Chapter 3 - Through the Veil

The anti-Apparation wards within the Ministry of Magic were top-of-the-line. They had made sure to severely crack down on arrivals since Kingsley had taken over as Minister, and a full rework of the wards was one of the first things he did. The Ministry was an absolute magical fortress now, with a more official entrance for both employees and visitors, including screening for magical effects.

That didn't matter to Harry as he summoned the Invisibility Cloak. Becoming Master of Death had given him strange and vast abilities that he hadn't quite worked out entirely just yet. One part he had taken to early and easily though, was the summoning of the cloak, and the new powers that came with it.

It sat on his shoulders, now shaped like an actual cloak instead of just a large blanket. He could will himself to become fully invisible or just the opposite and didn't have to fully cover himself with it to become invisible. When not fully invisible, the cloak was as black as the abyss, light seemingly falling into it. It sat over his basilisk leather armor and acromantula silk robes.

He did his best not to focus on how much he must look like a battle-ready Severus Snape, with how long his black hair had grown. It was 100% less greasy though. Harry shook that image from his mind and accessed the powers of the Invisibility Cloak.

It enabled him to easily bypass anti-Apparation wards, appearing completely unchallenged by any ward or being. Apparating a few more times, he stood at the top of the weird room where he lost Sirius.

The Veil of Death was just before him, feint echoes of lost souls seemingly screaming from the depths of some other plane of existence.

Death's home plane maybe.

Shimmer was sending worried feelings at him and he could only agree that this place gave him a bad feeling.

"Come, my champion, Hadrian Peverell. It is time," The soft and falsely comforting voice of Death spoke in his ear.

Harry nodded, "Well, Shimmer, here goes nothing."

He was briefly visible as his cloak began to match the deathly colors of the gate, which lit up as he passed through it.

Harry entered the Realm of Death.

Endless fields of the dead were moving about, souls lost to time and space. Other servants of Death all turned at his presence. It was an unbelievably large area impossible to see any end in sight, with other familiar archways seemingly leading off into a myriad of different realms.

Lady Death herself popped into existence, still sheathed in a false disguise of his smiling mother, "Welcome home, my Champion."

It was then that every cloaked reaper, every floating dementor, and every other being of Death all bowed at once. To both of them.

"Quite the reception," Harry commented.

"It is only natural, you are my Champion and this is my realm. Your realm," Death said, her smile always in place.

"And here I was expecting Kings Cross station," Harry said nervously.

Death laughed as everything turned into just that. This time it appeared darker than the first time he died, yet it was undoubtedly the familiar King's Cross station with the colors of death instead of the unrelenting white.

Harry wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.

Shimmer wasn't sending any emotions at all like she wasn't actually here. She was of course, but this place seemed to interact with her strangely, maybe having to do with her status as an immortal being.

"Before you proceed onto you're next path, there are a few who are permitted to see you," Death said.

Three spirits popped into existence: his mother, his father, and Sirius.

"Harry!" Lily yelled with spiritual tears falling from her cheeks. She sprint-floated over and wrapped her arms around him.

Harry was expecting the spiritual arms to go through him, but he was shocked when her embrace felt physical.

"Mom," Harry said as he embraced his mother, his voice breaking.

"My baby, I am so proud of you."

Over her shoulder, Sirius and James watched with proud and loving smiles. He received a wink from Sirius and a nod from his father as they floated closer.

James wasted no time after that, wrapping his wife and son in a hug, "My boy. A man now."

Harry's heart warmed, despite being in this cold realm of Death. The embrace continued, his mother unable to stop crying.

"We are so proud of you, Son," James said. "I am so sorry we weren't there."

"Don't say that. You were there when it mattered, all of you," He looked at Sirius as well. He grimaced.

"I got too excited in the fight it seemed, I...let you down, Harry," Sirius said.

Harry snorted, "Don't worry Padfoot, she paid for it."

It was Sirius's turn to snort, "Actually, she is still paying for it."

Death laughed in agreement.

Harry had never used the stone to summon those he cared about. Knowing that it was unnatural for spirits to be called back from death he only contacted those that could help him grow stronger. But that was just an excuse. In truth, he had been afraid.

Afraid of their reactions to him and his decisions, would they approve of his life? Would they hate him?

But that obviously wasn't the case. He stayed with his family for a time, coming to terms with his position as Master of Death. Without it, he wouldn't be able to see his family until he died. It was a double-edged sword though, since he can only see them now in the Realm of Death, or by painfully pulling their souls to the material realm, as Harry wouldn't be joining them in the afterlife.

"It is time, come, Hadrian, that train there can lead you to your destination," Death gestured behind her and a dusty old train facing a dark tunnel suddenly turned on. Lights in the compartments and the tunnel turned into a green swirling vortex. Another Veil of Death, this one keeping to the theme of the station.

The Veil was ready for him to enter and he only took the time to say his goodbyes, for now. Walking along the bone-white platform was strange, and he turned before he boarded.

One thing that was different this time was that he could feel a huge difference from Earth and this realm which was the density of death magic. It was like walking along the bottom of the sea and all that pressure was the amount of magic in the air. He felt he could cast any spell at obscene levels of power and it would be no more taxing than a simple Lumos.

"Anytime you wish to, Hadrian, you will be welcome here," Death said as she stood by the open doors to the train car. "You are free to do as you please. Just seek the Veil you exit through."

He nodded then turned to his mother again, "I love you, mum."

A fresh flow of tears cascaded down her cheeks, "I love you too, my son. I love you so much. Death tells me you can find love in this new chance at life. Build a family, find those who care about you and others, and live your life to the fullest."

He couldn't deny his mother that request, but had no idea how to start that. He just nodded at her.

A round of embraces, a slap on the shoulder from Sirius, and a proud inspection from his father later, Harry was ready to go.

They stopped before he stepped through the next portal that Death had led him to, "Any advice for this world?"

Death's smile grew, "There are events you might wish to change. Times when your intervention can exchange the fate of those you choose to save. There are other Champions of the lesser planetary Gods of that world. You are my champion and your will is supreme. You need not heed any of them and their petty ways, but it is up to you if you wish to do so."

"I would like to save people, you know that is kind of my thing," Harry said.

Death's smile grew again but she just stared at him.

"I guess I'll be going then?"

She nodded once and disappeared, along with Harry's parents and Sirius.

It was then that every being of death rose from their bows and stared at him. Even the wandering souls here looked at him, strangely walking through the realm like they had been there the whole time.

Harry didn't feel fear at the weight of their gazes, more like a respectful curiosity at who could have been chosen by Death.

He simply nodded as he finished boarding the small train, and it slowly made its way through the portal.

~~o0o~~

It was dark, and a cold wind followed him through the Veil. His brain felt like it was recovering from brain freeze from eating too much Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream. Like the aura of a Dementor, slight bits of frost were falling off of him as he stepped through.

His surroundings were poorly lit, yet he could see the distant walls of what felt like a basement of sorts. The walls were plain stone and there was no light besides an odd glow that looked like it came from light many stories above. It was enough to see the single kneeling figure in front of him, however.

They were slender and fairly androgynous with a bald head and basic robes. He then accessed his Soul Sight, another gift from bonding with the Deathly Hallows. This person was shrouded in some strange sort of transmutation magic, something that had been implemented through the use of extensive potions and some sort of Death-based soul-imprinting magic.

Without realizing it, Harry's eyes were glowing with emerald power. It was enough to draw the attention of the kneeling man, who looked up at Harry with a neutral face.

Harry just raised an eyebrow as the man spoke.

"Valar morghulis."

Death spoke in his ear and he let her words flow through him, "Valar dohaeris."

Because of his journey through the realm of death, his voice came out scratchy and hoarse. The man nodded back at him all the same though.

Harry debated tossing a translation charm on the man, but he decided to just ask and see what happens, "Can you lead me out of here?"

The man stood and bowed once before he walked off.

Harry shrugged and followed.

The man didn't lead him out immediately but instead gestured into a room with a deathly green flame burning inside a brazier in the center of the small space.

Harry just raised an eyebrow until Death spoke in his ear, "Just a last gift for your journey." She had amusement in her voice.

Harry sighed and stepped forward. In the center of the deathly flames was a grasping series of silver scythe-like claws, reaching upward. It looked ready to receive a gemstone or something.

"A gemstone? No, the Resurrection Stone? Maybe..." Death whispered in his ear, a laugh to accompany the statement.

He summoned the stone, it was different from the first time he used it before he died. It now looked like a large black diamond and had twelve faceted surfaces with the symbol of the Hallows glowing within. No matter what face you looked through to see the symbol, it still faced you. A strange magical property he supposed.

Harry tested the green flames and found they were cool and that gave him the confidence to continue. He gently dropped the Resurrection Stone into the grasping scythe claws they clenched down on the gem, holding each scythe to one of the facets. It glowed and magic gathered, the brazier revealed that the claws holding the stone were a pommel to a sword.

He inspected it closer and found that the grip was a material he couldn't identify, nearly looking like marbleized black bone with white lightning marks through it, except it was perfectly polished and had ribbed grips that looked perfect for his right hand. He couldn't see the blade which was buried deep in the green flames, but the small cross guard was angled to deflect over his knuckles and catch over the back.

Reaching into the fire Harry realized that the fire was actually interacting with him. Instead of burning him though, it felt like it was feeding him magic. Raw death mana for his consumption.

That was startling at first but he grasped the handle all the same. Pulling the sword from the bottom of the brazier, the fire flashed brightly and turned to the standard color of flame.

He got a decent look at the blade in the firelight. It was a dark black, seeming to pull light in from the fire itself. The shape was too curved to be a longsword and not curved enough to be a cutlass, "A scimitar, then." Elegant and deadly, one of Harry's favorite weapons to train with.

Inspecting the sleek blade closer he was curious as to the strange water-like surface on the metal. It was like looking at the surface of a black pond, with silver ripples all along it. Beautiful and powerful, the blade resonated with him. He opened up to the weapon and his magic flowed into the blade, causing a familiar symbol to light up just above the cross guard and in the pommel where the Resurrection Stone now remained.

In his mind, Harry sent a communication to Death, "Is this really your symbol then?"

All he got was a simple laugh as the green symbol of the Deathly Hallows burned on the blade to match the previously green brazier.

Sighing again, he spoke, "I guess I will need to fashion a scabbard then."

"Don't bother, just think of stowing the blade, it is a part of the Hallows now," Death's voice caressed his mind.

He did just that and the blade disappeared in black mist as if teleported away. He could tell that it went to the same soul space that his cloak and wand went, and even the stone before it became part of the blade. The symbol of the Hallows didn't change though.

"Huh, that is something," Harry said. He willed the sword back and it appeared in his grasp with the same black mist dispersing to reveal the beautiful weapon.

"Does it have a name?"

Death replied in the same way that only he could hear, "No, humans do have that need to name everything, don't they?"

"Who made it?"

Silence was the answer. It didn't matter, and he could feel why. It was because they were dead. It didn't mean she didn't know, but that she either didn't care or didn't want to explain it. He felt the indifference and focused on the weapon instead.

He swung the sword a bit, feeling the perfect balance of the blade. He had trained mostly for long swords, regular straight swords like the Sword of Gryffindor, and even a bit with katanas and great swords. He preferred a one-handed sword so that he could wield magic in his other hand, and indeed, scimitars were perfect for that.

The sword also had some inherent abilities that he felt like he could discover with a bit of work. Something for later.

With each swipe a slight trail of 'black mist' seemed to follow behind like smoke, obfuscating everything behind it, yet he could see through it. "Black Mist... eh, that's too on the nose...I will think of something else."

Harry made the scimitar disappear again and thought a moment before moving on. He hadn't heard from his new companion yet.

He telepathically sent a nudge to Shimmer, who was still resting in the tattoo on his left hand. She felt exhausted, having spent extensive amounts of magic to maintain herself while they passed through the realm of Death. She responded but seemed to drift off into a sleepy state almost immediately.

It was surreal having a whole being in his body...something he wasn't expecting to have ever again. The emotions coming from her were so much more positive than the other experiences he had had. His mental state was a mixed sort of disbelief and exhaustion, but planned on working this out later. It shocked him how readily he accepted the bond, but he only felt positive emotions from his new friend.

More had happened in the last 48 hours than anything in the last decade. To say that he felt overwhelmed would be an understatement. Her magic was a clean and pure sort of twilight fire. Something he didn't know much about but could feel the energy that drove it.

It was definitely different than the fallen dark lord, not to mention the whole aspect of consent.

Harry had also been talking with Lady Death more often than not which was different from normal. It almost started feeling like she was getting something out of him just existing in this world with how hard she pushed to get him here. It was clear that Death was making use of his 'saving people thing' by guiding him to this planet. The question was, where would she lead him next?

His nerves were getting the better of him so he stopped for a moment and gathered himself. He went through the familiar process of maintaining his occlumency barriers. One at a time Harry began pushing his will and focus to reinforce them and undo the cracks that had formed from the stress.

First, he had to calm his heart and mentally step back from the world.

He then calmed every part of his mind and body, his heart's slowing pace guiding the process one double beat at a time. He finally appeared within his mindscape and felt the comforting surroundings appear in front of him.

The last trip through the Realm of Death, saying goodbye to family and friends, and forging a bond with Shimmer had all compounded and the display in front of him was the result. The weight of the things appeared as millions of papers flying all over and around him, like Hogwarts letters in his aunt's living room. They were everywhere and seemingly continued to pile up and it was impossible to find an avatar for the source of the problem.

Harry sighed and focused on pulling everything into a single place...an endless file cabinet. He imagined that no matter how much showed up it would just be organized into this file cabinet. In front of him, the very same file cabinet he imagined had appeared and there was no more paper anymore.

He needed to find a place, away from people, where he could just...stretch out and go through everything that had happened. Maybe it was his recent time as a martial and magical arts hermit, or maybe it was the instinctive need for magical beings to want to hide behind more than just stone walls.

A deep breath was released and he opened his eyes again. The strange human had simply waited for him. Not looking at him, not speaking to him, the man just waited.

When the man felt Harry's gaze on him, he simply bowed again and turned. He continued to lead Harry like he hadn't just pulled Death's version of King Arthur's sword from a brazier instead of a stone. They went up a tiny staircase and into another massive hall.

Candles lit the small lip around each column which reached far up into the ceiling. It added weight to the massive stone pillars and besides that, the same beams of light that came from the sun seemed to magically make it through the entire building. Just enough to add a strange ambiance among the thousands of grizzly busts that sat in every alcove.

This was a chamber of Death, and his magic knew it. Was connected to it.

His aura flared and he felt himself breathe in with a strange sort of deathly energy. There were no souls here, just tools for their work. They were assassins, bringers of death, and worshipers of all that mattered in the end.

The man had waited, this time looking at Harry. He was breathing out as power raged through him. His blood felt like it was on fire, he could feel the phoenix tears, the basilisk venom, his connection to Death and the Hallows, as well as his new connection to Shimmer. They were all potent and powerful, but it felt like none would back down as Death was stronger than ever.

Instead of fighting it, he wrapped them all up within his mind fortress and moved on. His magic immediately obeyed, all sources feeling like primal beasts.

The man nodded once again and continued.

Death's Cloak surrounded him and he was invisible as he walked through a more public area still following the man. Not a single person even bothered to look at the man, seemingly distracted by their own problems.

They made it through the strange black and white doors and Harry had a minute to look around. He was on an island, yet there was a full city around him. In the distance, there was a massive statue, bigger than any he had seen before. He looked back at the door and the man seemed to be looking in his direction.

Harry made his form show briefly enough to nod at the strange transmuted man, then he apparated to the top of the huge spartan-esque statue in the distance.

It was time for some peace.