Violent waves crashed into the rocky shores; thunder roared in the distance while it struck down furiously; and the winds howled alongside it. It was the break of dawn, yet no sunlight could be seen, for it was covered by the ominous clouds surrounding the sea. It was a place Harry was familiar with, and the day that had changed his life completely. Yet Harry cannot bring himself to enjoy such a memory— stuck in the hellhole called 'Doors of Trials, he cannot waste time reminiscing about the past.

Harry still had his eyes closed, but he felt the location change, just like how the system transported him back to Privet Drive a couple of days ago. Harry guessed that he was in the summer house the Dursleys had rented, found in the middle of nowhere. A coppery scent made its way to his senses, and a bell chime alerted him to move. Harry rolled over the couch just in time when an axe was swung down, aiming to chop his head in half. The sofa cracked under the axe's blunt force, and splinters flew away from it. Sweat accumulated on Harry's temples, and he gulped back his surprise.

"'Bout time ya wake up, Arry," Hagrid's voice echoed in the room, "'ought yer gonna be sleepin' the whole time!" Harry's eyes widened in horror.

Harry slowly looked up and saw a malicious grin on Hagrid's face. He can handle the eldritch Dudley; he can handle the abusive Dursleys; and Harry can handle murder. But Harry's heart cannot handle seeing someone he loves in this hellhole. 'Out of everything, why does it have to be Hagrid?! '

"Cat got yer tongue bud? Don't worry, just sit tight, and everythin' will be all ova' once ya meet tis axe." Hagrid swung the large axe at Harry. Harry got up from the couch and took the table lamp to deflect the blow. "Stop..." Harry whispered, "Please… don't make me do this, Hagrid, I-I don't want to hurt you!" He finished, teary-eyed.

Hagrid ignored his pleas and continued attacking Harry. "Oh, don't be a wuss, 'Arry, tis ain't like ya. Stap yer yapping, and fight back!" Harry shook his head as he dodged the axe. At the corner of his eye, Harry saw the Dursleys' lifeless bodies—limbs severed apart. Harry gaped at the gruesome scene and held back the acid that rose to his esophagus. Sure, he burnt corpses, decapitated them, and stabbed them several times but it was nothing compared the the scene before him. Hagrid stopped his attacks when he saw Harry gaping at the crime scene.

"Quite a masterpiece, doncha think? I made it myself," Hagrid declared proudly. "Why..?" Harry asked. "Well, I dun' want anyone stealin' my prey, of course–" Hagrid said it as if it were a matter of fact.

"C'mon now, ya act like tis the first time ye saw a corpse. Didn't ya burn their corpses just yesterday? Don't act all innocent now."

Harry paled at Hagrid's words and took a step back. "H-how did you know?"

"Psh, I dun need to tell ya, not like the dead can do anything 'bout tis knowledge anyway."Hagrid grinned and continued his attacks. Harry slipped on Vernon's severed hand, which saved him from getting his head chopped off.

'No, no, no, this isn't good.' Harry thought to himself as he was backed into a corner. "C'mon, 'Arry, not going to stab me? Cut my head off? Burn me alive? Kill me like ya did to the rest?" Hagrid taunted. Harry felt dizzy with every word Hagrid said because he had killed mercilessly these past days, but why couldn't he do it today?

This isn't even the real Hagrid—this one is a fake who wants to kill Harry. This Hagrid is malicious and crazy—he wouldn't hesitate to kill him. He isn't human, he isn't real, he is one of the Door's creations. But can he actually kill him with his hands? Just like he did to the others?

"Humph, I thought you were better than this—I guess Lily and Jame's son was just a disappointment." Harry's blood ran cold at the comment. "Don't you dare mention their names, you fake! Hagrid wouldn't say such things!"

"Oh, so yer finally fighting back? Are you going to kill me too now? Or are you going to die to my axe today?"

"Don't you worry, I'll make sure to kill you alright and get the hell out of this place alive! You fucking fake!"

"Hah! That's the spirit! Come at me, ye brat!" Hagrid raised his axe and swung it at Harry, who dodged and escaped the corner. Harry ran from Hagrid and used a side table to block an incoming attack. Harry felt himself come back to his senses, which strengthened his resolve to live. 'Haahh, how could I have forgotten where I am? This is a kill-or-be-killed scenario, and I won't let myself be killed now! Especially after everything I had went through.'

With Harry's newfound resolve, he started planning a way to win the fight. 'I may not be much of a strategist like Hermione, but I've grown and learned the past couple of days.' Harry had confidence in his skills this time—he had sufficient rest and energy unlike before. Strength and magic alone won't be enough to hold Hagrid down, who is superior in terms of strength for being a giant. He needed a plan to take Hagrid down, or he'd end up dead like the Dursleys. Harry thought of an idea when he remembered the weather outside. It was risky at best, but it was his only choice against a giant like Hagrid.

"Run as much as ya want, ya chump! But ya can't escape me!"

Hagrid ran after Harry outside, neither of them caring about getting wet. "Dunno what yer planning, but know that it won't work on me, twerp."

"We'll see about that, you fake." Harry continued the wild goose chase for the next twenty minutes. As the minutes passed, Hagrid's speed decreased slowly but surely. It was unnoticeable at first, but twenty minutes later, Hagrid found his body half frozen, barely able to move. "What were you saying just a while ago? My plan won't work on you?" Harry stopped in his tracks and faced Hagrid, grinning smugly despite being out of breath himself. "Grr.. what the hell did ya do!?" Hagrid narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

Harry shrugged and said, "I don't see why I need to tell you—after all, a dead person can't do anything with this knowledge in the afterlife, right?" He stepped back to the very edge of the platform the house was built on. "Don't get all high horse around me, twerp—you may have frozen me, but… this is no match for a giant!" Harry jumped in surprise when Hagrid roared. Suddenly, Hagrid charged at Harry with all his might, shattering some of the ice that had formed in his body.

Harry stepped aside to avoid the slow and obvious attack. With nothing to stop the momentum, Hagrid threw himself off the platform. The waves swallowed the frozen giant and dragged him to their darkest depths. Harry's grin dropped and was replaced with a frown. He may be the victor of this fight, but he ended up feeling guilty for hurting Hagrid, fake or not. "Thank you for killing yourself—I don't think I could do it myself in the end." Harry slapped his cheeks with both of his palms and shook his head. There's no point in regretting or wallowing in guilt—he was doing it for survival. Harry heard a bell chime, signifying the death of the imposter Hagrid.

A loud rumbling spurred from the ground from behind. A familiar black door and green butterfly—the same door that brought him here.

Harry's eyes glistened while he slowly reached for the door. It wasn't a hallucination, nor was it a dream—the door was indeed right in front of him. Harry choked back a sob from the happiness he was feeling at seeing the exit.

[Congratulations Player for subjugating the first door. You are now registered Player: 'Harry Potter'] A black screen appeared in front of Harry's eyes. [Player: 'Harry Potter' can now officially partake in the Door of Trials.]

"Huh...? First door?" Harry's celebration came to a halt.

[Player Harry Potter will be informed of the dates his doors will appear after exit.]

"Wait... this isn't the end? You're telling me there's still more of this I have to go through?"

[Yes, most players often go through 7 Doors of Trial. Starting from now, Players with similar 'Sponsors' and 'Types' are put together.]

[However, Player Harry Potter's sponsor is a special case.]

Harry felt dread swell from within. [Player Harry Potter is expected to clear 12 Doors, two each from different categories and a special Door designated by the sponsor.]

"T-twelve…" Harry staggered a bit while his eyes widened. His short-lived joy plummeted to the abyss with the information the system gave him. He barely managed to get through the first door, much more 12. He was just 11 for fuck's sake—why did Death choose him out of the many others out there? Did he do something in his past life to anger the God? Was he being a prophesied child the reason for all this? He dropped to his knees and grasped his chest in pain; his vision started blurring, and his ears heard static. Harry started hyperventilating from stress and paranoia over his future.

Bzzt bzzt– [&^!?/%]

[Calm down, Harry.]

"...?" His breath suddenly returned to normal, and his vision was no longer covered with black spots. Harry frowned and hovered his hand around the system in worry.

[Fret not, dear child—everything may seem daunting and your path will definitely be arduous, but 'we' will be here until the end of your journey.]

[Do not fear death or time, for their power will be at your disposal. I understand if you harbor resentment towards us, but know that this was not to punish you.]

[I wish to tell you more, but for now, this is all that I can give without breaking the system. We will meet soon, so until then, dear child.]

Bzzt bzzt—['System' restart] The black screen disappeared.

For some reason, Harry felt cold, but it was oddly comforting. It was the chill he always felt when he wore the invisibility cloak. A bell chimed, and Harry realized who sent the message through the 'system'. "Death? Was it you?" There was a gust of cold wind that carried a bell chime—a bell that Harry slowly found comfort in. "You're right, I hate you right now, so you better explain everything to me. Got that?" The wind carried a rattling chuckle. Harry took it as an answer from Death. Harry stood up and wasted no time in opening the black door, his ticket out of this world. There's no turning back now—the only way left is forward into the unknown future.

Light emitted from the door, unlike the void that first greeted him. Harry stepped in and found himself in a white room with large white pillars that surrounded a white podium. It looked like a colorless museum, empty of its decorations except for the podium in the middle. On the podium is a beautiful black scythe with silver chains wrapped around it. At the top of the scythe, where the chain ends, are silver roses seemingly connected to the chains. Harry walked to the podium and inspected the weapon. Upon closer inspection, he noticed how the scythe resembled a clock arm. Harry grabbed the scythe and found that he could detach the chains from it, turning it into a chain whip with roses connecting the handle and the chains.

Harry fumbled around with the scythe, the chains returning to their place with magic. "Despite being smaller than this thing, it weighs like nothing at all." Harry bets that the scythe was as tall as a full grown man. Was this a present from Death? Or just a reward for clearing the stage?

Harry did not ponder much on it, grateful enough for the beautiful gift. He, unfortunately, ran into several issues—he does not know how to use it, and he does not know where to hide it. He doubts that the police officers, muggle or not, would allow him to carry such dangerous weapons around. 'Damn Death and the problems you keep throwing at me.' Harry wasn't about to throw a tantrum for this—he is not childish, goddamn it.

He carefully gave the weapon a twirl while he thought of a solution. As if hearing his thoughts, the scythe turned into a pair of earrings. Harry gaped at the earrings in his palm—it was a dangling earring with a design similar to the one engraved on the podium. It was a triangle that had a circle contained within it and a line that cut it in the middle. When he imagined it turning into the scythe, the earrings transformed back to their original state. Harry reverted it to its earring form.

'What's up with this design? Does it symbolize anything? Maybe I can ask Hermione or another 'Player' about it.'

"Come to think of it… Didn't the system say something about schedules? Did it run into another error?" Right after Harry said that, a black screen popped out of nowhere.

[Apologies for the delay, Player Harry Potter] it said.

"Oh, it's finally back to normal."

[Your Doors will appear every December 25th and the end of June]

"Out of all the days… by the way, system, how can I tell if another person is a player?"

[A player will feel it when there's a player nearby. If there's nothing else, the system will start the transportation.]

[Initiating transportation for Player: Harry Potter]

"Hey wait! What do you mean by th—!" Harry's body was suddenly engulfed by light, and he dissipated from where he stood. He didn't even get the chance to ask more questions… Was the system throwing a tantrum over the error?

[Transport completed]

A/N: Tada! Two chapters in a week cuz why not. Anyways I'll be giving further information about the Doors of Trial as the story progress. I am somewhat pleased by the chapters I posted this week, probably cuz I didn't have to rewrite it twice or thrice like I did for the first few chaps.

By the way, it may seem weird how Harry reacted to murder in this chap even though he was fine with it the first few times. Lemme explain, so we all know that Harry killed for survival, he didn't do it out of fun or sadism like how imposter Hagrid did which is why Harry was taken aback by it. Harry doesn't like killing, but he did it out of necessity.

Also for the last chapter, it may seem weird how Harry managed to it well despite the corpses. The answer is simple rlly, he starved for the last couple of days so even with the situation, Harry knew he needed to eat. He acted based on logic and needs- all for survival.