Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot. The original concepts belong to JKR and Warner Brothers. Any concepts brought from other fictions are either coincidental or will be used in their own way, and no plagiarism is meant.

A/N: So the first chapter had minor changes, now though, is where things deviate from Survival more.

Chapter 2: Beyond

Unknown

No known Time

Third person, focused on Harry

Harry felt things shift, as suddenly his vision was blinded by light. It took a few moments, before his vision cleared and allowed him to take in his environment. It was a large space that was a perfect white. He couldn't tell if there were walls, or anything really, as every direction was the same. The only difference in any direction was a lone figure, cloaked in all black, and leaning on a scythe. With a foreboding he noticed happened in movies, he walked forward.

"Uh, Hello?" Harry asked the figure. Looking better at the dark-cloaked figure, he was roughly seven feet tall, and had a bone had, missing all skin and tissue, which was holding the scythe. There was a dark fog hiding his face, though that too was probably skeletal.

It chuckled, "Hello there . I see you have decided to visit me earlier than expected." It responded, causing Harry's eyes to widen, "Yes, I am Death, one of the pure embodiments of the universe."

"Pure embodiments of the universe?" Harry asked.

"Yes, there are several, though I will not elaborate much on them, as for this conversation and for your concern, they are irrelevant. Fate, is a major one, who controls major destinies and Prophecies, there is also Chaos, or God, the one who caused the 'Big Bang' as the muggles put it, several million years ago, along with all of life over the times. Destiny is another Embodiment, as is Love and Time. I am the embodiment of Death, I carry the souls into the Great Beyond, though there are a few other duties I have." Death spoke.

For a moment, Harry wondered what else Death might have to do, but decided not to dwell on it much. "So I guess I am dead then, and get to go on to be with my family in the.. Great Beyond?"

"Yes, and no. You are dead, but you do not get to continue on. Your destiny is not finished, and there is a lot that depends on you." Death replied. At Harry's questioning glance, he sighed.

"You were born not long before a prophecy was written. This prophecy had two possible candidates, yet in the end, you were chosen by Tom Riddle… Voldemort, to be the bearer of the Prophecy, though he did not know at the time that he wrote his own downfall. I will not tell you the prophecy yet, but you cannot remain dead, as it is not complete. However, I took this opportunity to meet with you, as you are of interest to me." Death spoke, keeping every ounce of Harry's attention.

"What do you mean? I get to go back? Why am I of interest to you?" Harry asked. He was beginning to get scared. Facing a divine being is not how he saw his week going.

"A long time ago, I gifted three brothers artifacts of immense power. They were to keep them separate until one day when my chosen would come along and reunite them with one another. That chosen person is you, Harry Potter."

"These three artifacts are known as the Deathly Hallows. There is a wand, made of Elder and Thestral Hair, that is considered unbeatable, and in your hands, it would be. There is a ring, tainted, but still working, which allows you to talk to those who have passed on. Though you can bring some people back to life, they will crave death, and one day return there, far sooner than one would think. Lastly is a True Cloak of invisibility, capable of hiding the wearer from even Me. These three artifacts together are thought to make one the 'Master of Death'." He spoke, watching me now instead of staring off into space.

"Master of Death? They control you?" Harry asked in not a little awe.

"No, it is a silly human thought. None are my master, nor will anyone be my master. Collecting all three is an accomplishment, however, it is collecting them all that allows them to be returned to me once the bearer dies. You are the one fated to do it, and already, you have one, the Cloak of Death." He spoke, before guffawing loudly at the stunned look on Harry's face.

"MY INVISIBILITY CLOAK IS ONE OF YOUR ARTIFACTS!" Harry yelled. Death laughed even harder at the exclamation.

"Yes, it is. It hides the person completely, including their soul, from everything. None could find you under the cloak, or at least if it hadn't been tampered with. Your headmaster applied charms to track it, and now it is weakened by foreign magic. For it to be restored, the charms need to be cleared. You should do this once you have returned." He instructed, Harry nodded at his commands.

"Why am I here then?" Harry asked.

"Because, as you died early, you must be returned, and I will do that soon enough. However, I had to speak with you about your destiny. You see, Albus Percival Dumbledore is interfering, and it is not appreciated. So I wish to help rectify this. Firstly, I will be granting you three boons, of which I will tell you what they are, and then, after some time, I will send you back." A look of concern appeared on Harry's Face. "Time does not pass here, so do not worry. You will be returned to the moment you died."

"Firstly, you must stop holding yourself back, especially now that the magical bindings have been broken by the Basilisk Venom. Your magic was reduced to nearly thirty percent due to a core binding and dark magic, along with a mental inhibitor and a compulsion of submissiveness. The dark magic in your scar, called a horcrux, also made it hard for you to focus and control your emotions, and was part of what reduced your magic so much." Death said, much to Harry's shock.

"You mean to tell me that I am supposed to be more than three times stronger than I am?" Harry asked.

"Yes. You are meant to be Tom Riddle's equal, magically and intelligently. Had Tom Riddle not done the horrible acts of magic that he had, he would have been stronger. It will be his downfall, once you have trained properly and applied yourself. You are powerful, chosen by Fate and Destiny to complete tasks and restore balance. You are my champion as well, though I am pretty hands off." Death spoke.

"So I have to go back to the family that hates me, to the school that turns on me, to the friend who lies about me behind my back?" Harry asked.

'Truly, there wasn't a whole lot I had going for me at the moment. My relatives didn't like me, and allowed my cousin to beat me to a pulp when he wanted, and occasionally hit me as well. That's not to mention the small amounts of food they gave me, or the cupboard I lived in when I wasn't in school or doing the chores. Then there was the school, which betrayed me over my ability to speak to snakes. And of course, there is Ron. Ron likes to keep everyone away from me. He talks behind my back about me and tells people I want nothing to do with them, when I have no problems trying to be friends with them. And yet, I can't seem to get rid of him. Hermione is a great friend, but I often think she might be far more competitive about grades and upset if I can do well without her.' Harry thought.

"Yes, I want, and need you to go back. If you do, I promise life will improve within a short period of time." He replied. "New friends, if you try, a new place to live, better treatment. You will have options."

Harry sat in thought, before finally sighing. "I will go back, not that I have much choice in the matter, but I will do it."

"Good, now, for the three boons. Firstly, you, nor any of your future wives, or betrothed women, will die before it's their time. That means they cannot die from illnesses, accidents, or would be murders. I would suggest none of you attempt to reveal your partial immortality, as it would cause a lot of issues for you."

Harry nodded, knowing that that would be a great thing to have, especially with how school is so 'safe'.

"Secondly, I am going to protect your mind. While you still need to learn an art called Occlumency, as it provides several other benefits, I will prevent your mind from being read, along with protecting your mind from influences like compulsions, potions that would influence you, and obliviations. You would instead feel a tingle in your head, before it disappeared. Truly, I hope it is not necessary, but it may be."

"And lastly, though I shouldn't allow you this, you have thirteen minutes to spend with your parents. It is something you need, and you deserve." He spoke, watching as Harry suddenly seemed extremely excited, and extremely nervous.

"One question. Not that I am not grateful for the time with them, but why thirteen minutes?" Harry asked.

"It is a powerful magical number. Take Ancient runes and Arithmancy next year for electives, and you will understand it better." Death spoke. "Now, enjoy your time with them, and after the time is up, you will be returned to your body. We will speak again another time. And one last thing, never mention this conversation to anyone, no matter what."

With those final words, Death let out a blast of dark fog, before it disappeared, leaving two people, a man and woman in their early twenties, standing in his place. One looked exactly like an older Harry, standing at roughly six feet tall, with more regal facial features, and with the same glasses and hair Harry had, though instead of green eyes, he had a bright hazel color instead. The woman had bright red hair that flowed smoothly down to her back, soft facial features and the same bright green eyes as Harry himself.

"Mom? Dad?" Harry asked, voice cracking as he did. The woman didn't even bother responding before lunging forward and pulling Harry into a hug that put Hermione to shame. The man was right behind her in movements

"Yes baby, it's us." the woman, Lily Potter, spoke. They didn't move for a few minutes as Harry broke down crying, holding on to the two people he never had memories of before.

Once he calmed down, and Lily and James both wiped their eyes, they started talking. "Harry, I can't believe what my sister has done. I knew she hated magic, but she was never that way before." Lily spoke. "You weren't supposed to go with her anyways, but Dumbledore did it against our wills."

"Sirius is supposed to be your guardian as your blood adopted father, well, the Longbottoms were first, and technically Augusta Longbottom should have custody of you, but there were several people you should have gone to first." James spoke, "You were never meant to be around that woman." Harry could hear the anger and underlying threat in his father's voice.

"Honey, you need to go to Gringotts soon. While they can't do much, you can force through a will reading, sometime after your 13th birthday. There are also some items in the very back of the trust vault that you should have, stored in a trunk that has been shrunken down." Lily spoke. "It has stuff in it, books, our personal notebooks, and the Potter Family Grimoire."

"You also need an inheritance test, which will allow you to claim your status as the Heir of House Potter. I left notes on everything you need to know about being an heir, along with some books that could help save your life. There is a lot you need to learn this summer, and if you want my recommendation, hide at Potter Cottage in Alford. It has heavy wards on it which will allow you the ability to practice magic, and there is an elf there, named Serny, that can provide for you. Call for the elf once you have visited Gringotts." James spoke.

"And figure out what happened to Sirius, he shouldn't be in Azkaban, but he is. All we know is it is because of several murders, but he was never one to spill innocent blood." Lily asked.

"Now, why do you hold yourself back in classes?" Lily asked. Harry's eyes widened, as he knew he was probably in trouble and disappointed them.

Looking down, he mumbled, "Ron never wanted to do schoolwork, and Hermione seemed like someone who had to be the smartest, so I never bothered trying. Plus the Dursleys never liked it when I did better than Dudley in school…"

"You don't need to worry about them, they don't care if you do well at Hogwarts, and they probably don't even receive the yearly marks anyways." Lily consoled, "Do your best, be the intelligent person we know you can be. No matter what anyone says, you got mine and your father's mind."

"I was an Animagus at fourteen, that is, I could turn into an animal, a stag to be specific. It is something most people, even masters in Transfiguration, can't do. And I taught two others how to be ones too. And Lils was one of the brightest in school, ranking in the top two every year." James spoke. "My Marauders Journal is in the stuff in your trust vault, learn from it and prank Snape too. He deserves it. It will also teach you how to become an Animagus, something that is useful."

"You think I can become one?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Definitely!" Both parents replied in unison.

A bell rang in the background, signifying that time was almost out. Harry teared up again at the sound, before walking the three steps to hug them both again.

"I don't want to leave you." His words were muffled by James' shirt.

"You have to Harry, but know that we are watching and supporting you the whole way. I love you and am proud to have been your father. Just do me a favor, and play some pranks and chase some girls." James said, getting hit at his last words by Lily.

"We love you, and we are proud of you too." Lily said, squeezing Harry. "It sucks, and it is cruel that we have such a short time together, but we wouldn't change what we did as long as you lived. Now live for us, and make us proud." She spoke encouragingly. The area seemed to become hazy.

"We love you, Harry." Were the last words he heard before everything went black once more.

May 8th, 1993

Chamber of Secrets

Hogwarts

A loud gasp was heard as Harry took in a deep breath. He sat up rapidly, looking around for the Basilisk and Riddle, before seeing the corpse and the diary both on the floor. Slowly pushing himself up, he heard a trill before a weight landed on his right shoulder, Fawkes preened, nudging his cheek lightly and sending a warm calm through his body. For a moment, Harry wondered if everything that just happened had been a dream, but after a moment's thought, he knew he couldn't have dreamed up something that wild. Looking at the bird on his shoulder, he spoke, his voice a bit raspy from screaming.

"Thank you Fawkes. You saved my life." The phoenix let out another trill, before looking at the sword and hat on the ground. Harry ignored both, opting to pick his wand up from the other side of Ginny first. He frowned when he felt nothing, there was no hum of warmth in it anymore. Deciding it was an issue for later, or even the summer, he tucked it in his pocket, before picking up the sword and hat.

The hat spoke suddenly, startling Harry. "Ah, it is good you survived, as it means that I won't be stuck down here. Now put me on your head, it gets tiresome to actually talk."

Following the hat's instructions, he did, only to get some very unfavorable language from the hat.

"How in Merlin's sweaty ball sacks am I unable to read your mind, Mr. Potter?" the hat gripped. "These are the best mind shields I have ever encountered."

Thinking for a moment in an attempt to find an excuse, Harry replied, "I am not sure, maybe the Basilisk Venom scrambled my brains or something?"

"Hm. It is possible, unlikely, but possible. Basilisk Venom is extremely powerful magically, and having it in your body probably purged any magic attached to you. That's not a bad thing, so long as you live to tell the tale, which you have."

There was silence once more, before it spoke again. "I am taking the sword back. However, should you need it, simply will it to come to you, and it will. It has chosen you as its new master." As he spoke, the sword disappeared.

"Now, wake the girl and let us get out of here. I will send elves to render the Basilisk down and send it to your vault, and inform them to not tell the headmaster, as he should not get the opportunity to intervene. He would attempt to take some of the profits."

Harry stood in silence for a moment, and after deciding not to mention the whole 'taking some of the profits' part, he spoke, "Thank you, is the basilisk valuable?"

"Yes. If I had to guess a current day value, three million galleons. Maybe more. Even baby basilisks go for fifty to sixty thousand galleons, and they are barely weeks old when killed in a controlled environment. Now, enervate the girl and let us leave. If you don't know the charm, aim your wand and say 'Enervate'.

Harry redrew his wand, aiming and focusing before speaking the incantation. Much to his shock, his wand did nothing. Sighing, he tried again, pushing harder on his magic. This time a pale red light shot out, hitting the girls. In seconds, she was stirring, before suddenly shooting up and staring at Harry.

"You need to run! There's a basilisk here. And Riddle, he is controlling….it" she shouted, trailing off as she saw the corpse lying behind him. "Is… is it dead?"

"Yea… It did manage to bite me though. Riddle is gone too, I stabbed his diary with the fang that got in my arm." Harry replied.

"Enough you two. Let us get back to the castle proper so we can get both of you checked by Madam Pomfrey." The hat said, startling the girl.

It took a few seconds, but slowly she climbed up, and after Harry caught her shoulder to steady her, the two made their way back out. Harry closed the door on the way out, and after a few more minutes, they were back at where the tunnel collapsed. Fawkes flew through the hole, causing Ron to swear.

"Ron! I have Ginny. Move aside so we can fit through the hole!" Harry yelled. A few seconds later, Ron yelled that he was clear, so Ginny climbed through, and Harry followed.

"Thank god you are ok!" Ron cried out, hugging his sister. It was odd seeing Ron show so much emotion, Harry thought, as Hermione always said Ron had the emotional range of a teaspoon.

Ginny was crying again, and it took the Hat yelling to get everyone calmed down. Gilderoy Lockhart was still completely useless from the looks of it, and sitting over to the side.

"We need to get back up to the school. Any ideas on how to get down a massive slide?" Harry asked. Fawkes trilled, while Ron and Ginny paled, thinking, like me, there was no way back up.

"Children, grab onto Fawkes feathers. He will take us back up to the castle." The Hat spoke.

As Fawkes was resting back on Harry's shoulder, he stood there while he waited for the others to all grab on, and after convincing Lockhart, everyone was holding on. It was a surprising flash of flames later that left everyone stumbling. The fire was warm, but it didn't burn anyone.

Looking around, Harry discovered they were in the medical wing, and that it was empty, bar the petrified victims.

"Madam Pomfrey!" Harry yelled. There was a bit of shuffling before a less than happy matron stepped out from behind the office door. She stared in surprise at the four of us, before immediately asking questions.

It took several minutes to explain what was wrong with Lockhart, and she was shocked to hear that his memory had been wiped, and that Ginny had also suffered from possession. Ginny was put into another bed, not far from Lockhart. Then Madam Pomfrey turned to Harry, wondering what covered his robes.

"I was bitten by a basilisk, and thrown into-" Harry started, silencing at a wand being waved across him repeatedly.

"How are you even alive?" the matron asked in shock.

"Fawkes cried into the wound, and I felt fine after a minute, though my body still hurts from being thrown into a wall." Harry replied.

Madam Pomfrey shoved a pain potion into his hands as the doors busted open, revealing Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, and the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall. Of course, the Weasleys immediately ran to Ron and Ginny, crying in relief. It left Harry with the Headmaster and Professor to deal with… which started a whole new conversation.

It was half an hour later when Harry finally finished the recount of the story. He had left out several parts, including the whole part of him dying, or the scream he thought he heard before he died. Madam Pomfrey had forced him into a bed during the story to allow his body to heal and relax from the stress it had been put through.

"Is that all that happened Harry?" the headmaster asked. Harry nodded, though he felt a slight warmth, and a feeling of something he couldn't identify. "Very well, then I think I will be awarding both you and Mr. Weasley awards for 'Special Services' to the school. Along with that, a hundred and fifty points to Gryffindor, for facing a threat to the school at your own peril, and ending the attacks on students." Dumbledore spoke.

"Now, if you need anything, feel free to come see me or Minerva. I think I am going to handle Lucius, who seems to have entered the grounds." Dumbledore spoke, standing and walking back out of the Infirmary with McGonagall in tow.

Harry laid there, trying to stay still, despite having a lot on his mind. The time with Death and his parents weighed heavy on his mind. He had an inheritance and a place to go that wasn't his aunts. He had the possibility to be free from those controlling him. He just had to find out how to seize the freedom for himself. It was a trill from the still present phoenix on his shoulder that drew his attention.

"Thank you Fawkes, for saving my life." Harry said, making Fawkes nudge his cheek and trill, calming Harry more from his newfound stress and the warnings he received.

A/n: So this was the first conflict from Survival. It was a mistake of mine to not have the chat with Death, and the major downside was the next opportunity was during the Triwizard Tournament. The other was talking to Dumbledore so soon. It was my intention to have the two fight later on, which wasn't as easy with how things had been laid out in chapter two and three. Hope you all are enjoying this. I am sure some prefer Survival, but give this a chance.