A/N: Thank you so much to sugarbob who let me know that Word was "autocorrecting" my Shinigami into Shikigami...I had the add the word to it's dictionary. I went back and fixed it, so many many many thanks to Sugarbob! hands an e-cookie over
Disclaimer: I own no Harry Potter characters. I own Tazarra, but not her background...that belongs to the awesome Death Note universe. Reviews are loved as always!
The minutes ticked by rather slowly, and the giant monster following Harry to the Great Hall was making him anxious. He considered going to Dumbledore and asking to be sent to St. Mungo's when Hermione came running up to him.
"Harry, Bellatrix-" she panted heavily, "she's dead!"
A lump the size of Dobby formed in Harry's throat. 'It's real then!' he thought to himself. 'Wait, Hermione didn't say how she died. It's a coincidence.'
"She must've disappointed Voldemort then." Harry joked.
"No, that's the strangest thing, it was a heart attack. No potion foul-play, no avada kedavra, a simple heart attack." Hermione smirked slightly, "And to think maybe a muggle heart doctor could've detected the signs."
Harry turned to stare at his Shinigami in horror. Tazarra grinned maniacally at him and he turned back to Hermione.
"Harry, are you okay? You're quite pale, is your scar hurting?" she whispered the last bit to him.
"I'm fine, just hungry. Ron still in the Great Hall?" he knew the answer as he walked in and saw Ron in deep conversation with Neville.
Harry sat across from them and Hermione sat next to him. Tazarra floated behind Ron and Neville, sneaking a pumpkin pastry from Ron's plate. Harry piled food onto his plate and ate as quickly as he could.
"I'm glad she's gone, but do you think maybe there's something more behind it?" Hermione finally interrupted Ron and Neville's rejoicing.
"Like what, Hermione? They said it was nothing more than a heart attack!" Ron gave her a skeptical look.
"I don't know, maybe someone's developed a potion that causes a heart attack and can't be traced. Or perhaps maybe Voldemort's got a spell worse than the Avada Kedavra." Her voice lowered so other people in the Hall could not hear.
"That's just silly," Ron laughed.
Hermione bristled and gathered her bag, "Just because you don't care to think about the larger picture doesn't make my ideas silly." She stormed off, leaving a dumbfounded Ron.
"Just when I think I'm doing okay, she makes me confused all over again," Ron muttered.
"Well, I thought her idea was kind of silly too. Bellatrix was in Azkaban for a while, and that's not exactly good for someone's health." Neville's usual timid demeanor was gone. He practically glowed with happiness.
That's when it hit Harry; Bellatrix had tortured Neville's parents, so of course Neville would be thrilled Bellatrix was no longer on the run. He stood suddenly and ran back to the library, pushing past the other students milling about after their Hogsmeade trip. Finding a secluded table he took out the Death Note and stared at it.
"It's not going to write anything in itself," Tazarra's voice caused Harry to jump.
"I'm never going to get used to you following me around," Harry mumbled.
"You are a very disrespectful human. I'm a Death God, and here you are saying you don't enjoy my company." She made herself sound insulted and hurt.
"What normal person would want a Death God's company?" he whispered to her.
"Hm, I saw quite a few people that would make great use of this Death Note. There was one in particular at the table up front, he looked like he would write every student's name the second he got his hands on it." She laughed and pulled a pumpkin pastry from Harry's bag.
"That's because Snape is an overgrown, greasy bat. How many of those did you put in my bag?" he growled the last part as he ducked under the table.
"Indeed, Mister Potter, as flattering as your description of me was it was poorly lacking adjectives. Every student uses greasy, perhaps you can mull over better words to describe me in detention." Snape's low monotone voice came from seemingly out of nowhere.
Harry sprawled onto the floor with a yelp then turned to stare at Snape in horror, "I-didn't-oh, well. Sir, let me start-"
"By apologizing?" Snape finished for him, "No, Potter, you can start tomorrow night at eight o clock in my office. I've got many things that need cleaning; you will find them quite greasy. No need for gloves."
Harry stared, mouth agape, at Snape's retreating form. He scrambled back into his chair, and picked up his quill. He had lowered it to the paper, about to write Snape's name, but couldn't continue. He shook his head hard and lowered his quill back to the table.
"This makes it far too easy to kill," he muttered as he shoved the book back into his bag. "I should tell Dumbledore."
Tazarra floated directly in front of him, and he took a startled step back.
"I can take my Death Note back, and you have no memory of having it. There is no need to spread the word about it. There have been many problems with other Shinigami's control of their notes. Kindly return mine, and we can part ways, Harry Potter."
"No," he whispered, "and fine I won't tell Dumbledore quite yet…but I'm informing my two friends."
She laughed and floated around him, "Possession of the Death Note lowers your lifespan, Harry Potter. As does treating your Shinigami poorly. I gain the years I take from you as I write your name in my book. Keep that bit of information in mind."
He glared at her and threw his bag onto his shoulder, storming off to the Gryffindor common room.