Chapter 60

"I'm sorry, What?!" Death too exclaimed as he leaned over the viewing pool while squishing Voldemort's soul like a stressball. The blue flaming soul struggled in his grip, but Death simply whacked it on the edge of the pool. "Settle down you damn cockroach," the skeletal entity muttered before turning to his sister incredulously.

"You wished for their happily ever after, didn't you?" Fate raised a brow.

"Of course, but that doesn't mean you get to throw the whole reality into chaos!"

"I have done no such thing," Fate huffed. "It was about time the truth about Grindelwald came out, and let's face it. You wouldn't have known until his soul arrived on your doorstep with a neon sign."

"I totally would have!"

"Morty, you forgot to collect Raspuntin when they poisoned him, then shot him. If Vita hadn't kicked you out of your chair, he would have survived the drowning."

"That was one time!" Death argued back.

"Example number two," Fate then pointed to Voldemort. The blue flames shimmered as if to say 'She got you there.'

"Don't you dare start," Death grumbled as he shook the soul in his hand.

"I kind of feel bad for the poor sod Grindelwald took over," Death slumped back in his seat. "In other realities, he'd have a somewhat good life ahead of him."

Fate merely hummed as she dipped her finger into the pool to fast forward to the current moment in time for Harry and Severus. The duo was still in Madam Bones's temporary office. Severus sat deep in thought while Harry was pacing.

"So, he escaped," Harry muttered while wearing a hole in the rug. "But you are thinking he's probably still in the Ministry,"

"That is the Aurors' likely conclusion, yes," Amelia answered.

"But why?" Harry shot back. "This happened last night, he had the means to leave quietly, vanish, gather an army, bide his time,"

"Maybe," Severus spoke up as his eyes narrowed. "Maybe he doesn't have the right body."

"Huh?"

"Think about it for a moment, Harry," Severus, still frowning, looked at the other two. "At the trial, he confessed to having a specific list of candidates with whom to switch bodies. What if he's laying low within the Ministry because the body he stole isn't as magically powerful as he was hoping for?"

"You're suggesting… Oh, Fuck! We walked right into his web!" Harry realized as he looked at his partner. Hermione's kids weren't born yet, Draco was at the estate, Voldy was ash, so that left Severus and him, now Horcrux free.

Madam Bones actually groaned. "This is giving me a migraine. Both of you out. If it makes you feel any better, I will have one of your acquaintances escort you back." She grumbled but summoned her Patronus, an owl, and gave it the message to send Kingsley to her office.

The man in question took but five minutes before announcing himself at the door. "Kingsley, welcome. This entire fiasco has me questioning my sanity," Amelia muttered. "Could you please see to it that Harry and Severus make it safely to the Metro-floo? Some concerns have just come to light, and I would like their safety to be assured."

"Of course, Madam Bones," Kingsley stated before he held the door for the duo. The trio walked past the security posted in the hallway and into the elevator that would bring them back to the Atrium.

"So Severus, any plans for the rest of the day?" Kingsley asked as an elevator tune played.

"Not much. Though I am hoping our house elf can make us something special for dessert tonight," Severus said blandly.

"Ah, possibly a good old-fashioned Blancmange then?" Kingsley laughed while patting his belly. "I myself should lay off the sweets,"

"Indeed," Severus deadpanned as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. The Atrium was as chaotic as when they arrived. Once the elevator doors closed and they had walked a bit further into the chaos, Severus turned towards Kingsley, who was walking beside him, and Harry brandished his wand and shouted Everte Statum. Kingsley's eyes widened as he met the spell head-on and was sent flying back several feet, hitting the statue in the middle of the Atrium. The people nearby panicked and scattered while Harry's brows shot up as Severus still had his wand trained on Kingsley, who was now getting up.

"Incarcerous," Severus chanted; however, Kingsley managed to deflect the spell onto a poor, unsuspecting civilian.

Harry brandished his wand as well while people gave the trio a large berth. Aurors were also arriving on the scene, shouting for them to put their wands down, but in a surprising turn of events, it was Kingsley who used a spell to send a shockwave towards his colleagues, knocking them off their feet.

"How did you figure it out?" Kingsley asked as he cracked his neck while keeping his wand trained on Harry and Severus.

"I had my suspicions when you mentioned the Blancmange, but I was certain when you mentioned consuming sweets." Severus's eyes narrowed. "Albus never stayed long enough for Molly's desserts during Order meetings, so you wouldn't know that Kingsley could never stomach sweet things. He always had something salty,"

"You got sloppy," Severus hissed. "Only Minerva, you, and three of my Slytherins knew about my love for Blancmange."

"The soul transfer must have addled your brain. Otherwise, you wouldn't have made such a glaring mistake."

Kingsley, or rather, Grindelwald, conjured a circle of green flames around them, causing the crowd and the Aurors to be pushed back.

"Clever as ever, my dear boy." It just sounded odd and somehow wrong coming from Kingsley's lips.

"I am not your boy," Severus hissed as his eyes narrowed. In a matter of seconds, non-verbal spells clashed. Severus's red spell met Grindelwald's blue. The Pendragon wand was living up to its name as Gellert was actually being pushed back by sheer raw magical strength. When it became apparent that Severus was going to overpower him, Grindelwald broke the connection and ducked before sending an Avada Kedavra straight at Harry's chest.

In the heat of the moment, Severus reacted by summoning a nearby statue to block the curse, having momentarily forgotten that Harry was immortal. It was the opening Gellert needed as he rushed towards Severus, tackling him to the ground and then apparating both away, shattering the Ministry wards in the process.

"SEVERUS!" Harry shouted as he saw his lover disappear before his eyes. "SEVERUS!" The green flames disappeared, but the crowd did not rush in, still too stunned by what they had witnessed. Harry fell to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks as he tried to rationalize what had just happened. His magic lashed out, heavy and oppressive through the Atrium, and wizards and witches alike had to cover their noses and mouths while flinching. This reeked of old magic. Older than Merlin and Morgana. "The 'Old Religion'." Someone gasped before clutching their mouth as nausea overwhelmed them and the rest in the area. Harry stood in the center of the storm, his wand brandished and his eyes devoid of warmth.

"Death, appear before me," Harry called out.

Shivers ran through the crowd as a rip in mid-air seemed to appear. A literal rip in reality that brought forth a skeletal figure in a tattered black robe. "Master has summoned me," Death's voice rang in the minds of all. Gone was the silly reaper that poked fun at his Master and consort. In his stead stood a terrifying entity that made wizards and witches shiver in terror and avert their eyes.

"He took my Severus," Harry said as his eyes turned black, embracing the true power of the Master of Death. "Find that cur that dared to take my beloved,"

"As my Master commands," Death uttered before he and Harry disappeared from the Atrium.