"Deal" Harry extended his hand and they shook.

"So who is you want killed?"

"I'll write you the list. I think I've found a way to solve both of our problems."