Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter or the poem by Mr. Yeats.
Scene: A circle of Druidic stones
First Fairy: Afar from our lawn and our levee,
O sister of sorrowful gaze!
Where the roses in scarlet are heavy
And dream of the end of their days,
You move in another dominion
And hang o'er the historied stone:
Unpruned in your beautiful pinion
Who wander and whisper alone.
All: Come away while the moon's in the woodland,
We'll dance and then feast in a dairy.
Though youngest of all in our good band,
You are wasting away, little fairy.
Second Fairy: Ah! cruel ones, leave me alone now
While I murmur a little and ponder
The history here in the stone now;
Then away and away I will wander,
And measure the minds of the flowers,
And gaze on the meadow-mice wary,
And number their days and their hours-
All: You're wasting away, little fairy.
Second Fairy: O shining ones, lightly with song pass,
Ah! leave me, I pray you and beg.
My mother drew forth from the long grass
A piece of a nightingle's egg,
And cradled me here where are sung,
Of birds even, longings for aery
Wild wisdoms of spirit and tongue.
All: You're wasting away, little fairy.
First Fairy [turning away]: Though the tenderest roses were round you,
The soul of this pitiless place
With pitiless magic has bound you-
Ah! woe for the loss of your face,
And the loss of your laugh with its lightness-
Ah! woe for your wings and your head-
Ah! woe for your eyes and their brightness-
Ah! woe for your slippers of red.
We'll dance and then feast in a dairy.
Though youngest of all in our good band,
She's wasting away, little fairy.
William Butler Yeats, "The Fairy Pendant"
Chapter thirteen: Calculated Loss and Sacrifice
Snape liked to stand at the top of Hogwarts and look down. She supposed that as Headmaster, that it was his prerogative. But he wasn't the only one.
Death had not stayed away.
The fae stepped out on the ledge where Snape stood and looked up at the hooded figure on the roof. She sighed and set her mouth in a thin line as she climbed up. With one last inelegant heave she rolled onto the roof. She lay there for a moment, breathing heavily then covered her face with her hand and laughed.
"You're wasting away." She said and dropped her arms and sat up with a grunt. A little bit of scooting and she was sitting next to the other black-robed figure.
"I see that the word got out about this spot being a great place for brooding." She said glancing up at Death.
"Did you have a question, little fairy?" he asked.
The fae shrugged and rubbed her head. Hm, her hair seemed a bit longer…
"I guess I was just wondering why you didn't take me in the cemetery a couple of years ago."
"You didn't die." He said.
"Really?" She looked slightly surprised. "Huh."
"Indeed."
"…Why are you here now?" she asked seriously staring into the distance and trying to sound like she wasn't terrified.
"I always prepare before-hand when I know that I will be particularly busy."
She looked down and scowled, heart pounding.
"Can't you just piss-off?"
The hooded figure shifted and she looked up with jaw set and what she hoped was defiance without the tinge of fear. Death made a noise that could pass as some kind of laugh.
"You fae are all the same. You get so upset when you think you are losing whatever game you are playing." He said. The fae couldn't see inside the hood but it seemed like he was smiling. It did nothing to still her pounding heartbeat.
She swallowed.
"If you want to play a game, I'm sure I could think of something."
More of that odd laughter and his shoulders shook.
"No." he said, "I learned my lesson about playing games with the fae. I cannot take you due to age now and I rather not lose any other avenues of work among your people."
The fae shifted uncomfortably.
"Not too much of a loss on your part." She said trying to be conciliatory now that defiance hadn't worked. "You must have known that our violent natures and mischief would have brought us to you anyway."
"Well, there was that." Death said. "It was still a very clever maneuver on your part." He nodded in her direction and she forced a smile at the compliment.
"I thought I had learned my lesson." He continued. "Thought I was taking a page from the fae when I met those brothers. Just like the fae, I gave them exactly what they wanted and claimed what I wanted all the same…for two of them anyway."
This time the fae could not help smirking for real.
"Fairy tales do tend to favor the youngest and smallest in those situations." She said.
Death nodded and with a flutter of fabric he was gone. The fae stared at the empty space that Death left. He always got what he wanted; those who defied him never really won. The fae were restless and would always cause mischief and their own destruction and men could only flail. Extending life only temporarily. Such was the destiny of men.
Power wouldn't help.
The oldest brother had that and because like calls to like, he was destined to end violently. Such was the fate of the Elder wand.
Holding unto what was lost certainly did nothing.
The loss and pain of the memory but not the possession brought despair. Such was the fate of the Resurrection Stone.
Hiding was futile.
To elude death…to extend your days until…
…until the youngest and third brother had lived long and fully and had taught his son to do the same. Yes, he had died, but when he did he greeted Death like an old friend.
The fae sat up straight.
Was that what living was? Knowing that you will die and trying to keep living until death was no longer an unknown terror?
A tear gathered and fell heavy and bitter from her eye.
That was what she wanted for Harry. Her boy did not need power or his mother's ghost. He needed to live and elude death for as long as he could.
Voldemort though, he could die as violently as could be. Preferably in some slow, messy way that involved dismemberment or disembowelment, or some other process that entailed the prefix "dis-". Maybe even "de-"; there were a lot of fun words that started with that.
She wiped her eyes and thought hard about how to guarantee such a fate like someone who possessed the Elder wa—
All her tiny, pointy teeth gleamed in the sunlight as she smiled.
She stood up. It was time to stop brooding. She had to convince Severus to go see the talkative bastard so she could whisper promises of power in his ear.
The fae took small steps to the edge of the roof and looked down.
"Now how the hell am I supposed to get down?" She mumbled. "Severus, come closer to the edge." She called out. "I need to step on your greasy head!"
The fae stood next to Snape as they both watched the Weasley boy drag Harry out of the pond as the boy clutched the sword of Gryffindor, gasping and coughing.
"He's grown so much." She said, lips quirking ever so slightly. Snape turned away abruptly and she had just enough time to hop unto his back.
One thing she was always surprised by was that Death went to each person one by one. She knew tome was not an issue for such a being; but even on all the chaos on the battle at Hogwarts, he still worked at a slow, steady pace.
There weren't ever any mass reapings. No, death was a personal matter and Death went to each of the fallen, regardless of affiliation. Sometimes he helped them stand, said a few words and took them beyond the veil. Sometimes he simply stood there as the soul looked around in pain or shock and waited for them to come with him.
He did his job well and she had no desire to watch him work. She stood off to the side of the boat-house with Severus and Mister-talks-a lot.
True to form, he was talking again. Fingering the Elder wand.
She wondered if she would have to wait long. Suddenly he was lifting Nagini up in the air and the fae pushed off the wall in shock as Severus screamed.
"I regret it." Said Voldemort and he left, taking his pet with him. The fae ran to Snape and fell to her knees at his side. Blood gushed from his neck in a stark contrast to his white face as weak fingers tried to staunch the flow and he shook.
"Somebody help him!" She screamed and a crate moved. Harry, her Harry, appeared as he took off his invisibility cloak and knelt on the other side of the dying man. Snape grabbed the front of the boy's robes and pulled him forward.
Sick noises came from Snape's ravaged throat.
"Take…it…take…it…"
The fae watched as memories leaked from him and knew them by their shine. He was telling Harry everything he could not say. He, at least, was not surprised by this end.
"Look…at…me…" Snape whispered and the two boys that she had cared for looked into each other's eyes until one lost its gleam. Snape's hand loosened and fell to the floor.
Her eyes were dry.
Somehow her eyes would not produce tears even as the loss would not fade from her mind.
But then the bastard was talking again and rage tinted her every thought. She waited for him to finish and for Harry's friends to convince him to leave. She stared at him with clenched fists as he looked down at Snape. He seemed do lost, but he turned away and climbed back into the tunnel that he had come through.
She thought about going with him but looking back at the empty black eyes kept her rooted in place. Death hadn't arrived yet, she didn't know when he would and she didn't want to be there when he did, but…she could not just leave him.
"'Though the tenderest roses were round you,'" she said, mouth dry and voice cracking.
"'The soul of this pitiless place
With pitiless magic has bound you—
Ah! woe for the loss of your face,'" she looked down and bit her lips.
"'And the loss of your laugh with its lightness—'" with a girl with bright red hair…
"'Ah! woe for your eyes and their brightness
Ah! woe for your slippers of red.'"
The fae pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes and took deep gasping breaths. She needed to leave.
She stumbled to unsteady feet and left the boat-house as quickly as possible; heading straight to the Forest.
She would see this to the end.
The fae knew what Harry was being shown he must do and she knew it was time. And dammit! she would see this through to the end. With gritted teeth she waited for her boy to come and greet Death.
Voldemort cast the spell and the fae found herself in the indistinct white place again.
"So this is not quite death." She said in almost a question.
""Not quite" would be the best description for it, I suppose." Said Death standing next to her. A distance away Harry was speaking with Dumbledore.
"Well, as long as I've got you here, I have something to discuss." She said matter-of-factly. A low table with two chairs appeared and after a moment so did a tea set. "You take yours with sugar, don't you?" She said as she sat down and began to prepare two cups. After Death sat and the edge of his cup disappeared into his hood in what she assumed was a sip, she set down her own cup and folded her hands in her lap.
"Now." She said "I am not sure how aware you are of the fact, but Lily Potter, Harry's mum," she gestured over her shoulder to him. "Made a contract with me right before she died."
"And what were the terms of this contract?" asked Death setting down his cup with a gentle clink.
"'Anything.'" She stated. "'Everything.'"
"…my, you have been living frugally." He said. The fae nodded.
"I think it is about time I cashed in." Death gestured for her to continue. "As you know, everything that was Lily's is now mine. Her son and everything he possesses. Including," she paused and raised her cup to her lips, "all three of the Deathly Hallows." She took a sip. Death looked at her and tapped his finger on the table once.
"Those were human gifts. Harry is the current Master of Death, little one." He said.
"Yes."
"And it is his decision whether or not he goes back or forward."
"Of course."
He tilted his head.
"Then what exactly are you asking?"
The fae turned and looked at Harry with a sad smile.
"He's all grown now." She said softly. "I did what I could for him but he has been on his own for a while now…hopefully he will be happy with his choices and his…life."
Death waited patiently for her to get to her point.
"I seek another as my prize." She said turning back to Death.
"That boy's situation is unique but being Master of Death is not enough to bring back the dead." He said.
"It is if you took something I had previous claim to." She responded. "There was a man whose heart, mind and very soul, belonged to Lily." The fae sat back in her chair. "She gave her own heart to another but it did not mean the man that loved her so whole-heartedly ever took his back." She leaned forward again.
"She said 'anything'. She said 'everything'. And now I mean to take what is contractually mine."
Death and the fae stared at each other for a few minutes.
"He will not be the man that he once was." Said Death. The fae laughed out loud.
"Oh Death, I thought you had learned not to play word games with the fae?" She, again, got the feeling that Death was smiling.
"Very well." He said picking up his cup. "But I expect this particular agreement to be the last of its kind."
"Of course." She said, inclining her head and smirking into her own cup.
Once Harry was done with his talk with Dumbledore, the fae found herself back in the Forbidden Forest. She could see Harry laying on the ground in the clearing, pretending to be dead. She wanted to run towards him and help.
There was new strength in her bones and she knew she could dance in the forest once more and run with the wolves.
She could help Harry.
There was still a bit of a fight left even though she knew that it was already won.
The fae took a step backwards, away from Harry. There was a connection between them; not the kind there was before, but if he ever called for her, she would come.
But only if he called.
She smiled as she turned away. He was a strong young man; he would be fine on his own. The fae stopped after a bit, there was something flailing in the underbrush.
Slowly, she walked towards it and found a large crow madly flapping its wings as it rolled around on the ground.
"Calm down, calm down." She said, kneeling beside it. The crow stopped moving, wings still spread out and beak open as it panted and stared up at her.
"I know this is all a bit confusing." She said grinning. "But I will try to explain." She reached down and scooped the bird up. It cawed in protest and flapped its wings.
"Shh, shh." She soothed as she stood up. "You've got an entirely new body. That will take some getting used to." The crow shifted in her grip.
"If you don't like this form too much, then I can teach you to look like a man soon enough."
The crow relaxed and the fae walked deeper into the forest, chatting happily, and away from Hogwarts.
The end.
A/N: The epilogue is still to come. Please review.