Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. There's also the standard references to the canon apocalypse and panic from the narrator. Feel free to back out if need be.

Author's Note: Quidditch is over. I's a free elf! Also, this is an interlude, so not exactly picking up the plot where we left off, but it's what wanted to be written. And before anyone complains, I am reminding y'all that I don't consider the movies as canon, so the casting of the movies doesn't matter. Yes, that includes the casting of animals in said movies. As always if you have questions/comments about meta data, length of chapters, time between chapters, and/or how someone could possibly be something other than white, feel free to check the FAQs on my FFN profile.

Timeline Reminders: Supernatural S05-Ep22 (Swan Song); Post-Chamber of Secrets/Pre-Prisoner of Azkaban; Currently Second Week of July

Submitting Info:
Stacked with: RAVEN (2023); MC4A (Su-Y6)
Individual Challenges: Hooters (Y); Death Becomes (Y); Fry Day; Xs & Os; WIP It (Y); Pet Food; Family Trip; Colors of the Sky; MoD It (Y); Old Shoes (Y); Sandbox (Y); Crossing Over; Reader; Cinematic; Binger; Animated; Gamer; Divinity; Endings; Feather & Such; Elder Berries [x5]; Immortal MC [x5]; Nonhuman MC [x5]; Shifter MC [x3]; Ethnic & Present [x3]; Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion [x4]; In a Flash; The Real MC (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Exchange (Y); Greatest Gift (Y); Green Ribbon; Two Cakes (Y); Salt Wrench; Claimed; Growers; Outer; Zed Era; Wibbly Wobbly Era; Rainbow Connection; Finders
RAVEN Challenges: Settings [69](Garden); Items [48](Feather); Colors [31](Clay)
Other MC4A Challenges: SuB [2A](Fruit Salad); AU [2D](Afterlife/Underworld); Chim [Walnut]("Glitter & Gold" – Barns Country; Sienna; Race Bend); Hunt [Su WD (Native/Indigenous); Su Set (Garden); Su Con (Frybread); Su Items (Ball)]; Fire [x3](Carry On); Garden [Tools (Frybread); Flowers (Crimson); Soils (Garden); Melancholia (No Bravery); Robin (Seasonal Bingo); Gallery (Animal)];
Representation(s):
Tessa the Reaper; Death; Kali (the Dark Mother); Sapokne Spider (the Weaver); Iphigenia (Spirit of War); Hedwig (Leucistic Stygian Owl); Canon Apocalypse (Season 5); Conspiracy Compatriots
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Deadliest Catch; Lovely Coconuts; Creature Feature; Wind Beneath; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Nontraditional; Middle Name; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Brooms Only); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pocky Pockets; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Delicious Lie; Tomorrow's Shade; Eternal Boredom; Larger than Life; Unicorn); Demo 1 (Most Human Bean; Snow Lemon; Shiver & Shake; Fruit Fly; Bad Beans; Under the Bridge); Demo 2 (Head of Perseus; Hot Stuff; Seven Gates; Sitting Hummingbird)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Terse; Terrarium); FR (Satisfaction); O3 (Olivine); CM (Navigate); War (Obstruction; Sanctuary; Ennui); TY (Ntaiv)
Space Address (Prompt): 1D (Free Space)
Word Count: 852 words

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Needs and Wants

Chapter 21: Convene
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Tessa had known that she was likely to get in trouble for her interference. Death had been absolute in his instructions to not do anything more than making sure Harry got to the home of Robert Singer. They had not even been permitted to remove the lingering remnants of basilisk venom from his system. While it had been latent for over a decade, the blood magic should have been enough to protect the little master against all supernatural threats once the base criteria for activation were finally met. No one had expected the Host to be poaching, especially not in an area already claimed by a greater power.

But when she stepped out of the liminal space into the botanical garden where Death was, Tessa knew that trouble was likely to be the least of her issues.

Death was not alone. More importantly, the entities with him were not the archangel who currently had him on a leash. While individually, they were of equal strength to Lucifer, together all three of them were more powerful than an archangel, especially one cut off from the collective grace of the Host and extra especially while in Death's presence. Tessa trembled a bit at what she was facing so unexpectedly.

"Ah, here she is," Death said as he gently stroked the creamy feathers of the little master's stygian owl who was perched on his left arm. Hedwig had her eyes half closed in obvious pleasure. An unfortunate consequence of the reapers having to use mundane methods to get Harry out of England was the necessity of leaving the companion behind. Living humans, no matter how magical, could not safely travel in the liminal space as reapers could. As couriers of souls, owls of all types could even if they required assistance entering and exiting it. Perhaps Death would allow Tessa to open a portal near Robert Singer's home for the bird.

The old woman next to him had a paper bowl with frybread and some dark fruit compote. Sapokne Spider's sienna brown hands were skillfully ripping apart the frybread and dipping it in the compote before eating it. Her eyes were the same clay color as the long braid that hung down her back. Her pale purple tunic dress had six ribbons of different colors sewn at even spaces on the skirt. The emerald green ribbon was just barely above the hem, followed by onyx black, then cream followed by crimson and a sunshine yellow with a rich cerulean as the top ribbon about midthigh.

Near the two elderly beings was Iphigenia. In appearance, she was a few years older than the little master, five at the utmost. She was almost as stick thin as Harry was. Her olive skin was caked with ash and dust. Tear tracks cut through the grime like pale rivers. Her gray chiton may have been white once just like the threadbare shawl around her shoulders may have once been a dusky rose but now both were distorted from their original colors. Her inky black hair hung in ragged chunks around her heart-shaped face. A few of the tangled strands were dotted with melted curls as if burning embers had fallen on them. She held a half-eaten pear in one hand.

The final entity watched with eyes as dark as the night sky as Tessa nervously approached the group. Kali was different from the last time Tessa had seen her. Instead of wedding scarlet, she wore a bone white kurta over matching pants. Her ink-dark hair hung loose around her shoulders. Her tan feet were bare. Along the edges of the kurta were saffron orange cobras with crimson markings, the only bit of decoration she had. She was rolling a golden ball between her hands with an idleness that suggested she might have forgotten she was holding it.

"Here I am," Tessa agreed as quietly as she felt she could get away with. Even as a reaper, there was something about these three keeping Death company that made her insides tremble. There was already an apocalypse in progress. How much worse can it get now that Death was accompanied by those of his own ilk? Especially now that one side has broken the contract?

"Sapokne had interesting news," Death said. Hedwig let out a miah as if agreeing, though she didn't open her eyes any. "Someone changed the weave unexpectedly."

Tessa swallowed, her hands finding the cuffs of her scarlet cardigan. She had hoped to tell Death about her interference before he found out from someone else. No matter that she had come here directly from leaving the little master, she was too late.

"I can explain—"

"You dealt with Raphael, correct?" Death's dark eyes were as hard as stone as they fixed on her face. "Permanently?"

"Yes," Tessa confirmed. A satisfied smile slowly slid onto Death's face. At that moment, he looked very much like the owl perched upon him.

"Then he is the Empty's problem now." Death gestured towards his companions. "We were just discussing the other change to the weave. Join us."

Swallowing again, Tessa obeyed.

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To Be Continued
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