Archive of Our Own

Work Text

War was never something that was finished in a day, but for Harry Potter, his life seemed to fall apart in one.His family, the rest of the torn and weathered one he had was gone. He’d seen their bodies- Remus, Tonks, Fred, and so many others had died because of the war. There was a reason that no had accepted the title for Master of Death, a reason the three of Death’s gifts had never been sought out by people before. The text containing that reason had burned up in a mysterious house fire centuries before, but even as the whispers stayed, the sane would not seek the power that the three objects would bring.Death’s master was not a title anyone would want if they knew the consequences.Harry didn’t know this, being busy with his trying to stay alive in the midst of a war. He didn’t hear the whispers that were passed down by mothers to children in warning of Death and its lonely power, but as the battle for Hogwarts waned and he was left to watch over the crowd of victors, he soon realized there was something wrong with him.Lavender approached him shyly. “I think you were really great out there Harry…”Barely sparing the girl a glance, he smiled tiredly, still trying to find his two best friends and make sure they were okay. “Thanks, Lav.”“Mate?” A hand was on his shoulder, and he turned to see Ron looking at him strangely. “Why are you talking to yourself?”Harry looked back to where Lavender was smiling at him. “Ron, I’m sure you remember Lavender…”The redhead’s expression fell. “Yeah I- I feel really bad about the whole break up now, what with- y’know... the circumstances.”With what he was sure was a look of utter confusion, Harry turned around, dragging Ron over to his side to look at where Lavender was standing. “Lav, please knock some sense into him for me, will you?”Lavender’s expression was soft. “I’m sorry Harry.”“Mate… you know she’s dead right? You’re talking to thin air. There’s no one there.” Ron was looking worried.Harry looked from the girl to Ron and then back to where the girl had been standing, but there was nothing there. Rubbing his eyes, he frowned. “Sorry. It- uh- must’ve been a trick of the light or something.”“Okay… If you're sure.” Ron nodded, throwing an arm over his shoulder and turning him around only to stop when Harry flinched violently. “What’s up now?”Harry could clearly see Severus Snape hovering over Neville with a sneer as the boy tried to help get people fixed up. “Ron I- I think there’s something wrong with me...”The dead were walking and it seemed he could see them.Harry then did the logical thing that one did when they found they were seeing things no one else could see.He passed out (though that might have also been the adrenaline wearing off). The Wizarding World had gone through countless wars and it knew exactly how to repair itself, but as the rest of magical Britain got new life and freedom, it seemed Harry only got worse.At first, the ghosts were only recent deaths and Harry could avoid them well enough by staying away from Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, only going to those places if either Ron or Hermione were with him.But it was getting worse as time progressed.He started to look outside Grimmauld place and see the ghosts of muggles wandering around aimlessly, their spirits usually more violent and gruesome, their deaths more brutal. He could feel their soulless spirits reaching out for him, their gripping hands chilling him to the bone, and he decided to stay inside Grimmauld Place.Groceries could be delivered, as well as most anything he needed, and the only prominent spirit that inhabited the old house was of a stern older woman with a dislike for Hermione (though she was the best teacher he’d ever had for History of Magic, so he chose to ignore the woman’s snarky insults when the bushy-haired witch came by).As he’d decided not to go back to Hogwarts to re-do his seventh year, he was alone most of the time, with only Sirius’ ancestors to keep him company and help him with his classes.He found the woman with the dark hair and grey eyes so like Sirius’ own, was actually his great aunt, Cassiopeia Black. She and her sister, Dorea Potter nee Black, took it on their shoulders to get him to the ‘standard of a proper Black Lord’- Meaning in between studying for his NEWTS, he was getting instructed on the proper manners for a Lord of two noble houses.Harry had never been more happy for being able to see the two women (even if it meant he was completely insane) when his test results came back, showing he’d passed with all Outstanings except for an Exceeds Expectations in potions. On the first day of summer break, there was a knock on his door, and he waved in his best friends with a wide smile. “Ron! Hermione!” Dragging them into hugs, he found himself smiling widely. “I’m sure glad you’re here. Seems like it’s been ages.”“Harry, the tea’s whistling.” Dorea scolded him with a soft smile.Jumping up, he ran for the kitchen and took the tea off. “Thanks, Dora. You know how distracted I get.”A scoff alerted him to the presence of Cassiopeia, whose frown stayed the same no matter her mood, and tended to be scary if you didn't know how to interpret it correctly. “Harry Potter, distracted? That’s a new thought.” (It seemed her mood at the moment was sarcastic.)He just sent the stern woman a cheeky smile. “You know you love me, Cassie.”“Harry?” Turning, he found Ron and Hermione watching him from the kitchen door. “Are you okay?”Hermione surged forward with a frown. “Harry, it hasn’t gotten worse, has it? You said that you were doing okay!”Harry didn’t understand the big deal. It wasn’t as if the two women were doing anything other than keeping him company in the big house. He gently took the girl’s fluttering hands in his, guiding them to her side. “I’m fine ‘Mione. Dorea and Cassiopeia are family. In fact, Dora's my grandmother!”This made Hermione’s frown deeper. “Harry, you know that it’s not normal right? Talking to… these ghosts of yours?”“But they-”The girl put her hands on his shoulders and shook him lightly. “No! They’re not there! Harry, they don't exist! First staying here instead of going to Hogwarts and then-!”“‘Mione…” Ron pulled the girl away, whispering something to the girl as he guided her out of the room.“Muggleborns. Pathetic.” Cassiopeia hissed, making him send her a look of exasperation, to which she just scoffed at and disappeared.Dorea cast him an apologetic look, before also disappearing, probably to talk to her temperamental sister.Harry emerged from the kitchen with three cups of tea, eyes downcast. “I didn’t mean to- It’s just I’ve been here all alone and they-...” He sighed, realizing the other two wouldn’t understand and moving onto a different subject. “How’s Hogwarts holding up?”The conversation was a little less strained ( now that it was on a subject they all could talk about without two of them acting like the other was crazy ), but soon Ron was bringing up something Harry had wanted desperately to avoid. “Hey, mate, you gonna write to Ginny? She’s been waiting for a letter from you practically all year.”Wincing, Harry looked down at his tea. “Yeah, about that Ron, I- I kinda realized that… Well- I’m gay.”A stunned silence fell over the room.Ron spluttered, face turning the same color as his hair. “Wha- I- What about Cho! And my sister !”It was hard to explain how Harry had this epiphany, because it had been through a very vivid dream of one of Dorea's ‘old friends’ that they had called on to teach him about ballroom dancing, and he’d been teased mercilessly by the two women ever since.Harry was sure there was a flush on his cheeks. “I- uh- I like girls…ish, but just not as much as guys...”Just as the red-haired boy went open his mouth and make the situation worse, Hermione leaned forward (thank Merlin). “How’d your NEWTS go? Self-study must’ve been hard, but I think you’d have done alright…”Happy for the subject change and the chance to meet Hermione’s notoriously high standards, he flipped through a small briefcase of his various notebooks, pulling out his letter from the Ministry and handing it over with a wide grin. “It was great! Just think, with this I’d be able to do a mastery in almost anything I wanted! I was thinking about traveling, researching lost and foreign magic as an Unspeakable, and I already got a letter of funding from the Ministry! Can you imagine how great that would-”“This isn't right.”He stopped short mid-rant, a smile trying so hard to stay on his face as he tried to keep that excited energy in the face of his sinking stomach. His voice was barely a whisper. “What?”The girl stared at the letter, before looking up with a frown on her lips. “Harry, you couldn’t have made these results, not with self-studying.”Ron peered over her shoulder before his eyes narrowed on him. “You cheated, didn’t you! Paid off the examiner or something!”Taken aback at the accusation, he blinked at the two. “I- what? No, I studied! I thought- I thought you two would be happy about this...”“How could we be!” Hermione stood, tossing the letter carelessly to the side. “Harry, you know you can’t cheat on these tests! Think about what Dumbledore would have-”That about blew all the patience that Harry had, the temperature in the room dropping rapidly as he rose from the armchair to his full height. “No. You will not tell me what the man that raised me to die would think! You are not going to tell me I’m crazy, selfish, deceitful, or any of the other things you would like to say to bring me down to your level. You will leave this house, and from here on, neither of you are allowed across these wards.”There was a gust of powerful wind, the two getting blown out the door, which slammed shut behind them.Harry walked over slowly, picking up the slightly crumpled letter that had fallen to the floor.“You can’t blame yourself for the actions of others.” Cassiopeia and Dorea stood by the stairs to the second story, both looking sad as if they cared for either of the two teenagers that had been here.He just sighed, smoothing out the wrinkles in the paper before carefully placing it back in his briefcase. “I just wanted them to be happy for me for once.”Both women smiled softly, fondly, and the three of them moved on like they always did when things got bad.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After that day, the whole Weasley family (excluding George, Charlie, and Bill who all still kept in contact and were very wonderful and supportive) refused to talk to him, not even inviting him to Hermione and Ron’s wedding. He only found out about it from George when the tall prank master visited him for their weekly discussion about life and the WWW shop.But he supposed that with every shitty curve-ball the all-powerful force called Potter Luck threw him, there was always some good thing that followed it up.His ‘good thing’ knocked on the door to Grimmauld Place at 6 in the morning with clothes that were more color than he'd seen in weeks and wide eyes that seemed to see right through him. “Good morning Harry. I hear you need a friend.” Then, like the witch was invited in (she always was), Luna Lovegood walked in and took up residence smack dab in the center of his life.Luna was honestly the best thing that had ever happened to him: the sad sack of anti-social, barely functioning person he was nowadays.She was the one who helped him realize a lot of things (like how he could actually feel relieved about Ron and Hermione leaving him without being a bad person and that he’d had a shitty childhood and that was okay), but the one lesson the girl-turned-young-woman always chided him about, was that the dead are not to be feared.Harry was more than fine with those words at first, some of his closest confidants were spirits, but that was tested when Tom first showed up. He was cooking breakfast, when a soft huffing sound made him look over, almost falling backward when he came face to face with a Tom Marvolo Riddle a little older than the one he’d seen in the Chamber of Secrets. The teenager sneered. “You can’t be the person who killed me! You're a child!!”“What- you- I... You’re dead!” Was all he could manage.Tom sent him a scathing look of contempt. “Astute observation, genius.”Luna bounced in. “Who is it this time? Anyone I know?”Harry side-eyed the spirit while he served the eggs onto two plates next to the bacon he’d already finished. “Tom Riddle.Voldemort.”“Oh.” Luna looked conflicted for a moment, before smiling with a shrug and grabbing one of the plates. “Nice to meet you, Tom!”He looked at the girl incredulously. “Don’t say that! He’s the reason that you practically died!”Tom scoffed, disappearing, even as Luna proceeded to give Harry her token lecture on how ghosts weren’t supposed to be held responsible for their actions when alive because they were just as alone as anyone else during death and just wanted to talk to someone that could see them.This time Harry was less inclined to listen to the girl.Tom Riddle wasn’t someone he wanted to be nice to, even if his spirit was forever stuck wandering the earth because of an unhappy life. However, since then the teenage version of the Dark Lord seemed to find it exceedingly amusing to show up at exactly the wrong moments.Like when Harry was focused on making a potion, was singing to himself as he weeded the garden, or even when he was in the shower. (He will forever deny the shriek he gave when he turned around to get the shampoo and Tom was standing there with an ear-to-ear grin.) Eventually though, he had to agree with Luna (for the most part).The version of Tom Riddle that did everything he could to annoy the living daylights out of Harry wasn’t as evil or malicious as he remembered Voldemort being.Still as much of an arrogant over-dramatic prick... but less bat-shit insane.They’d even sometimes sit down and talk about things. Like their shitty childhoods or being outcasts at school, and for the most part, Harry found he liked the boy. “Do you ever see them? The people you miss so much? It seems your only visitors these days are the Ladies Black and me.” Tom asked curiously from where he was lounging out on one of the main room’s leather sofas.Harry knew his voice was shaking, Luna humming to herself a few rooms away, but she was used to Harry's one-sided conversations and Tom had seen him in worse states than this, so he answered. “Not really, since most of them moved on, content with how their lives went… But I see others. All the others... It's like the whole world’s turned into ghosts.” He stared down at his hands.“How do you bear it?”This made Harry look up. “I don’t most of the time... You know this. You've seen how I get.”And the boy had.He’d seen Harry drunkenly rambling to Cassiopeia about wanting to die, seen him yell at Luna for touching Sirius’ old room, seen him shaking apart and talking to inanimate objects like they could maybe talk back.Harry searched the boy's face almost desperately. “I miss you. You were a massive prick and were always trying to kill me, but you made me want to live. Gave me something to fight for… I feel as if a part of myself has been taken...” It felt some days as if Harry had lost more than just Voldemort's soul shard when he’d come back from the dead. Like maybe he'd lost his own.“Sometimes,” the brown-haired boy confessed, even quieter. “I miss me too.”This made Harry laugh, but it was a hollow and broken thing that tried to cut his throat on the way up. “Look at us. The who was afraid of death is dead and the other that wanted to die is left to live.”Tom just hummed, his edges flickering for a second before he disappeared.Harry was left alone, but he still sat with his cold cup of tea and stared at where the boy had been, voice more bitter than it had any right to be when he talked about his old enemy. “I bet you would have had so many plans set out if you had lived...” His voice was empty, just like the space he was talking to.Luna glided into the room, gently easing the cold cup of tea from his hand and replacing it with a warm one. “How was the weekly talk with Tom?”“Depressing.”The girl didn't ask, and for that Harry was eternally grateful. “Just remember that you can't force them to do anything. The dead are funny that way.”He was more than sure that his definition of ‘funny’ and hers were on entirely different planets light years away from each other, but he gave a small nod anyway. “I think that the thing I’m missing is my soul.” His eyes slid to the girl, lips curling in a sarcastic smile. “Maybe I died, and my soul decided it was so attached to that Horcrux it decided to stay in Kings Cross.”Luna just nodded, as if she took his words seriously. “Maybe it did.”They drifted into a silence weighed down by history and regret.But it was nothing new, as all that lived in Harry's chest these days was regret, pain, and the fear of being alone. “I really hate you.”This sudden interjection made Harry startle slightly, looking up from his book to where Tom was standing, a frown on the boy's face.He blinked. “I know.” Normally he would say something sarcastic or insulting, but he'd spent the few hours he had slept restlessly dreaming of Bellatrix standing over him and the torture curse.Plus, the ghost of the Dark Lord had been avoiding him since their last talk, so instead, he just shut his book softly and looked up at the boy with a blank stare. “I don't hold any notion that if you were alive, you would do anything but hunt me down and kill me.”The bitterness in his voice hung in the air like a fog.Tom looked at him for a long moment, eyes carrying a strange emotion Harry couldn't place. “Then why do you tell me these things? Why spill all your secrets to me?”He leaned back with an easy smile. “Who would you tell?” When the boy glowered at him, he sighed, smile fading as he rubbed at his face tiredly. “It's not meant to insult your pride or however you're taking it… I just- It feels nice to be understood by someone.”“We are nothing alike.”At that Harry actually laughed. “No? Because you said something different to me multiple times when you were still alive… Or maybe you forget that we both were manipulated by Dumbledore, both had shitty childhoods, both didn't know about magic growing up, both were accused of being evil for an inherited ability, both were victims of a war we didn't understand, both-”“Yes, I understand, you can cease your insistent yapping now.” Tom scowled for a moment as he smiled triumphantly before the boy flopped back into the opposite chair as if he was a real person. “You're more annoying than anyone else I've met- all tied up in your emotions. ”Harry just gave the boy a quick grin. “Thanks, babe.”The Dark Lord sputtered. “What- Don't call me that!”He tilted his head, snickering quietly. “Why not?”Tom looked vaguely uncomfortable, waving his hands. “I- You-” With a huff, the boy sent him a glare that mimicked a basilisk's death stare. “I hate you.”Before Harry could say anything else, the boy was gone.Luna pranced down the stairs, hair up in one of those towel-turban things that confused him to no end, smiling widely. “Good morning Harry! How was your night?” There was no question about his sleep, as the people from space could probably see the bags under his eyes.Harry pulled himself up from his armchair, smiling and pressing a soft kiss to the girl's forehead as he moved to the kitchen to start making breakfast. “Better now that you're up.” He looked at her with a question on his tongue as he moved to get out a skillet. “Luna?”The girl hummed from where she was spreading her favorite pineapple jam on a piece of toast.“You won't leave if I call you things like ‘dear’ or ‘sweetheart’... Will you?”Luna looked up, giggling lightly. “Not in a million years.”Harry grinned. “Good. At least one of my companions has more emotional intelligence than a toaster.”“Tom?”He snorted, moving to whisk the eggs, and that was as good as any answer.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Then came the mark.Thick black lines, forming the sign of the Deathly Hallows. He first noticed it on his forearm but it had a habit of moving around when he wasn’t actively looking for it.Harry went to Luna, who just smiled lightly, before suggesting that they go to Gringotts.Luna had taken him to Diagon Alley a few times since the war, both more than experienced with glamours, but he hadn’t been out of the house for over a month. Stepping out onto the street, he instinctively tried to flinch back as a man walked past him, but the man just passed through him, only leaving behind a cold that seemed to seep into his bones.The girl to his side noticed his full-body shudder and patted his arm. “Don’t worry. I’ll guide you.”This method of guiding him made sure that they avoided any of the living people, as Luna could actively tell the difference between the living and dead where Harry couldn’t, but it also left Harry feeling like he was a walking icicle from passing though so many muggle ghosts.There was a definite difference. Magical ghosts had a spark of life in them and although most of them had lived unsatisfying lives (hence them being stuck where he could see them), they still were willing to be nice to him out of loneliness and wanting to talk to him. However, muggle ghosts were just these cold, dead entities that usually wore their gruesome deaths like zombies. They were the ones that he so desperately tried to avoid, because of the feeling they left him with, like that of a dementor.Entering the Leaky Cauldron was a relief, as magical ghosts seemed to realize he could see them and tended to stay out of his way when they weren’t trying to talk his ear off.Eventually, the two of them were inside the doors of Gringotts (where the ghosts it seemed couldn't go), the goblins eyeing them as they walked quickly to the end of the line of desks.Harry looked up at the goblin, tightening the grip on Luna’s arm. He’d spent hours talking to every ghost he could call who might know anything about how to evade the wrath of the goblin clan, and the only definite answer he’d gotten was that goblins cared more for money than politics or even pride. Still, his voice was less confident than he would have liked. “I’m here to pay for the damages I’ve caused.”This seemed to work, surprise flashing across the goblin’s eyes before a wrinkled hand waved at him slightly. “This way, Dragon Thief.” Ignoring the whispers that followed him from the wizards in the lobby, he and Luna ventured into the depths of Gringotts.Guided to a large office with heavy gold doors, two heavily armed sentry goblins stood at the door as soon as they entered.Sitting shakily, Harry looked to the wrinkled goblin that entered and took a seat behind a large desk. “Harry Potter, I am Gurak, the head of security.”He bowed his head respectfully. “Gurak, sir, I apologize for my actions during the war.”“Mr. Potter, can you confirm for me that the only objects you took out of this bank were an item of dark magic keeping Lord Voldemort alive and the malnourished dragon?”Harry bobbed his head hastily.The goblin's smile was sharp. “Then you will only be fined seven hundred galleons.” At seeing the widening of his eyes, the goblin's smile grew. “You may take an inheritance test if you don’t have that much money, or we can discuss alternative forms of payment...”He didn’t want to find out what those alternative forms of payment required, instead trying to regain his footing in the social battle they seemed to be waging. “An inheritance test, if you would...”The smile turned into a sneer as Gurak took out a long piece of parchment and a crystal vial of silvery liquid. Dropping seven little beads of gleaming silver liquid onto the parchment, the liquid seemed to shiver like a small dome of very expensive jello.“Three drops of blood, Mr. Potter.” A wickedly sharp knife was extended his way.With a nod, Harry carefully took the knife, pressing his left index finger to it and watching with a sort of sick fascination as it cut the skin with just a touch, blood pooling in the indent before dripping slowly into where the silver liquid was still shaking as if it was trying to match his heartbeat.When the third drop had fallen, he quickly put his finger in his mouth, wiping the knife carefully on his jeans before handing it over to the goblin who was looking at him curiously. Most people didn’t think excess blood on a knife was important, but he’d heard enough of Cassiopeia's dark magic rants to be wary of anyone getting any of his blood, even if it stained his favorite pair of jeans.Though his attention was quickly diverted as the liquid on the parchment that had turned a pretty metallic maroon color seemed to slowly seep into the paper, spreading itself out in thin lines that looked like little snakes wiggling around, before breaking apart to form words.Looking over the parchment, he felt his world tilt on its axis. 
Harry James Potter
Born: 31 July 1980Mother: Lily Potter nee. EvansFather: James Charlus PotterBlood Adopted Godfather: Sirius Orion BlackWand: Elder WandTitles :
~By right of lineage~
Lord Black (blood adoption)Lord PeverellLord Potter
~By right of magic~
Lord Gryffindor
~By right of conquest~
Lord GauntLord Slytherin~ Other ~Master of Death
Magic:
Grey magical core (bound via core leech)Affinity for Parseltongue (block broken: 1992)Affinity for Protective MagicAffinity for Dark Magic (blocked)Eidetic memory (blocked)Death Sight
Other:
Lily Potter’s Last Will and Testament sealedJames Potter’s Last Will and Testament sealedEarly emancipation due to Triwizard TournamentSoulmate bond to Tom Marvolo Riddle (blocked)Marriage contract to Ginevra Weasley filed (voided due to early emancipation) Harry could feel the ground beneath him shaking, but he wasn’t sure if it was just his legs until Luna gently took the parchment from his hands and pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay Harry… Just try not to collapse Gringotts.”Turns out the ground beneath their feet actually was shaking.Slowly collecting his scattered thoughts, Harry slowly uncurled his hands from where he’d been digging his fingers into Luna’s shoulders, wrapped around her tightly like a boa constrictor. His voice cracked slightly as he realized the girl he thought of as a little sister would surely have bruises from where he’d held her, letting go as soon as he came to that thought. “S-Sorry. I- I’m so so sorry Luna...”The girl just softly smiled, eyes so unbearably understanding. “It’s okay... You’re okay.”Turning back to where he noticed Luna had put the incriminating parchment of the goblin’s desk, he clenched his fists to try to control the anger that rose unbidden into his throat as if trying to choke him. “I want you to look at this, Master Goblin, and tell me what of this looks at all wrong to you.”Gurak pulled the parchment to himself with questioning eyes, face seeming to be leached of color the more the goblin read. Small dark eyes flicked up to him. “Young Lord… I apologize on behalf of the Goblin Nation. The Master of Death is a title that our proud nation has always held the highest respect for, and yet we seem to have let this grave error pass by us.” Dipping his head in a low bow, Gurak spoke remorsefully. “We ask for mercy.”Still shaking slightly, Harry scoffed all the bitterness and hurt rising only for him to slam it into a cage in the corner of his mind. “Rise, Master Goblin. All I ask is the help of the Goblin Nation to unbind my core, remove as many blocks as is possible, and to hear my parent’s wills. I have no need to punish you for errors that others committed.”
And if that last sentence held all the bitter betrayal that made it so hard for him to breathe, it had been a long day.
The goblin straightened, nodding hastily and reaching for a golden box on the far corner of his desk, opening it with an intricate golden key. “I will alert the Nation that the Master of Death has arrived and asks for our highest level of cooperation. We will do everything we can to help, Young Lord.”Inside the box was a raised carving of the Deathly Hallows symbol, and as a long finger pressed it in, a haunting chime of bells that vaguely made him think of a funeral rang through the room and seemed to travel through the halls as if echoing out across the building.As they waited for the ritual room to be prepped for use, Harry looked at the goblin. “So what does the title of ‘Master of Death’ entail anyway? Does it mean I can't die?”Gurak grinned viciously. “Not unless you chose, I assume. Although you will have to discuss your duties and abilities with Death, as I fear he is a fickle being and hates giving out more information than he has to.”Harry nodded, accepting the answer.Soon enough he was being ushered to a ritual room to remove the various blocks and core bindings that he was sure had been somehow connected to Albus Dumbledore.Unbinding a magical core that had been growing, festering in containment for so long was like unlocking the cage to a dangerous animal that had been abused and mistreated for years and years; and then trying to lessen the damage that occurred when said beast broke from its containment with vengeance on its mind and the taste of blood in its mouth. Gringotts shook with the power released, there were more than fifty goblins on warding alone, and Harry was sure from the level of pain that he’d somehow broken every bone in his body.When Harry left the large ritual room, leaning on Luna heavily, some deep part of him was gleefully proud of the large crack that he left in the thick stone wall of the building’s foundation.Luna got him back to Grimmauld Place, where he proceeded to sleep for a week. Harry was sentenced to bed rest for at least four days, only accepting to it because of the fact he was laid out on one of the sofas in the main area rather than confined to his small bedroom.Tom and the two Ladies Black had practically thrown fits when he told them of the blocks and other various betrayals that he’d uncovered, Tom getting especially fussy when he learned of the soulmate bond that had been blocked- going on various rants about everything from being tricked into trying to kill his soulmate, to his soulmate killing him, to the notion that they were even soulmates (his rant on their 54 year age difference was especially entertaining and Harry sometimes would make comments to prompt the boy into starting on that particular rant).Though the three seemed to let their anger at these betrayals be settled by the fact that he was the Master of Death, all three displaying various levels of admiration, pride, and respect.Finally, after a few weeks, Harry gave in to their nagging and Luna’s gentle suggestions, and decided to ‘call Death’.Death was as he expected and yet not all at the same time.The eldritch being that answered to the name of ‘Death’ was a six-foot tall figure draped entirely in a black cloth that seemed to float in the air. The long fabric had no hole for a face, unlike a dementor, and its hands were the only part of its body that were not covered by the thick black fabric. Though its hands were composed of bones like a skeleton and they didn’t seem to be connected to one another, they still held the base of a long scythe made entirely of silver.Harry stared.The black fabric covering the entity rippled even without any wind to move it.“You- um- You must be Death.” He felt as if he was seven years old again, trying to say hello to an older kid on the playground only for the boy to push him over. “I’m Harry.” He finished lamely, hoping at least the being killed him swiftly.“I know who you are, Young Master.” The voice that seemed to echo around the room, as if coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once, almost sounded amused. “I have long waited to have a Master to tie me to the world of the living, and your fate has been long anticipated for me… Are you afraid?”Harry took a moment to think, trying to analyze exactly what he was feeling. “I don't think I've ever been afraid of Death- of you- but the notion of being the thing tying you to the world of the living, yes, that scares me a bit.”A laugh as rich and deep as the depths of the ocean that no light could reach echoed around the room. “No need to worry, Little Master. Being my tether will do nothing but make you unable to die and give you Death Sight.”“Death Sight?” Harry glanced at where Luna seemed to be sketching the entity in a sketchbook. “Does that have anything to do with the ghosts I can see?”
“Death Sight is the ability to see through the thinnest layer of the veil of the dead, to see and communicate with the spirits that are unable to move on, but did not actively choose to become ghosts.”
He hummed lowly. “Is there a way to call on spirits that have passed through the veil?”The entity seemed to ripple, hand curling and uncurling on his scythe as if uncomfortable. “No. Though I will allow you, as my Master, to know the ritual to keep a spirit from passing on, but know if you use it on a soul that has not agreed to be stuck with you, I will not be happy…” At the dip of Harry's head, the being continued. “Before the person dies, you will have to encase a piece of their hair in a container you can wear. Then when the last breath is drawn, cover the container in the blood. This will bind the spirit, not to leave your side until you destroy the container. Also, spirits already in the veil can be bound to you by finding something they thought to be most valuable when they were alive.”Harry hummed lightly, storing that information away. “Thank you for telling me this.”The black fabric rippled at the entity drifted forward slightly. “Master, if I may ask out of curiosity, what do you plan to do with your time on this Earth?He shrugged lightly. “I want to see the world, learn as much about magic as I can. I don’t have many plans yet.”“You might want to see what you can of the world sooner, rather than later. In less than 300 years this world will change, Little Master, and should you be around to see it, I fear it will break your heart.” Without another word edgewise, Death dissolved into shadows that sunk into the floor.There was a frown on his face. “Thanks for the cryptic message!... prick.”Luna laughed quietly in the background. After he could move again without being sore and his every move didn’t break the closest object to him (even Luna the ever level-headed optimist had gotten tired of casting reparo and shoved Tom on him to teach him to control his magic), Harry found himself back at Gringotts to hear the reading of his parent’s wills.He hadn’t expected it, but there was already more than a couple of people in the room, who looked up at them in surprise when he and Luna were ushered in by a goblin and then offered tea.Harry thanked the goblin, even as both he and Luna politely declined, noticing with no amount of dark satisfaction that the three Malfoys hadn’t been offered anything.Neville and his grandmother joined them and they started up a friendly conversation about his Herbology Mastery while they waited for a few more people to join the small group.Harry, Luna, Narcissa Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, Augusta Longbottom, Andromeda Tonks (who had the small Teddy Lupin with her), Amelia Bones, Susan Bones, and Minerva McGonagall watched as a decrepit goblin slowly made his way into the room, the door closing behind him with two goblin warriors blocking it.One of the Goblin Ancients that Harry recognized as the head of the Britain Gringotts branch stopped in front of him, leaning on a silver cane. Harry stood from his chair, bowing lowly. “Head Goblin Ancient Vokor, thank you for personally overseeing this reading of my parent’s wills.”The room’s atmosphere shifted when the goblin moved slowly to bow just as lowly back to Harry, voice like rough sandpaper “The Goblin Nation is repaying your kindness by correcting this oversight, Young Master. Those responsible for this grievous error have been punished in accordance with Goblin law. Even if your mercy is appreciated, the Nation is not foolish to press your goodwill.”He could feel the wicked grin curling his lips at hearing the confirmation that the goblins responsible had most likely (read: certainly) gotten executed, sure that he looked as pleased as he felt as he sat back down. “Your decision is well received, Master Goblin.”Vokor’s eyes were amused, walking slowly to the pedestal even as his rough voice spoke slowly in the tone Harry recognized as the goblin’s version of teasing. “Anything to forego another ritual room so thoroughly destroyed... How is your residence holding up, Young Master?”“Barely.” He chuckled softly, noticing Luna smile of amusement from next to him. “I do apologize, once again, for the damage I caused. It was quite unintentional.”The old goblin looked at him, face contorting into a horrifying show of teeth that he knew was a smile. “The Goblin Nation expects nothing less from you, Young Master Dragon Thief...” The small eyes then moved to scan the crowd. “I am Vokor, Head of Gringotts Britain branch. I will be unsealing and overseeing the reading of the wills belonging to James and Lily Potter under the request of Young Master Harry.”There were no titles attached to the end, but the fact that none were spoken and the high-level goblin kept calling him ‘young master’, were enough to draw the eyes of the room.Harry ignored the curious eyes, reaching out to hold Luna’s hand in reassurance.The goblin drew two long scrolls out of a long box made of black stone, placing one to the side and unrolling the other. An orb of white light floated up, hovering above the scroll and a voice that Harry sometimes heard in his dreams filled the room.
“My name is Lily Potter nee. Evans and by sound body, mind, and magic, I declare this my Final Will and Testament. In the immediate aftermath of my death, the alive listed people are to be collected for the reading of my will: The Malfoy family, the Longbottom family, the Bones family, the Tonks family, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, Marlene McKinnon, and whoever of my own family that survives me.

“I would also like it to be noted that the Fidelius charm our cottage in Godric’s Hallow was cast by Albus Dumbledore, with Peter Pettegrew as our secret keeper, as Albus thought Sirius Black unsuitable for the weight of the duty.

"In the case that my husband, James Potter, does not survive me, I would like my son Harry to be taken into the appropriate care of an adult in the order henceforth mentioned: Sirius Black, Minerva McGonagall, The Longbottoms, The Bones’, The Tonks’, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Marlene McKinnon, and if necessary, the Malfoys. In no case should Harry be sent to my sister Petunia Evans to be raised, as she has no love for magic and I fear for my son’s well being if he were to be sent there.”  
Harry could feel his magic thrumming under his skin like his blood was slowly boiling and the armrest under his free hand shattered to pieces.The old goblin looked amused as Luna leaned over and flicked her wand easily, repairing the armrest without a word only for it to shatter again.He could tell his raging magic was holding up the reading of the will, but all he could see was red. “That bastard! He knew that I wasn’t supposed to be sent there! I could have been raised by a family that loved me, but no I had to be some broken little pawn he could manipulate!” The venomous hiss of his voice was just loud enough for the whole room to hear, even if it wasn’t his intention.With a slightly tired sigh, Luna stood, moving to sit across his lap and cover him in a hug. “Harry, we talked about this. You have to breathe. You survived them and that’s all that matters. You’re more than what they made you and you never have to see them again.”Harry curled around her, soaking up the easy contact, slowly calming his magic before he looked up at the old goblin. “Apologies for the interruption, Head Goblin Vorkor. Please continue.”With a nod, Lily’s smooth voice continued on to list off bequeaths- money, properties, certain items, and the Potter Lordship- but Harry was only half listening anymore.However, a pause at the end of the long will make him focus, looking up.
“Harry, my darling, If you are left without me (and possibly your father) to raise you, please remember that both I and your father love you so much. I can’t possibly ask for anything other than you to try to live how it makes you happy. I hope that you never have to hear me read this, but in the case that you do, know that I will never be happier that you were my son.”
Hiding his distress in Luna’s long silky hair, he cried for the first time since the war, hearing his father’s voice fill the room to say the same things as his mother had said. Once again, there was a pause at the end.
“Hey, Pronglet. If you or any of my other Marauders-In-Arms are hearing this it means that I pulled the ultimate prank and left a little too soon. Sorry ‘bout that. No, but honestly, I hope that Lils and Harry survive me- and whoever is hearing this better take care of my damn family or else! Even if it
does 
come down to you, Snape…  Anyway Prongslet, I only want you to be happy, even if that includes being sorted into Slytherin or something of the like. I love you so much you little menace and hope you grow up to be just as amazing as your lovely mother.”
The room was silent as the second orb was absorbed by the scroll, both scrolls once again stored in the black stone box.Vorkor’s voice was like sandpaper over metal, but his eyes held concern as they lingered on where Harry was still clutching at Luna. “Feel free to use this room as long as you wish. The reading of Lily and James Potter’s will is now finished.” Pausing at the door, the old goblin looked at Harry. “Young Master Harry, you are always welcome to retire to a ritual room if needed to get a better handle on your magic.”His voice was rough with emotion. “You just want to make me pay for more damages, my friend...” But the corner of his lips pulled up into a pained smile nonetheless. “May your gold grow as long as I live.”With a sharp grin, the goblin dipped his head. “And may your enemies never go where you cannot see them, Young Master.” With that, the old goblin hobbled out, the armed guards following him.Harry snorted at the cryptic allusions they both made to his being the Master of Death, Luna standing and stretching, before looking at him with crystal blue eyes. “You okay?”Standing, he grimaced at the arm of the chair that had shattered. With a flick of his hand, it was repaired neatly, and he nodded. “As good as I’ll ever be.”“Mr. Potter… Harry.” He turned to look at Minerva McGonagall, who was frowning but whose eyes gave away that she wasn’t mad at him, instead feeling guilty. “I want to say that I warned Albus, but I should have pushed. I didn’t know that-”Feeling emotion start to well in his chest, he cut the woman off by raising his hand. “I put no blame on any of you for something that was the fault of one man. Don’t worry about me, Professor. I have all the family I could ever want.”The woman still looked concerned, pursing her lips. “Don’t get into too much trouble, Mr. Potter.”“I’ll live, Professor.” His laugh was soft as he took Luna’s arm. “I always do.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Harry did just as he'd said: he lived.Tom, Luna, and he traveled the world together- as he’d bound the former Dark Lord to him by wearing Slytherin’s broken and mangled locket around his neck. Tom was pleased with the opportunity to see the world but less than pleased to be stuck with him (though his rants on the soulmate subject did seem to taper off after a few years).The shadow of Magical Britain was a suffocating fog they were pleased to be clear of unless for small trips to Grimmauld Place (mostly to see Cassiopeia and Dorea), and the world was fascinating.Abandoned temples, ancient tombs, old run-down libraries… They were always moving, on the search for new information or another group of people that didn’t know their names and wouldn’t care about the way he would shake apart screaming when (read: if) he decided to sleep.They learned, absorbing all the new information in a way the doe-eyed girl would sometimes smile at and tease him about being a Ravenclaw at heart.Harry found he was growing more and more open to that idea as time made him more jaded. He was definitely more Ravenclaw (and Slytherin) now, his pursuit of knowledge weighing out over his need for rash bravery. He'd long found a way to limit and control his Death Sight to just magical ghosts, researching ancient spells and he wondered what Hermione would say if she saw him absorbing such knowledge. (Probably that he'd cheated somehow.)Then Luna died.Old and smiling up at him with those eyes wrinkled by smiling, she told him she would never leave his side. Not when they’d talked it over many times before and the old Slytherin locket hung around his neck with a lock of her hair already inside.After all, they had thought of each other as siblings for longer than Voldemort had been dead.So with the resolution not to live alone, Harry continued on his search for any new information to absorb with Luna and Tom’s spirits by his side. Slytherin’s cracked locket hung around his neck, now stained with Luna's blood, but he refused to live alone so he didn't matter much what it looked like. Two hundred years of Voldemort being dead and the ease in which any new Dark Lord was eliminated as threats made for celebration across Britain by the Wizarding World, the Ministry starting to lower the Statute of Secrecy.Wizards had grown incompetent in their stagnant peace, had forgotten the threat that could be posed by muggles. One slip up turned into international treaties and conflict, which then brought the fury of the muggles for being ‘betrayed the right to use magic’ ...And then came the war.To Harry, it all just seemed so vaguely amusing.Yes, just one person had caused the war against magic and surprisingly, it wasn't him.Harry sat with Luna, Tom, Cassiopeia, and Dorea back in Grimmauld Place and watched though magical images as the world fell apart to war. Soon enough the fighting escalated, and though he was sad to see Hogwarts leveled by an atomic bomb, he has the satisfaction of knowing the destruction was because of Albus Dumbledore's meddling.In a span of three days he was the last surviving being with a magical core on the face of the planet.The muggles had killed off most of their own race, but even then there were a few bunkers hidden away full of rich muggles and some that had just been smart enough to stock up on supplies.At least that was what Death said to him when he asked if he was the last person left.Being as Harry didn't necessarily want to die until he was the last living thing on the face of the earth (a simple matter of pride really), he instead took it upon himself to do what he could to have fun.And if that fun was hunting down every surviving muggle that lived through the nuclear bombs, well then he blamed it on being a tad bit insane- but even Tom was impressed at how good Harry got with his trusty goblin made daggers though, which to his defense was high praise coming from the former Dark Lord that had killed so many. Harry sat next to the bloody corpse of the last non-magical human to walk the earth, cleaned his golden goblin daggers off on the dead body’s clothes and smiled up at the two people he would always love. “There. All done. Happy Birthday me!”Luna moved forward, eyes sad as she cradled his face in her hands that couldn't really do anything but feel slightly warm, like the passing of a summer breeze. “Oh, darling… Now, will you call him? Will you let him fix you?”“If I do, promise not to leave me until the very end?” His eyes were intense on the two spirits as if to search for deception, paranoid even in the knowledge of their love.Tom moved forward, lips tugging in a smirk that was almost a smile and had been growing fonder as the years passed. “Harry, have we ever left you before? We both already said we would stick by your side thought the end.”The reminder made the green-eyed immortal relax a bit, looking around at the barren wasteland with a heavy heart. “I guess there really is nothing left…” He nodded slightly, steeling himself. “Fine then. Death, I call you to my side.”A mass of inky shadows congealed into a figure draped in black cloth that seemed to suck in the light around it. “Master… Have you finally decided to move on from this barren wasteland? I admit I find it quite boring.” “What is there for me to move on to Death? There is nothing left.” Harry’s voice was soft, remorseful even, for the first time in centuries. “Isn’t this when you take me to see my family?”There was a smile in the shadow entity’s voice as it spoke. “You can have whatever you want Master, whenever you want it. As long as you still want to be my Master then there is nothing to hold you back, no rules to play by, no limit to your abilities other than the ones you place on yourself.” The man that looked to be in his mid-twenties with wild green eyes grinned slowly. “In that case, I would like to go back to when it all started. To when my parents were students in Hogwarts before the Prophecy was ever spoken. Let’s say… 1976. Give me a credible background from Durmstrang under the name of Hadrian Peverell and I will do the rest.” “Before I do… Your mind, Master, is broken into pieces. Let me mend you first, heal your fractures and sooth your demons before I take you back. You will be of no use to me without the cunningly brilliant mind you had so carefully developed.” Cold bone-like hands reached out and found his forehead.Suddenly he found himself screaming as his mind was fused back together, organized itself back to the way it had been before he’d broken so spectacularly.Panting, Harry collapsed as Death let go of him, and when he looked up there was still just a tiny glint of madness in those green eyes (but then again he had seen the world die). “I also want Tom fixed. Put back together, with enough pain to remind him how shitty an idea it was to rip himself up in the first place, and give him the memories from this Tom. Allow him to see what his insanity and need to win through fear caused the world to turn into.”The spirit of Tom Riddle seemed to consider this before smirking. “That may actually work. I should know that I learn best through pain.” “I can do that, but the repossession of his soul and memories will only happen when he and you make eye contact, face to face. That way you may work out your plans before you have an obsessive Dark Lord bothering you, Master.” Ignoring Tom (Death was still salty with the boy for splitting his soul even after all this time), Death tilted his head as if the formless entity was some sort of curious animal looking to his owner. “And your sister?” Harry looked to Luna, picking himself up of the ground with a frown. “I… Is there a way for her to come with me? Give her a body outside of the one she will have?”The black fabric around Death rippled as the entity turned as if to face the spirit of the girl. “Miss Lovegood… I can give you a body in a child that would have otherwise been stillborn, including all your memories, but then your body in the future would not have your soul to support you. Your other body would be stillborn. Are you willing to make that sacrifice?” Luna looked at him, eyes soft. “You promise to come find me?”“As soon as I can.” Harry’s voice left no room doubt. If Luna walked the same earth as him, no one would stop him from finding her.The girl looked back to the cloaked entity. “I would like to be born in 1960, to a muggle family in France. That way Harry can come to get me from Beauxbatons.”
“And your name?”
She smiled softly at Harry. “Luna.”The pulsing entity of darkness looked from the ghosts to his Master once more. “All will be done as you wish, Master.” And with the clicking snap of bony fingers that seemed to ring out across the barren desert, making reality shiver as it was pulled apart and put back together, it was done. A mother held her breath, waiting for a second that seemed to last forever before a baby’s soft cry split the air and the whole delivery room relaxed. The baby girl grew into a lovely (if not a little strange) little girl with big blue eyes that seemed to sparkle with intelligence. She sometimes said things that didn’t make sense, but her parents loved her all the more for that. Even if the girl’s only friend was an imaginary boy named ‘Harry’ and she had magic, Luna was the best daughter the couple could’ve asked for.Red eyes blinked open in the middle of a clear night, eyebrows furrowing. Lord Voldemort thought he had felt something… gleeful and happy in his chest for a brief second. With a sneer, the man turned over in his large bed with silk sheets. That was ridiculous. There were no such feelings in him anymore.And 270 years from the world’s end, a boy appeared in slightly-too-large clothes, green eyes gleaming softly. He’d save the world, even if it meant killing every last non-magical human on the earth.He’d done it before.He could do it again.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Harry smiled at the little alley he’d appeared in.He’d gotten more used to adapting to his surroundings over his many years of being alive, as it was the best way to stalk your prey, so he stood and waved his hand to pull up a magical observation screen. “Diagon Alley.”The glowing rectangle of magic filled with a moving image of Diagon Alley, unsuspecting witches and wizards going about their daily life hurriedly, as if Voldemort was going to attack any second.Harry wandlessly transfigured his jeans and thin shirt into something more to what was normal in the wizarding world at the time, casting a spell to tie back his long hair before looking up at the blue sky.There was no scorching sun, no acid rain or water, no poisonous air… not that those could kill him but they were damn sure uncomfortable.No, these were blissfully ideal conditions, and he smiled as he made his way into the same alley that he’d been watching.His body was that of almost a millennia of living like a nomad, all lean muscle with barely any fat, and he was happy to find that this de-aged body of his kept the same agility and grace he’d gained the longer he lived. Weaving in and out of the crowds, he paused to grin up at the white marble building that he thought of as almost a second home by now, before starting smoothly up the stairs.The goblins gave him uneasy glances as they could feel the strength of his magic, but he wasn’t stopped, striding to the main desk at the very end of the hall. Though he did get a few looks from wizards that assumed he didn’t know better than to try to speak to the Head Goblin of the Main Floor at their ornate desk.Tilting his head up and internally cursing his shorter sixteen-year-old body, he grinned and recited the proper greeting for the proud warrior race. “May your gold ever flow, Head Goblin.”The head goblin blinked down at him, clearly not expecting to hear those words from someone that looked to be a teenager, much less someone they didn’t know. “And your enemies suffer, Mr...”The formal greeting was toned down in violence, presumably because he looked to be young, but it made his spine prickle with irritation. Knowing he was surrounded by curious ears, he pulled up his sleeve slightly, showing off the black lines of his mark instead of saying his name.
The one mark he’d always have as long as he wanted it, no matter the body or the time.
Eyes widening, the Head Goblin of the Main Floor dipped his head lowly. “One moment Young Master. I will have your representative come up at once.” With slightly shaking hands the goblin reached over to unlock a golden box, before pressing the button that lay inside hastily.The familiar haunting chime of bells rang out through the bank and instantly all the goblins in the room turned to look at him, eyes wide.There was no one a race of warriors feared or respected more than Death himself, and to be his Master… Harry was their most prized ally. No goblin would dare defy him in fear of the wrath he could bring.A goblin more wizened and decrepit than any of the ones a normal wizard would ever see hobbled out of a corridor holding a golden cane. Looking him over, the goblin nodded. “Come with me, Young Master. We will see that your business is conducted at the highest level.”Dipping his head slightly, Harry followed the Goblin Ancient away from the curious stares.The office they came to was ornate, lined in cream colors and golds. The goblin sat down at a desk of interwoven gold and wood, making an expression that was safe to guess was supposed to be a smile. “I am Goblin Ancient Koroax, but call me what you wish… What business can I discuss with the Master of Death?”“I would like a full inheritance test first, so I can see what I need to do with Lordships, then I would like to discuss some prospects for the future and ways to stop the world from dying.”The room was silent.The Ancient slowly pulled out the familiar piece of parchment, the silver liquid, and before long he was being offered the ceremonial knife. “Three drops of blood, young master.”With a dip of his head, he did as the goblin instructed, before cleaning the knife and watching with fascination as the blood was absorbed into the paper like veins that spread out to create words. He was immensely glad to see that all the blocks that had been placed in his past life were not there, as if they had never existed.The Ancient’s face contorted into more of a smile at what he saw. “You have lordships that can be claimed for Slytherin, Gryffindor, Gaunt, Peverell. You can also challenge the lordships to families Potter and Black.”Harry nodded, wishing for the familiar weight of the Potter and Black rings on his hand… but he knew the long con had to go on without any sign to the outside world of what was happening. Yet. “I will accept the Lordships of all the unclaimed houses except Slytherin or Gaunt, and for now I will not challenge any lordships. Also, once that is done please compile my combined assets and audit each of those houses. I do not wish to have any meddling overlooked.”Normally the goblins would have taken offence to this, but under the circumstances of who he was and the possibilities of what he knew, the Ancient seemed to pass this off as wise. “As you wish.”Harry sat back in his large chair, closing his eyes and waking deep into his mind palace to stop at the door that was the soulmate-link to Tom. It was closed at the moment with a padlock that seemed to be made of shadows, but just in case his emotions got too strong and tried to leak through, he let his magic seal the door behind a wall of steal.After the paperwork was filed to open an audit into the aforementioned houses, Ancient Koroax turned back to Harry, the door opening and other goblins rushing in to place two different boxes on the gilded desk before leaving quickly. “Young master, just place the house rings on in the order you want people to see them and they will decide whether to accept you or not.”Nodding, Harry moved to let his hand linger above the box made of smooth black wood for a moment, the box creaking open slowly and he slipped the simple black band that was the Peverell family ring onto his finger. Then opening the gold box with a lion on top, he put the golden crested Gryffindor ring on the same finger. Summoning the resurrection stone from where he assumed it was sitting in the Gaunt shack and waving aside the harmful curse on it as if it was water, he held it over the ring and watched intently as the two rings seemed to twist together and absorb the stone as well.As it solidified into a gold band with a jagged crevice of black stone running down the center and golden lion on the top, he watched the black stone in the center start to creep outward into little vine-like designs before settling. “Lovely.” He looked up with a sharp smile. “Now, shall we talk money?”Harry spent the next two hours going over plans for investments into both the muggle and magical world, the case he wanted to present to the ministry about Albus Dumbledore, and his wanting to adopt one french witch named Luna.At the last of his requests, the Ancient paused and gave him a long stare.Sighing, Harry raised his right hand as if to swear a muggle vow. “I swear on my life that Luna has agreed to my adopting her and that I will see that no harm comes to her.” A soft light shone around his wrist as if he was wearing a muggle glow-stick before it faded.This prompted the Ancient to raise an eyebrow, but with a nod the goblin called up a team of goblin specialists, instructing them to find this ‘Luna’. Harry looked at the little house painted robin-egg blue, pursing his lips before going to knock on the door.A woman with blonde hair and an apron answered. “Oui?”“Sorry for bothering you, ma’am… Do you have a daughter named Luna? I’m her friend.”A light voice rung out from what seemed like the upstairs. “Mama? Qu'est-ce?”He smiled, deciding to save the woman some trouble and just yelling out, “Hey Luna! I’m home!”The woman looked at him weirdly, but it was worth it for the clattering sound, followed by a thump and running feet. A teenager with big sapphire blue eyes and long blonde hair slid to a stop in front of the door, staring at him for a long moment before a wide smile split her face and she was throwing herself at him in a hug. “Harry! You made it!”Laughing, he held her for a long second, before pulling back and looking her over. A white paint-stained apron was thrown over a pastel yellow dress, legs covered with blue stockings. A fond smile curved his lips. “For you? Always.”The girl was practically bouncing. “Come in come in! Let me get my stuff all together and then we can go!”“Go where La Luna?” The woman’s voice was sharp. “You do not even know this boy! La Lune, are you…”Luna smiled easily, pulling Harry up the stairs, pausing to smile at the woman. “No Mama. I’m not pregnant.”Apparently Luna had taken up every type of art she could while waiting for Harry and the trunk she packed was mostly a multitude of easels, sketchbooks, canvases, and a vast array of supplies (with a meager amount of clothes and other items).Stopping at the door and wishing her ‘parents’ goodbye for the last time, Harry obliviate them wandlessly, before taking her arm and apparating them to the Gringotts in London. Ancient Koroax looked faintly amused when he saw Luna come into his office with Harry, but only smiled sharply. “A magical adoption, Young Master?”“Yes, please. A sibling bond by magic if at all possible.”The trying of one person to another was usually a long process.Even though the potion was that of relative ease to brew, getting hair and blood the hardest part (yet still overly easy), the magic of the bond had to be taken into account. How well both parties were already tied together, what level of emotional connection was present… these were all things that could alter the outcome of the adoption.So he was not surprised when, a minute after both downing their potions, a soft silver light seemed to form in between them as if to wrap them both in a chain of light.“Incredible...” The Ancient’s voice was awed as the light faded once more. “Not only has your magic bound you as siblings, but your souls. Lady Magic has blessed you to be together until death.”He looked over at the girl, surprised to see the ritual had left her with silky onyx hair that faded to a silver color the longer it was. “Luna, your hair!” Harry transfigured his quill into a mirror for the girl, watching with adoration as she smiled and played with the silky locks.“Oh, it’s quite lovely. Even the Nargles will be jealous… but that might just be because I get to be around you.”He frowned at the thought of any girls picking on her for being different. “Any problems and you come to me right away, alright?” The girl nodded easily with a bright smile. Harry turned back to the goblin watching them with amused eyes. "If we could get Luna an inheritance test, I have a sneaking suspicion she might just be able to claim a lordship."Luna grinned slightly. "Yes, because I told you I was able.""Eh, semantics." Watching with a smile as Luna did the test, the goblins raising an eyebrow when neither of them were surprised the girl had claim to the Ladyship for Ravenclaw, the ring box was brought up and after she'd fit the simple silver ring with small sapphires to her finger he leaned forward. “Are any of the audits finished yet and would it be possible to add the Ravenclaw vaults to that list?”The Ancient looked at his files, nodding slightly. “The Peverell accounts are audited with no discrepancies. However, the Gryffindor account seems to come up with significant errors… Do you wish to resume this in a day or two? I may be able to push forward the Ravenclaw vaults.”With a look to his exhausted sister, he nodded. “Yes, that would be most pleasing. And what is the state of the house-elves bound to me and the properties I own?”With a moment shuffling papers, the Ancient looked up. “Most all of the house-elves for Godric Gryffindor are at Hogwarts, but I will give you a list of every elf you own and from what house they came from. As for the properties, I believe that the Peverell Manor is the best in terms of condition, as it has not been disturbed outside of the house elves for many years now.” There was a pause. “One more thing, Young Master, If you are to claim you and your sister were separated, only brought together by the recent death of your birth parents… Who is to act as your guardian?”Harry was about to say something about him not needing a guardian because of his Lordships, but a smooth voice spoke up from being him and Luna.“I believe that I will be filling that role.”Out of his seat with his daggers already in hand, he looked over the tall thin man with sickly pale that was standing unnaturally straight in a pristine suit. “You have seven seconds to tell me who you are or I gut you.”The only response that got was a low chuckle, the alabaster skin around eyes so black they seemed to suck in the light of the room crinkling as the man smiled, but it was as if the man hadn’t moved his facial muscles for years. “Why, I thought this body was quite fitting Master, as it was once a surgeon that would kill his patients in the middle of operations…”The daggers lowered a little. “Death?”“Master.” The man dipped into a low bow. “I promise not to interfere in your schemes, but I thought this way I would have the optimum levels of interaction with this beautiful world.”With a glance at Luna, Harry looked back at the man. “Fine, but no killing anyone I care about or that I call dibs on.” Looking back to the goblin that was looking at the man with wide eyes, Harry waved his hand. “He will be our guardian. Mortis Peverell, if you need a name. As for business, both my sister and I will return tomorrow.”Trading the formal goodbyes and getting the magical address to the Peverell Manor, they started out, Death following them only a few steps behind with a stiff grin on his face. “How exciting this is…” Peverell Manor seemed to be carved out of the same marble stone Gringotts was made of, but it was mostly covered with ivy that wound it’s way up the sides of the large manor. It was as if Nature had noticed the old manor was uninhabited, slowly creeping in on the house, but Harry found he didn’t mind.It was beautiful, idyllic even in the way a natural pond had formed in the overgrown gardens off to the side, magical and nonmagical creatures wandering through the grounds as they pleased.Though, Harry would be able to appreciate it more if he hadn’t been clung to by three house-elves like a dragon to gold when he and Luna appeared. Ignoring his sister’s giggles, he placated the elves that were all crying out in adoration that ‘their master had returned’.Once he was free of the tiny bodies, having given them instructions to start to clean up the house and stock it with food, he turned to Luna with a long sigh. “I need a nap.”The girl laughed brightly, voice teasing him with a hint of a French lilt. “Who thought, The Master of Death, lazy ?!”His glare was weaker than he would have liked, but that wasn’t new. He’d always had a soft spot for Luna.They did in fact, end up both falling asleep under the shade of a large weeping willow (one that wouldn’t attack them), the elves having to move them both to their rooms when night fell. Though they had spent most of the day helping to clean out the old manor, moving, redecorating, and ordering new appliances.Death, on the other hand, had found the fact he could touch living things (without them dying) endlessly entertaining and had spent his day chasing around animals like an overgrown toddler, but Harry was against telling the man to stop because it seemed to keep him from doing anything too harmful. Luna was more than happy to join him at Gringotts once again, absorbed in her sketchbook while Harry plotted politics with the Goblin Ancient (the house-elves were under orders to keep Death at the manor and entertained). He’d learned politics from the best after all and even if Tom wasn’t all that sane (or nice) right now, that didn’t mean he could let his lordships fall to disuse.The goblins were more than happy to bring in one of their own, a fierce old goblin named Bloodblade that was more versed in wizarding law than even the most studious of wizards, and he was happy to have the opportunity to act as the Peverell, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw proxy for the Wizengamot.Harry was grinning by the time that Bloodblade left, turning to Ancient Koroax with a smile. “Wonderful. Now, you said there were some problems with Gryffindor's account?”“Because of your investigation into Albus Dumbledore and the audits of your vaults, the Goblin Nation decided to look into all the unclaimed vaults that could have been claimed by students of Hogwarts when they came of age but have been left to be forgotten. It seems that Dumbledore is claiming magical guardianship of muggle-born children, and when magic tries carry on old or dead family lines though these children, he intercepts their Gringotts letters so he can funnel funds out of these accounts.” The Ancient looked disturbed at this, as the Goblin Nation would not be happy with losing the money or their pride this way. “As this is, the same type of thing is happening to a few other vaults our auditors have flagged that are belonging to other people.”As if she could feel his magic about to lash out, Luna moved to fold herself in Harry’s lap and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. Taking a deep breath, he spoke up with a clenched jaw. “And the Hogwarts vaults?”The Ancient again looked as upset as Harry, with less of the anger. “Those… at least the two we have the right to access and audit have been used by Albus Dumbledore to pay for minor school things, with the majority of the money going towards personal items for the man. Instead of a bit of each vault going towards scholarships, they are being withheld for the use of buying robes .”He thought of the outrageously colored robes that Dumbledore always wore, how many he had and how he never seemed to see two that were different, tightening his grip on Luna slightly. “Lockdown the house accounts, so he can’t take any money out, with the excuse that someone has come into their right to claim them. That’ll make him focus on the already graduated students and teachers. Then I want to have whoever was responsible for letting him do this be punished to the full height of Goblin Law and I want to be able to deliver it.” Harry wasn’t going to be satisfied until the goblins that had let this happen faced justice (read: death).The Ancient dipped his head. “It will be done. And do you wish to have Gringotts send a letter to Hogwarts, asking for you and your sister’s transfer?”“Yes please.” Harry stood, Luna flipping her sketchbook closed quietly and standing as well. “May your gold be as endless as my curiosity.”The returned grin was full of sharp teeth. “And your enemies fool enough to underestimate your wrath, Young Master.”Luna smiled brightly, nodding to the Ancient before taking his arm and leading him to the alley.  “I was thinking about getting a few tattoos.” He looked down at her in shock, to which the girl just smiled wider. “If we get muggle tattoos, then I can use the ritual act of marking the skin to tie protection charms and spells to the ink. Plus, it would be easier than cutting the runes into the skin and waiting for them to heal. Also, if we both get our ears pierced, we can put location spells on the earrings so we can find each other easier.”He smiled down at her, fond amusement curling in his chest like a snake. “You got bored here without me, didn’t you?”She pouted. “Just a bit.”Apparently Luna had planned out everything from where she wanted the runes, to which ones would work the best and had already drawn them out.The tattoo artist was impressed, to say the least, and before Harry knew it he was getting his first tattoo.Luna came out with a band of protection runes around her upper thigh, before proceeding to persuade Harry into getting the same runic protection band down his hip and a band of runes for precision/accuracy on the bicep of his wand arm.Then she got his ears pierced so he could put in two little black disks (like the gold disk she wore), charming them to be linked, before convincing him to cut his hair.By the time he got back to the manor and looked in the mirror, he looked completely different.The short messy hair that fell in his eyes made his face look less androgynous and with the tattoos, black earrings, and tanned skin, he looked almost… rougher. Less like the pureblood lord he’d personified in his last life while traveling with Luna, but it was more fitting of the feeling of blood slicking his hands, the glint in his eyes.Then there was the other thing.Luna.He wasn’t sure if it was just having grown up in a normal household, having all her memories, or going to an all girl’s school; but Luna was definitely not the same shy girl she’d been in her last life. This Luna was a warrior, silent and strange still, but still as deadly as even himself.Hogwarts wasn’t going to be ready for them. The Manor gave Harry something to do while Luna went out shopping.It was really a trade-off. He went out to get materials for the potions lab and new appliances while she repainted the rooms, whereas she went out to get all the things having to do with needing a sense of fashion (she had lived in a girls boarding school after all) while he changed the wards and did the paperwork that came with being both a Lord and having an ongoing investigation through Gringotts.All this work came to a halt though with the arrival of two letters carried by brown barn owls.Carefully dismantling the various compulsion charms on said letters, Harry handed Luna hers and read quickly through the one addressed to him.

Hogwarts School of

Witchcraft and Wizardry

Dear Mr. Peverell,

I am more than happy to allow this transfer of you from Durmstrang, as well as your sister.

You have my deepest apologies about your parents, I am very saddened to hear they were taken from you both so young.

I hope that you find Hogwarts to be a good place for you to continue your education, and due to your OWL scores and age, you will be sorted into the seventh year.

The term begins on the 1st of September.

Please come to talk to me in my office if ever in need of anything.
 
Sincerely,

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore

Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock

Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards.

Trading letters, he frowned. “I hope he isn’t hoping to gain any respect by flaunting his titles and trying to put compulsions on me.”“He wouldn’t gain your respect even if he rode a unicycle on a wire over a shark tank.” Luna laughed at the thoughtful face he made.Smiling, he lit the letter on fire in his hand. “Y’know, it gets annoying how you’re always right. Are you psychic?”The girl grinned. “I just know you.”“Oh?” He tilted his head and she let out a shriek of laughter, running off, as he lunged at her. “Come back here! It’s my duty as a big brother to tickle the smugness off your face!”They ran around the house laughing and the white letter that she’d dropped was forgotten for the rest of the day. Harry had every book on healing, curses, warding, old magic, blood magic, ect. he needed in the Peverell library.. But he doubted the ancient library had textbooks for NEWT level Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, or Herbology. And though he knew most of the information just from his travels, he didn’t think that not having to use books would make his life any easier or make him any less noticeable to the mass population of Hogwarts.So they went out to Diagon Alley, with Luna reminding him that he also needed a wand.
(Of course, the Elder Wand had shown up as soon as she’d mentioned it, but he only tucked it in his boot. He wasn’t about to show off that he was master of Dumbledore’s missing wand on his first day of school.)
Though he was sure seeing Ollivander was going to be an experience.
And since when did fate miss a chance to fuck with Harry Potter?
 The old shop was just as he remembered, if not less cracked and worn down. Though the stacks and shelves of wand boxes were just the same. He glanced at Luna, shrugging when there was no white-haired man popping out of nowhere. “Hello?”There was a crash, a man with crazy white hair poking his head out of the shelves.Ah. There he was.“Mr. Pott-” The man paused for a long, tilting his head. “No… You go by Peverell… Though I get a distinct feeling you already have a wand, one in excellent condition at that.”Harry nodded. “Mr. Ollivander. I’m transferring to Hogwarts, and would like to purchase another wand.” Seeing confused eyes flick to Luna, he looked at the man with a slightly tense smile. “Something wrong?”After a long moment, the man shook his head. “No, no, I just thought I knew you two for a second. Must’ve been a senile moment of an old man.” Muttering the man dug around, pulling out the box of Harry’s old holly wand immediately before pausing. “You know who the brother wand of this one is, don’t you?”“Yes.” There was no point in lying.Ollivander nodded. “And what do you have planned for the Wizarding World, Master Peverell?”Grinning at the knowing look in the man’s eyes, he held out his hand. “You can expect great things from me, Mr. Ollivander. They might be told in some of the history books as terrible, but I promise, they will be great.”With slight reluctance, the man held out the wand.Wrapping his hand around it, he found it heating up, the Elder Wand in his boot vibrating as if trying to get free. Looking at the older man with a silent warning not to speak of what would possibly happen, Harry reached down and pulled the Elder Wand out. There was a gasp before a flash of gold light, the two wands shattering in his hands, but the pieces just floated in the air vibrating. Suddenly like the collapse of a star, the broken shards of both wands converged together, the light growing and the three of them had to shield their eyes.When the light faded, a wand of light brown wood with jagged white lines running through it fell into his hand.“I see… Well, I've never had that happen before. May I?” Ollivander took the wand almost reverently, looking it over. “A mix of holly and elder wood, eleven and a half inches, with a thestral hair and phoenix feather core… A wand of a wizard who is fast tempered yet cunning, brave but hesitant to trust, dangerous and yet finds himself in danger more often than not. The wand of the Wizard that might just be the damnation of us all.”He took the wand back, Luna smiling brightly. “Harry is all of those things. But I can tell you now, he would never hurt another living thing without good reason.”The man with the white hair hummed, eyes hazy as he moved away. “I do hope so, Miss Lovegood… You and Mr. Potter can take that wand and leave my store. I fear I don’t want the money that came from it.”Sharing a glance with each other about the man knowing their names, they both decided to just leave the man to his wands. Garrick Ollivander was not a man who would betray them lightly, especially not with knowing who they were.The books Harry needed were easy enough to find in Flourish and Blotts and he was just collecting the last of his textbooks into his arms when someone bumped shoulders with him, making all four books he was holding fall to the ground.“Pads! Look what you did! The kid’s trying to get his books!”“It’s not my fault you can’t walk in a straight line!”The voices made his stomach drop, but then a boy with messy blonde hair was suddenly helping him collect the books, shooting him a shy smile. “Sorry about that. They both get kind of loud when together, but I’m sure they didn’t mean any harm. You studying for something?”Harry was frozen in place. He knew those voices, that small smile hiding under messy hair, that familiar scar across the face of the boy in front of him.And suddenly he couldn’t breathe.The room was too small, closing in on him, there was a battle raging in his ears, a man and woman lying dead in front of him on white stretchers-“Harry… Harry, can you look at me?” A soft hand was on his cheek, his eyes blankly moving to meet sapphire blue orbs. A slight smile. “Good. Now I want you to repeat after me. Seven… eight… six… two… nine.”His voice was strangled. “S-sev-seven… Eig-ht… s-six… two… nine…” Slowly repeating out the words, he felt himself start to regain his sense of not being a floating spirit pressed in on all sides by inescapable walls. “Sorry… Just difficult to-...” He faded off, wincing. Luna patted his cheek, moving to take the books from the boy Harry couldn’t look at. “Thank you, kind sir, but as your face gave my brother a panic attack, I think we will take these and go.” She looked back at him. “Come on Harry.”Nodding, he followed her hastily. “Yeah. Coming.”“Wait!” And there was Sirius Black, never knowing when to leave things alone like always. “What’s your issue? Why’d Remus’ face make you all panicky like that? You got a problem with him?”Harry turned around slowly, ignoring Luna’s low warning, feeling as if knives were tearing open his chest as he looked over the black-haired boy in a muggle band t-shirt. Feeling incredibly masochistic today, he put on his best look of utter loathing. “Why I was so surprised to see someone like him here is none of your business, Black. ” Immediately he regretted the words, knowing they gave away too much of his knowledge about Remus.The boy visibly flinched, before the dark eyes filled with both anger and fear, voice venomous. “What did you say, punk?”Luna grabbed his arm before he could carve his heart into smaller pieces. “Harry. Don’t do this to yourself.”Glancing back at where she was shaking her head with a sad look in her eyes, he felt all the muscles in his back un-tense. “Yeah… you’re right. There’s no time for petty arguments.”Ignoring the squawk of incredulity from Sirius, the other marauders holding him back, Harry paid for the books calmly and then left without looking back.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The Hogwarts Express was 100% his favorite part of every good dream he’d ever had.Beautiful.Majestic.Blocked by the crowd of 300 noisy kids and parents.Luna squeezed his hand with a smile. “Your eye’s twitching.”“You don’t say…” His voice was a low drawl, as he held her hand tighter and tried to push through the crowd. But the sea of people were unrelenting and their hands were separated. Eye twitching even more, he looked around, trying to see the silver-haired girl in the crowd. With a sigh, he decided this called for desperate measures. Casting a quick amplifying charm on his voice, he took a deep breath. “WHAT TEAM?”The whole platform stilled, looking at him, but not a second later a voice cried out, “WILDCATS!” Luna skipped over with a grin.Taking her hand again he shook his head, both walking to the train though the crowd that was now still, watching them. “I take back my regret of showing you that movie. Color me impressed.”The girl only giggled, following him to the back of the train with a knowing smile. “Are we going to steal the Slytherin’s favorite compartment?”“No! Who do you think I am, I would never !” He gasped in mock horror, all the while throwing open said compartment and flopping back on the bench. Snorting at her raised eyebrow, he sent her a slow grin. “Y’know, I don’t think I like the idea of Draco not existing in this time. There’s no one to be my archenemy.”The girl seemed to be thinking about this, sitting down across from him and watching as he put up layers of unbreakable wards on the compartment.
Ha. Get through that, mini Death Eaters.
“Well, you do seem to have something against being friends with your father and his friends…”Harry looked up, idea forming. “I got it! Hey- hey, how’s this?” He schooled his face into a sneer. “Messy black hair, wrinkled shirts, loud friends… you must be a Potter. ”Luna smiled. “I think you might have spent too long watching Draco.”He grimaced. “You might be right. I’m starting to think like him.”Before either of them could get out another word, there was a soft mumble of voices outside the compartment, someone tugging on the door to try to open it. “What’s this! Who would dare take our compartment!” They both burst out into silent laughter at Lucius Malfoy’s younger voice that sounded oh so much like Draco. “Come out, whoever you are, or I'll be forced to break this door down!”The tinted glass showed a small group of people outside the door.“Lucius… I don’t think that’s-”“ALOHOMORA!” The tugging continued, much to their amusement. “What? Why won’t it open?”The voice of Narcissa Black spoke up again. “Lucius, they have extensive wards around it, all interwoven. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a teacher in there.”They looked at each other.“Why would a teacher ride the train?” Another boy’s voice spoke up. “Wouldn’t they just go directly to Hogwarts?”Harry shrugged, whispering. “Whoever that is, they have a good point.”“Fine. But I want to know the second that door opens. This is a call for war Severus!”Harry blinked. “Can I take back my earlier statement?”Luna grinned, eyes sparkling. “Nope. I will forever remember that you said Severus Snape had a good idea.”He groaned loudly in mortification.“What was that?”Both freezing, he cast a privacy charm over the other spells.Snape’s voice was mocking. “Well, why else would someone ward their compartment so thoroughly, Lucius?”Both looked at each other slowly, before bursting into laughter, glad that the privacy charm was up. To irritate the Slytherins waiting outside the compartment (and to amuse themselves), Harry side-apparated him and Luna outside the train, before idling over to the thestrals while the other students got off the train. His sister was hugging one, happily cooing at it as it decided to try to eat her hair and he rolled his eyes, petting the one next to it fondly.Eventually, he was forced to tear the girl from the black zombie horses, getting in the first carriage with empty spaces and almost screaming in frustration when four pairs of eyes shot to them. “Hey! You’re that guy from the bookshop!”Harry looked at Luna. “Is it too late to throw myself out of the carriage? I think I’d prefer death to this.”With a bright smile, his sister winked at him. “Just think about the castle dear. It’s not that long a carriage ride. Plus I think Mortis would be kind of unhappy if you tried to kill yourself before even the Welcoming Feast.”Remus looked at Luna, eyes curious. “Are you… French?”“Oui.” She dipped her head. “Luna Peverell, nice to meet you.”“Don’t encourage them!”His hiss of outrage was ignored, Luna moving to shake Remus’ hand daintily. “I’m a transfer from Beauxbatons, my brother from Durmstrang.”Sirius’ eyes snapped to him once more, mocking smirk on his lips. “I hear Durmstrang is for dark wizards. Are you one of those pureblood supremacist gits?”Instantly both Luna and Harry froze, Luna pulling her hand away from Remus’ coldly. To them, ‘pureblood supremacy’ wasn't just an ideal but a knowledge that muggles would eventually kill everything they loved and their magical children needed to be brought under some type of secrecy before that could happen, the fact that anyone was so blindly fond of the non-magical maggots making both of them grimace. “Ah… Now I see what you meant by the wrong type Harry.” His sister's eyes were as hard as ice. “They’re the arrogant light wizards that claim to be above everyone else but cannot see their own faults. Now I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”His voice was a low mutter, hand finding hers from across the carriage. “No need to apologize sister. Not every monster looks as ugly on the outside as the inside, as I’m sure you know well enough.”“I do stay with you, dear brother.” Her voice was soft in the silent carriage. “I do stay with you…”And even as much as three of the four boys spoke quietly (not quietly enough) about them, muttering insults as they did, the two of them just kept their hands locked and watched the scenery pass. Harry helped Luna out of the carriage, ignoring the stares they got as they calmly walked with the other students to the Great Hall. “I was thinking Ravenclaw. Wouldn’t you agree?”Luna hummed. “I don’t much feel like seeing anyone I know.”Considering this for a long second, as Luna’s parents were in Ravenclaw, he nodded in acknowledgment. “Hufflepuff or Slytherin then. One would be easier to deal with but harder to fit in to, and the other...”“We would have to deal with everyone we grew up hating?” Luna shrugged lightly after a pause. “Well, I’ve never minded a challenge. Plus, Tom will be ecstatic that you got sorted into his house when you two finally meet!”He sighed and they moved to stand to the side of the Great Hall doors, ignoring everyone sitting down and the whispers around the hall. “So I guess it’s Slytherin then… lovely.”The Hall doors were opened, first years pouring in, and the Sorting Hat started to sing.It was magical, sure, if you didn’t see the castle in your mind destroyed with dead bodies lying everywhere. So instead of having to think about anything that painful, he pulled Luna into his arms, resting his head on the crown of her head and closing his eyes.Soon enough there was a poke to his arm and he lazily opened an eye, looking out at where the old white-bearded man was looking directly at them and standing up, the first years having been successfully sorted. “Please welcome Harry and Luna Peverell, transfer students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons respectively. They will be attending Hogwarts for their seventh year because of family matters. Mr and Miss Peverell, if you would please come up to be sorted...”With a sigh, he let Luna go, following the excited girl with his hands in the pockets of his black jeans. With a beaming smile, the girl hopped up on the stool and put the hat on her own head.Harry shifted his weight to one foot, waiting (not so) patiently…“SLYTHERIN!”With a large smile, the girl hopped off the stool, her black robes turning dark green. “I’ll save you a seat!” Then she bounced off to sit down by the little first years.Shaking his head slightly, he picked up the sorting hat, frowning when it was heavier than necessary. His voice was a growl. “I swear to Merlin if you were going to drop that on my head...” Ignoring the chuckle from the hat, he stuck his hand in, drawing out the sword of Gryffindor with a scowl at the hat. “Come on! Really! What, where you gonna wait until I put it on and then knock me out with it? Stupid thing.”Whispers filled the hall.With a sneer, he turned to the headmaster. “For Merlin’s sake, take this.”Dumbledore gaped, quickly taking the sword as Harry sat down and put the hat on.
“Cranky, aren’t we, little Master of Death?”
Harry scoffed. “You would be too if you had to be around ignorant fools all the time- OH WAIT! You don’t get to bother me because you out of everyone should understand how it feels to be stuck around children that know nothing of the world.” “Touche.” The hat reluctantly muttered, voice tired. “I assume you want to go to Slytherin? Your sister was sure you’d follow her, but I think Gryffyn-” He laughed shortly, a bitter sound. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Or do you not see the ninety years I went on a killing spree?” There was a pause. “Well, you can’t blame me. You do have more memories than an average eleven-year-old… What about Ravenclaw?”
“Luna.”
The hat huffed. “You are avoiding the two houses you are the Lord of!” At that, he grinned slowly. “And won’t that advert the attention away from me? Dumbledore’s soon going to be looking closely to find the new Lord of those houses so he can manipulate them, so if I’m in Slytherin…”
“Very curious. You are the Lords of the other houses, but yet you are truly more of a Slytherin.”
He shrugged. “Well, what can I say… The Dark Lord has my Lordship for that house and I really don’t wanna deal with him right now.” The hat sputtered loudly for a second, and he waited patiently before the voice came back with a whisper yell in his mind. “So you go into the Snake Pit? How is that any less inconspicuous!”
“Well, I plan on acting like the worst Slytherin possible, so…”
The voice was dry. “Yes, what a good job you’ve done so far- dressing in all black and looking like you were disgusted to touch Godric’s sword.”
“You’re being quite rude, y’know… How about you just sort me already?”
“Fine.” The hat sighed. “SLYTHERIN!”He smiled victoriously, taking the hat off and putting it back on the stool. “And next time, don’t try to bludgeon me with a sword. It’s not very nice.” He started walking towards Luna.The hat seemed to pout. “Brat.”“I heard that!” He sat down next to Luna with a huff. “Geez. What’s with me and attracting the worst type of older men? They could at least be hot...”Luna burst out laughing, the first years around them either turning red or sneering. “You- Tell Thomas that!”At the thought of the Dark Lord’s face, he looked at her with a slow smile, the Slytherin table staring at them when they both devolved into giggles. Walking slowly at the end of the precession of Slytherins, Harry and Luna stopped to talk to their favorite portraits, arriving at the common room late and finding the entrance had already closed. Looking at each other, Harry shrugged. “Please open?”The wall melted into a passageway.He snorted, starting forward. “Cool.”Sensing a disturbance of magic, Harry had his wand out and a protective shield cast, three red stunners hitting it and dissipating.He could feel his magic pulsing under his skin, the barrier falling as he pushed Luna behind him slightly, pointing his wand at where younger versions of Lucius Malfoy, Regulus Black, and Barty Crouch Jr. were standing with their wands out. “If you want to duel me, I will allow it, but try to hurt my sister and you will die. ”Luna put a hand on his arm. “Harry, it’s just hazing. Like the mean girls in Beauxbatons. They’re all infected with nargles.”He could feel his magic swirling faster, like a hurricane under his skin, spinning around. “Who tried to haze you! I’ll skin them! Hang them from-”“Harry... you’re hurting me.” Luna’s voice was soft.Immediately he froze, magic stilling and curling back up tightly in his chest. “Sorry. I'm sorry.” He noticed his hands were clamped down on her shoulders and pulled away hastily, almost tripping over himself to put distance in between him and his little sister. “Long day. Too many people and lots of noise.”The girl’s smile was sad but understanding. “Come on then. Let’s find the room and then I can tell you about this curse I found to turn someone into a ferret.”He found himself smiling despite himself. “A ferret? Really?”She laughed, starting to walk away. “I knew you’d like that, missing your favorite enemy and all. Though, I was sure you two would get your act together and hook up during fourth year, I mean, he jumped out of a tree and everything!”His face heated up. “I would never! How dare- he- no!”Luna laughed, looking around the bookcases beside the fireplace, fingers skimming over the books. “Oh, here we go. The only book in parseltongue and it won’t move. Will you do the honors?”He sighed. “Open.”The bookcase creaked, swinging inwards to reveal a large room decked out in finery. Luna pecked his cheek, before bouncing into the room. “Thanks- but you will have to admit someday that you liked him.”Harry waved his hands, letting out a frustrated groan before starting after her. “That day will never come! I didn’t like him!”The bookcase swung closed behind Harry.Luna just looked at him incredulously from where she was sprawled out across a massive bed. “Sure, whatever... Look at this room! I bet Tom used this room when he was here!”With a long sigh, he subconsciously pressed a mental hand over the door to the soulmate bond. “Yeah. I bet he did.”A shock ran through his body, a slight chill seeping through the door as if someone was on the other side and he pulled away quickly. The door and steel plating shook with the force of someone trying to rip it down and he frowned. Penning out a mental note, he slid it under the thin crack in between the door and the stone ground, relaxing when the metal presence subsided.It was going to be a long year. 
Lord Voldemort was in the middle of a meeting of his inner circle when warmth in the back of his mind caught his attention. In a second he was tracing it back to its source, finding a type of wooden door in the very back of his mental landscape.

Frowning, he pressed his mental presence to the door and after a jolt of warmth ran through him, it was suddenly gone. Angry and cold, he ripped and clawed at the mental barrier, but it did nothing but shudder.

Then a thin piece of what looked like white parchment was slid under the door.

Hey Tommy!

Sorry, but this door is sealed for now.

You’ll understand eventually.

The fondness conveyed in the message made him so startled and unbalanced he broke out of his mindscape.

“-arseltounge!”

Narrowing his eyes on Abraxas Malfoy, he leaned forward in his chair. “Say that again. All of it. Slower.”

The man startled, apparently not expecting him to react. “Milord... I was just talking about the letter my son, Lucius, sent me. There are two new students, transfers. Siblings baring the name Peverell. The boy pulled the sword of Godric Gryffindor out of the sorting hat, before 
arguing 
with it and then sorting into Slytherin!”

He frowned deeply. This boy had found the only of the founder’s items that even he could not? “Go on.”

“Well, then the boy and girl, they- um- opened the founder’s rooms. Slytherin’s rooms.”

Voldemort stood, pacing the area in front of his chair at this. Someone, in his rooms? Unthinkable. “How.”

Abraxas flinched at the tone. “The boy. He spoke- he spoke parseltongue.”

“This is a lie.” He could feel his magic swirling like an untamed beast, red eyes narrowing. “There are no more that speak that language. I want this boy brought to me! I want his head on a spike for daring to claim the birthright of Salazar Slytherin!”

The man’s voice shook. “A-and the- the girl?”

Red eyes narrowed on the man. “She is not important for now. Bring me the boy!”
 They were up and at breakfast before the sun was all the way up, the house-elves happily serving them. “Harry?”He looked up, frowning at the concern in his sister’s eyes. “Yeah?”“Did you do something stupid already? Because they look upset.”Glancing over, he saw the group of mini Death Eaters watching him closely and waved slightly at them. The group blinked, before Lucius Malfoy said something to the others, starting to walk over.He waved his hands. “No don’t send him! Send the one with the black hair! The hot one!”The blond boy paused, looking back to Regulus, who shrugged and stood up.Harry grinned at Luna, who just rolled her eyes. “Moron.”Regulus sat down gracefully, extending his hand. “Regulus Black.”Shaking the hand, Harry tilted his head. “So, Regulus... what did I do to garner the attention of your mad Lord?”The boy blinked at the casual use of his first name, before shifting uneasily. “You’re a parselmouth… My Lord wants your head. On a spike.”Harry looked at Luna, who was giggling quietly. “I don’t think I’ve heard that one before. He’s threatened everything from skinning me and draining me of my blood slowly, to tickling me to death… but my head on a spike?... Though it does sound like the kinky shit he’d be into.”“Ex- Excuse me?” Luna laughed harder at the boy’s stunned face.He just tilted his head. “Is there a good seeker for the quidditch team?”The boy gaped for a moment as if trying to adjust to the conversation. “I- I guess? We haven’t won in years, but-”“Great!” He stood up, ignoring the befuddled boy sitting beside him and stretching his arms above his head gracefully. “Luna, you think I could make seeker?”The girl stood, trucking her sketchbook under her arm. “You did out fly a dragon. Twice. But if you keep poking fun at the Dark Lord, he’s going to be chasing you soon enough too... You sure you can outfly him?”“Sister, I can outfly anything ... Plus, he's pants at flying.” Turning, Harry winked at Regulus. “Send Lewd Vulgarwart my everlasting love and promises to be entertaining. Oh, and suggest he comes to one of my Quidditch games!” Then he was walking away.Luna caught his arm with hers, shaking her head as they strolled out. “He’s going to torture you for that name at the very least.”He just shrugged. “I deserve it for the trouble I plan to cause him.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

NEWT level transfiguration (that had previously taken him a lot of time and effort to learn without a teacher that could do magic), was now kind of boring. He’d spent two hundred years traveling and using his transfiguration to help him get by, so he just turned his tortoise into a keyboard instead of a teapot, looking at his sister with a grin. “Wanna duet? Like the old days?”Scooting her chair closer, Luna started to play the melody to Heart and Soul.The class quieted.“Four years of lessons from me and this is what you remember? I feel as if I should be ashamed.”Luna shrugged. “Take it or leave it.” Shaking his head, he started to play the accompaniment, both smiling and laughing when the other messed up. Finally, she leaned back with a smile. “Play me something pretty.”He half-bowed dramatically. “Of course, milady.”Turning back to the keyboard, he stroked the keys, frowning deeply before starting into playing ‘The Unforgiven’ by Metallica. Closing his eyes, he focused on the music, letting his fingers flow across the keys. Halfway through the song though, the tortoise reverted back from a keyboard and he blinked down at it. “Oh. Shame. I quite liked that song.”Luna clapped softly and eventually the whole class was clapping, a younger McGonagall stepping forward. “What was that, Mr. Peverell?”“Metallica? Or the keyboard? Because the song was ‘The Unforgiven’ by Metallica, but the keyboard… well it’s like a smaller piano.”The woman smiled at him proudly. “I think I will make a fine student of you yet, Mr. Peverell.”He just shrugged back, smile uncharacteristically soft for the woman who he had seen as an aunt his last lifetime. “If you think you can, Miss. My other teachers had quite given up.” Then he just moved the tortoise off the desk, instead transfiguring the desk into a full-size piano.Starting to play, he looked to Luna with a smile.“Step one, you say we need to talk, he walks, you say sit down, it's just a talk. He smiles politely back at you, you stare politely right on through- some sort of window to your right, as he goes left, and you stay right between the lines of fear and blame- You begin to wonder why you came... Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend, somewhere along in the bitterness and I would have stayed up with you all night- Had I known how to save a life...” Soon enough she was joining in with him, singing softly. Funnily enough, the Care of Magical Creatures Professor wasn’t that interesting.Kettleburn just wasn’t Hagrid.There was too much safety involved to have it be fun.Luna saw his frown, smiling and pointing over to the side, and he followed her finger to where there were three Blast-Ended Skrewts fighting in a fenced-in area.Deciding that was way more interesting than the litter of crups that everyone was cooing over, Harry grinned and moved to casually lean over the rail of the enclosure. “Hey there, you nasty little beasts.” One of the Skrewts tried to set him on fire, missing him as he moved out of the way, laughing.“Mr. Peverell! What are you doing!”Harry paused, already half over the barrier, smiling at where the class was looking at him incredulously. “I love these guys!” Swinging his over leg over, he transfigured a cat toy from a dandelion, sitting down and watching with amusement as the Skrewts went crazy trying to set fire to the little fuzzy ball on the end of the string.Kettleburn gaped at him. “What…”He looked up at Luna, trying not to smile. “Hey, hey, Luna- guess what I’m naming them?”“What?” The girl tilted her head.Giggling, he let a shit-eating grin stretch across his face. “Power bottoms." Classes were an endless loop of ‘let’s see if we can stump Harry’, which just made him proceed to do something better that was ultimately not what the teacher intended.Though the one class he was not looking forward to was Defence. Apparently this year it was some Auror with only the basic training under their belt. Luckily they were spared any long-winded monologues or lectures, instead told to pair up and duel someone.Before he could look to Luna, someone was stepping forward. “Care to duel?”Blinking at Lucius Malfoy, he looked to where Luna was being asked to duel with another Slytherin girl. His sister gave him a small nod, before moving off with the girl.Grinding his teeth together, he turned and nodded. “Yeah, fine, but if Luna gets hurt...”Lucius smirked. “I’m sure she can handle herself. As for you… We’ll see.”Facing each other, they bowed, Harry letting his wand hand hang at his side as he sidestepped the curse aimed his way before flicking it quickly. “Anaticula!”The other boy tried to cast something, but all that came out was a small rubber duck. Harry laughed and leaned back against the wall, watching as the boy tried to cast spells, but all that came out were ducks of various sizes and materials.There was a soft cry of pain, his head snapping to where Luna was holding her side with a hand, the other holding her wand and deflecting a brigade of spells from the narrow-eyed girl across from her.Stalking over, he moved smoothly in front of his sister, hitting the girl with a stunner and then spinning to look at Luna. “You okay? Here, let me take a look at that.”The girl peeled back her hand with a whimper, exposing a deep cut quickly oozing blood.Harry felt panic rise in his chest, unable to think anything past the fact his sister was bleeding, probably about to die, he just did what he would have done had they been together.“Okay, we have to stop the bleeding- cauterize it before it gets too bad.” He slowly lowered her to the floor, laying her head on his leg. Directing his magic towards his hand so that it was hot enough, he looked at her. “Ready?”She nodded shallowly, pale, and though in his rational thought he knew it was probably from shock the rest of him was just running around screaming that she was dying on him while wearing bright pink tutus.“Open.” He put his left hand in her mouth, waving his other hand to transfigure restraints to bind her arms to her sides. “Bite down love. This’ll hurt.” Pressing his finger to her wound, he ignored the teeth digging into his hand and the arch of her back, slowly cauterizing the deep wound.When he was done, she went limp, fully exhausted from the pain.Wiggling his hand after he extracted it from her mouth, he looked at where it was dripping blood in amusement. “That’ll take a while to stop tingling.” Rubbing both his hands together, he pressed them to the cauterized wound, whispering an ancient spell in Latin. “Hoc est meum.”Hissing swear words in parseltongue, he watched the wound disappear from Luna’s side even as she was still asleep. Moving to look at where the same wound had appeared on his side, he slowly stood with her in his arms, looking calmly at where the class was watching them, looking vaguely horrified.His wounded hand dripped blood onto the floor, but he was more concerned about Luna’s mental exhaustion. “Professor, may I take my sister back to our rooms? I fear she has had quite the traumatic experience.”The woman was just gaping at him. “Mr. Peverell, you- you have two wounds and you are concerned for your sister ?”“He-” There was a soft cough. “He... has a- a ‘saving people’ thing.”He beamed down at Luna. “Oh, you’re awake! Marvelous! I thought you'd be out for at least another twenty minutes!”She just looked at him, unamused. “You promised not to use that spell again.”Harry shrugged. “Can’t have you getting all the fun scars, can I?” He set her down on her feet gently, waving the fingers on his bloody hand. “Though this will be troublesome. You bite harder than I remember.”“Thank you.” She smiled sarcastically. “Does this mean you won’t be trying out for Quidditch?”He scoffed. “They’d have to send a hoard of dementors after me to get me off that broom. And if they did it again it would be unoriginal, tacky almost.”Luna sighed. “Yes well, third-year aside, we should go get that hand wrapped up. Even if it doesn't bother you, you’re bleeding all over the floor and some of the kids are starting to look pale.”It was true, half the class was looking faint at the growing pool of blood at their feet.He hummed absently. “How long would it take me to bleed out? I wonder-”“Eight hours, remember? It was that time in Japan that you and Thomas were morbidly curious about blood loss.” Luna shook her head at the look on his face. “You’re not letting yourself bleed out. It’s a waste of time.” With a flick of her wand, the blood at their feet was gone, the hand bandaged. “Come on. Let’s go figure out why everyone, including you, wants to kill you.” 
Voldemort threw his goblet across the room with a clattering sound.

He’d asked for interactions with the boy and all he got was brilliant green eyes that sparkled as a smooth voice mocked his name!

And out-flying a dragon? Who was this boy?

Moving onto the next memories that the younger Black boy had sent, he spent another twenty minutes watching the boy do feats of magic that most adults had trouble with and singing along with his piano playing beautifully.

Voldemort froze, pulling himself from the memories. What
 was this traitorous fire in his chest, this anger that he hadn’t been there to hear that sweet voice-

He stopped himself short of those poisonous thoughts, moving to the next set of memories.

A spell that he wasn’t pleased to say he didn’t know, a fire in those green eyes, a barrier that looked almost solid in its effortless casting. And then the boy was speaking softly to the girl with the silvery hair, putting his hand in her mouth, eyes burning with concern and something incredibly tender.

The boy was cauterizing her wound, something only soldiers on the front lines of battle learned how to do, and there was blood dripping from the girl’s mouth as the boy's hand was seen to have been mangled from the girl’s teeth- but then the wound was being transferred- the boy standing up as if it was nothing, obviously more concerned about helping his sister.

And their conversation too. Eight hours for him to bleed out? Japan?

Who was this ‘Harrison Peverell’?

For now, he would wait, see what the boy did.

He’d order his followers to halt in their assault, get to know the boy instead.

He wanted to know every single secret behind those pretty green eyes before he scooped them out on keep in a jar and killed the body attached to them.
 The second the door to the room was shut firmly behind them, Luna in her favorite chair, Harry started pacing. “This should have never happened. You should never have been hurt.”“Harry-”“Who did it?” He spun on her. “Who hurt you? Who was that girl?”Luna paused, before sighing lightly as if she was going to regret saying anything. “Carrow. Alecto Carrow.”Flashes of memories flew through his head of the woman and her brother torturing students, wide grins on their faces, and his hands clenched. “She’s going to die. ”His sister nodded as if she knew he’d say that, but when he turned to the door, she reached out to grab his hand. “Harry…” He looked back, seeing the corners of the girl’s lips pull into a frown. “Do what you will, but remember if you kill her now then our plans will be a lot harder than they have to be.”Nodding slowly, he moved to take her hand in his, squeezing in reassurance. “Don’t worry. I’ll direct my anger reasonably.” Then their hands slipped apart and he was heading for the door. Assuming Luna was going to get Dinner from the house elves, Harry sat at the end of the Slytherin table closest to the doors and ate quietly.“You cast the improper spells for healing your sister. You should have taken her to the infirmary.” The voice was high-pitched and just as grating on his nerves as he remembered.Harry looked up, eyes carefully blank as he took in the girl with the bright pink blouse and skirt under the dark green Slytherin outer robes.Dolores Umbridge looked just as much like a toad as ever.Raising a single eyebrow, he smirked softly. “Oh? And here I was thinking maybe someone would be interested in learning from me.”Beady eyes gleamed with the thought of power, as he knew they would. “Well… maybe someone would be willing to sit with you, make you less of the social outcast everyone thinks you are, if you teach them what those spells you did were.”“Deal.”The girl smirked, sitting down across from him. Really? She must think him an idiot to offer just her company in exchange for the spells that had been getting him stares from the whole hall for the last twenty minutes. Alas, he was bored and that gnawing thirst for blood was getting stronger with every minute that passed.Finally, when he couldn’t stand her presence anymore, he got up from his seat. “Have a good night, Miss Umbridge. And don’t forget to eat your dessert, I hear the lemon cake is to die for.”  Stalking away, he smirked. She’d show up in the abandoned classroom he’d written the number down for and slipped under her dessert plate.Umbitch wouldn’t know what hit her. He was halfway finished with the charms homework he was working on, when the door opened, the toad peeking her head in. “Mr. Peverell. So good of you to agree to meet me… Can you teach me that flame spell you did?”“And what if I don’t want to?” He tilted his head as he looked at her. “You never gave me anything more than a headache, what with all your blabbing on about becoming the next Minister. Do you really think they’re going to hire an ugly toad like you?”Bready eyes gleamed at him cruelly, the girl pulling out her wand. “So… you’re like those first years then… I’m sure you’ll tell me what I need after I cut you up a bit, maybe I can even carve up that pretty face of yours. Faggots like you don’t deserve to be so pretty.”His laugh was dry. “See? I knew you were an evil bitch under all that pink.”“Shut up you poof!” The girl sent a cutting curse at him and he moved so it just passed by him harmlessly.Grinning, he stalked forward, ducking and weaving her spells. Dipping his hand into that pocket of space for just a second, he moved quickly, and a golden dagger cut across her wrist cleanly.Umbridge yelped in pain, dropping her wand, and he stepped on it so she couldn’t get to it.Clicking his tongue like a disappointed parent, he gave her a soft look of pity. “Poor poor Dolores Umbridge… hated by the whole school, hell not even her own housemates will sit with her.” His lips curled into a feral grin as he grabbed her left arm, cutting a line across the skin of her pale wrist. “But don’t worry. Everyone will pretend they liked you more when you’re dead.”The girl struggled against his iron grip, the other hand pushing at him weakly, turning pale as her wrists were painted with slow rivulets of blood. Seeming to realize it was futile, the girl then turned her head to yell at the door in that high-pitched voice of hers. “HELP! SOMEONE HELP! HELP ME!”“No one can hear you. The second you stepped in, the runes on the classroom activated in a silencing spell. They used to use this as an exam room, you see? So the wards never got taken down.” His grin was bright. “I do love this school.”Another cut across the pale wrist.The girl gasped. “Why- why are you doing this?” There were tears now as if that act would fool him.Harry tilted his head, eyes gleaming. “What was it you said to me? Ah yes…” He cleared his throat, mocking her soft high-pitched voice. “ ‘Because you know, deep down, that you deserve to be punished…’ But let me tell you here and now, I didn’t. I didn’t deserve to be punished, to be treated like a liar, or to be made to use a blood quill! You did this to me, marked me up like the evil bitch you are!” He turned the hand holding her arm so she could see the faint white scars on the back of his hand.Umbridge looked more afraid. “You- you're crazy!”With a sigh, he shook his head, cutting another two lines across her clammy skin and then humming in disappointment. “Really darling, you’re so bad at harming yourself.”“I’m not-!”His voice was smooth over her hysterical one. “You should know that you always go vertical for the best results.” He grinned toothily.She shook slightly. “Please- please don’t-”“Pathetic.” With a huff, he dug his dagger into the flesh of her upper forearm, dragging it all the way down to her wrist, before dropping her left arm and grabbing her right one. Doing the same thing, he held her arm until she was weak enough that he was holding her up.Dropping her to the floor, he used her wand to conjure a razor blade, before putting her wand neatly in her pocket and the silver blade loosely in her right hand. She mumbled something, fingers dropping the blade with a clatter as the blood ran from the deep incisions in her arms.He leaned over her, eyes glittering like emeralds. “Yes… I think Thomas will quite enjoy seeing this memory when he’s back to the boy I know and love…” His laugh was low as he moved out of the classroom with a light skip, singing under his breath. “Blood on my daggers and pink toads with teardrops, torture and murder and blood quills on parchment, red stains on stone, that never come out- those are a few of my favorite things!” With a dark grin, he ducked behind a tapestry into a secret passageway and started up the steps that would lead him directly to the library, before starting down the steps calmly and making sure a lot of students saw him whistling as he walked to the dungeons.He stayed around the common room, reading for a little while, before shooting the Carrow girl (who was watching him like a hawk) a venomous grin and going back to the rooms.Luna looked up from her book, scanning him over with her eyes. “No blood?”He scoffed. “You take me for an amateur? As soon as I was in the library I cast a cleaning charm.”“And no magic can be linked back to you anywhere near the site of the…”Harry grinned. “Nope!” Popping the ‘p’, he sunk into the leather armchair across from her, and the slow smirk he sent her way was that of a snake that had eaten a very annoying toad. “Although I was disappointed I couldn’t make a mess… you know how much I like to paint the walls red.”Luna just looked back down at her book. “In due time, I suspect. You never are quite satisfied with just one...”Snapping, he jumped up to grab a piece of parchment, scribbling out a list of names. “You wanna see my hit list?”“No thank you.” The girl’s lips quirked up for just a second. “I rather like seeing the aftermath of your handiwork.”Three twisted, mangled souls they were- lost in a reality that they'd come to see as one that no laws would bind them and with their only fear being losing each other...Those around them would learn in time to fear their blood-stained teeth but love the mercy that came with their rule.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Breakfast was it’s usual loud and vibrant event, only the grim expressions on McGonagall and Slughorn’s face (and if you knew how to look for it- the missing twinkle in the blue eyes of the headmaster) giving away anything was wrong.Luna glanced at Harry with a raised eyebrow when Dumbledore got up to the podium, looking exactly his age (old).He sent her a blank look and a shrug, the Hall quieting.“I fear… that something terrible has happened.” The old man’s tone was grave as if he’d seen something unspeakable (to which Harry snorted internally, as the man would see worse before he was done here). “Dolores Umbridge-... is dead.”Instantly the students were alight with whispers, passing back and forth, and there was the sound of a loud banging as if a gavel against the podium.The hall quieted, but only somewhat.Dumbledore scanned the crowd. “The Aurors are already here, scanning the scene, but we may want to pull aside some of you who may have seen her last…” Blue eyes fixed on him for a lingering second.Harry frowned as if concerned and the eyes moved on.The Headmaster gave them all a (bullshit) soft smile. “Your heads of houses will be allowing some students, if needed, to come to talk with them during their office hours as I am sure that this is a trying event.”A Slytherin to his left snorted softly. “More like a miracle. That girl was a psycho.”“Now, please continue with your classes and please leave the Aurors room to work.”The Hall slowly returned to eating, Harry huffing in amusement when the Slytherin table was back to normal within less than ten minutes. “Mr. Peverell.” A man stepped in front of him and Luna on their way out of the Great Hall. “I would like to speak to you. In private.”Luna moved closer to him, eyes worried as she slid her hand into his. “Harry?”He smiled at her gently, before looking at the man. “Anything you ask me can be said in front of both my sister and the entirety of whoever wants to listen. I have nothing to hide.”Irritation flashed through the man’s eyes, but the Auror's partner stepped to his side, voice familiar when he spoke. “Mr. Peverell, you were seen eating with Miss Umbridge last night.”Harry tilted his head at a younger (and not as damaged) Mad-Eye Moody. “She approached me last night, yes.”“You were the last person to have seen her alive Peverell, so you're under suspicion.” The gruff tone got rougher, the man looming over him with narrowed eyes. “Pull up your sleeves.”Huffing indignantly, he did as told, pleased that the Deathly Hallows tattoo seemed to have moved from it’s usual resting place for now. He could feel the eyes on the line of runes traveling up his forearm from the base of his thumb on his right arm. “Nothing but runic protection tattoos… unless those are illegal now?”His wrist was caught, bandaged hand held up. The bite wound had already mostly healed, but he’d wrapped them, just to sell the act of being wounded.Moody’s voice was deadly. “And this ?”“Sir, he got that in Defense class!” One Hufflepuff called out, a bunch of other kids chiming in with their knowledge of what had happened.Luna frowned, moving closer yet. “Harry, can we go?”Harry pulled back down his sleeves, interlocking their hands again, and turning to look at Moody. “I’m sure someone can attest to the fact that I was in the library last night after dinner and from there I returned to the common room where I stayed all night. Now, my sister finds your presence threatening, so we’re going to leave.” He started to guide them past the Aurors.“There’s something wrong with you Peverell! I know it!”They stopped at the door, Harry sending the Auror a shit-eating grin. “Maybe it’s just your vision. I hear glass eyes are the new rage though, so don’t worry. You’re gonna look beautiful.”Luna and him turned, the girl using his shoulder to stifle a giggle.He shot her a fond look.“Really? She killed herself?”Shrugging, he smirked. “Wonder what the ministry’s going to do when they rule it a suicide? Might lower the opinion of the Headmaster, for not seeing it sooner.”They shared identical looks of glee. Dinner was without a doubt, the most disrespectful dinner he’d had, with rumors of the ‘suicide’ being embellished upon and passed along with horror stories of the evil toad. It seemed the toad’s roommate was Rita Skeeter, who was having a grand ole time playing court and spreading vicious stories about the girl’s exploits to get a guy to like her that all seemed to fail.It was perfect.Just what Umbitch deserved.Though the teachers didn’t seem to think so, their faces sad, but he supposed that it was more for the bad publicity and having to deal with pompous Aurors than anything else. He knew the school would come under some stress for letting a girl, even one of close muggle heritage, kill herself. So the teachers were visibly a little weary.No one liked Umbridge and there was no way they could pin him to anything, as much as he was sure Dumbledore would like that. The man had an unhealthy obsession of staring him down as if he’d start singing about how many people he’d killed (he did that in private thankyouverymuch).So it was as it should have been.Writing a letter that had a charm on it to look as if it was in a foreign and illegible language to people who weren’t supposed to look at it, he jotted down a few quick notes to the Goblin Ancient, before folding the letter up with a smile to Luna. “The bumblebee still trying to sting me?”The girl hummed. “It’s been circling you since the sorting, probably something to do with you rejecting the sword of the lion.”Harry sighed, tucking the letter into the depths of his robes before he scowled at the food on his plate. “Fucking hat.”“How very Slytherin of you Harry.” Luna giggled before she just smiled at him softly. “Though maybe you should stop your physical exercise for a few weeks until you heal up from that event.”He knew that was code for ‘don’t do anything suspicious for a while dipshit’, frowning deeply but nodding as he pushed his mashed potatoes around. “Yeah. Maybe I should heal before I’m up and running again.”His sister smiled crookedly. “Maybe you can use the map to satisfy your curiosity about the migratory patterns of mooncalves.”Tilting his head slightly and glancing over to where a girl with bottle cap glasses (that made her eyes look bigger than small oranges) was sitting, frowning at a crystal ball, he snorted softly before nodding just a bit. "Yeah. That would be a good thing to look at for our next project."Luna’s lips quirked up and they both moved onto a conversation about the possibilities of hiring someone to find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Harry blinked at where Severus took the seat next to him in potions, Luna having taken the flimsy excuse of being ‘sick’ to stay in their room and read all day. “Hi?”The boy smiled thinly. “Severus Snape.”“Harrison Peverell. But everyone I like calls me Harry.” They shook hands, Harry eyeing him carefully. “You know… you won’t be able to tamper with my potion, try to blow me up or something. I have it warded so only I can add things- you know, due to my paranoia?”Severus nodded, but his eyes were amused. “Good to know, but not exactly relevant.”Harry snorted. “I’m somehow doubting that Lork Vormalade decided to call off trying to kill me... I mean, it is Halloween.”((The main reason for Luna not being in class, as she said nothing was ruining Halloween for her this time around))The boy tilted his head. “What does that have to do with anything?”“What does that that have to do with anything! What does-” He huffed. “Well yeah, I guess you wouldn’t know… It’s my predetermined death-day and I thought he’d do something spectacularly stupid- to make things exciting? Maybe try to sneak into the school Count Olaf style or send me a portkey that'll trap me in his father's graveyard but forget to make it only a one-way portkey allowing me to get away?”Severus’ face was blank.Harry pouted, waving his hand lazily as if to dismiss the conversation. “Jeez. Now I regret coming to class. Luna did say it was going to be a boring Halloween, but I hoped for something fun...”Snape’s look was incredulous. “You’re insane.”He shrugged, moving easily to add in the wormwood. “Rude of you to accuse me like that. Plus, if you must know, we don’t talk about those ninety years. Bad memories and all that jazz.”A small bundle of something flew overhead, connecting with the glimmering ward around his cauldron and just dropping to the table. With a flick of his wand and a whispered spell, the thing went flying back to the other side of the room and a second later James Potter’s potion was on fire, as well as his robes.He chuckled, noticing Severus looked plenty amused as well. “Classic... I wish I could’ve done that to Draco…”Severus leaned against his table, stirring his potion carefully as he looked at Harry with amused eyes. “Is that the guy your sister teases you about? The one that jumped out of a tree for you?”“He jumped out of the lowest branch so he could look cool and then proceeded to insult me. It was pathetic but entertaining, especially considering I proved him wrong.”The other boy leaned a little closer. “But you do like guys... don’t you?”Harry eyed the boy, lips slowly curling into an amused smirk. “Not that I don’t love the attention, but I think I get why Hermione tried to set you on fire and I might do the same if you try to come onto me again.”“...What?”His smile was wide as he bottled the increased-euphoria potion. “Not only do I have a type for megalomaniac villains that hate my existence, being anything more than moderate friends with you would really mess with my already quite scrambled morals. However, I might make an exception for Regulus...” Waving his wand to clean up his workbench, he shrugged. “I have Quidditch tryouts tonight, but if he finds me at the end, I might give up a piece of information I know about Lower Volleyballs.”With one last wink, he sauntered out. Harry was, admittedly, paranoid.Though it had always been for good reason. A troll here, a dragon there, a few teachers trying to murder you… anyone would be paranoid with that being their childhood.But Halloween was always the worst time of the year.Even when Tom had been dead, he and Luna had conspired to find some way to get Harry in trouble on Halloweens, wither it was convincing him going in that decrepit tomb that definitely wasn’t haunted or trying to talk to an angry animal Luna was interested in.Luna, however, seemed content to sit this lifetime's Halloweens out. She’d sent him a soft smile and gave a slight shrug this morning, before going back to reading.Still.Classes were nightmares, Harry instinctively jumping at every little thing, wand almost glued to his hand. Defense found him shifty and restless, leaning in a corner, breath a hair away from being panicked.“You look like shit.” Two tall boys with black hair and curious eyes seemed to pop into existence next to him, sharing glances when his breathing hitched and he sunk further into the corner. “Peverell, if you need to get out of here, you should just go.”The other of the brothers grinned roguishly. “We’d be happy to create a diversion if you need it.”Looking at them, the image of two smiling redhead twins flashed across his brain and he flinched back. “Lestrange brothers, I assume?” There was a small bead of hate in him on the behalf of Neville, but he pushed it away on the accounts of the kid not even being born yet.The two boys bowed lowly. “Rudolphus-”“And Rabastan Lestrange, at your service.”Harry took a deep breath, his back loosening a bit. “So I can assume you’re here to kill me? Because it would really suck if I spent all day waiting for an attack and you two were here to- I don’t know- do something stupid like befriend me.”The two brothers shared a look. “If we just say you foiled our master plans and then find you tomorrow, will you help us out in Charms class?Laughing softly while he relaxed slightly, he nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”Both boys grinned, the one that was slightly taller leaning forward to ruffle his hair. “Well then, see you in class tomorrow kiddo.” The other boy, that was slightly leaner, bumped his brother’s shoulder and they both walked away whispering in low tones.Harry blinked. “That was not what I expected.”But he shrugged and surprisingly the rest of his day was less shitty, on the account he'd broken from his extreme paranoia and gone back to his mild paranoia. When Regulus didn’t show later that night, Luna consoled him with hot chocolate. “Even if Tom is insane, we both know he doesn’t share.”Harry just scowled at her. “He’s annoying me. First, he doesn’t try to kill me on my death day and then now he’s meddling with my fun- what is this, payback?”“Darling, I don’t think he’s sane enough to know what to do with you, much less plot any type of payback intentionally.” Luna patted his head, moving to go to bed.He just scowled at the fireplace, moodily drinking his hot chocolate. Harry felt his shoulder being shaken, waking up to Luna’s concerned face. “Harry you’re in Hogwarts and the year is 1977… breathe.”Sucking in harsh breaths, he looked around wildly, hand gripping his wand. The air was cool against his skin, eyes flitting over faces staring at him, the stone walls around him. When he could speak without his voice breaking, he looked back at Luna. “He- where-”“Thomas isn’t here right now… remember? You had plans for meeting up with him later.”Bringing a hand up to rub at his face, he nodded, sucking in a shaky breath. “It was the same- the dream where I… The air was so stale and the rain burned like it always did, but there was nothing I could do to save him- he just-” A soft sob escaped his throat.Luna gathered him up into some semblance of a human, wiping off his cheeks gently, her sapphire eyes steady. “Never again. You won’t ever be in that position again.”“Cedric- he... He kept- kept telling me it was my fault he died.”The breath she released was as if she’d been punched. Cedric had been one of the older boys that had tried to help Luna out with the older Ravenclaw girls that bullied her. “You know that’s not true… Even his father was surprised you brought his body back. You should never have had to be in that situation in the first place Harry, not as a child, not ever.”He felt his hands shaking as she pulled him into a long hug, only breaking to pull him up onto unsteady legs.“Come on, old man. You should know how to use those legs, what with having a talent for running into danger.”“You’re getting on my nerves, youngling.” His smile was thin. “Aren’t you supposed to respect your elders?”Luna snorted. “Not when they’re stupid punks like you.”Both of them chuckled, making their way to lunch early, not caring about the class staring at their backs.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Harry was (rightfully) suspicious of making friends, especially with any of the other Slytherins, but Luna was all for it.It started with the Lestrange brothers.The taller one with a habit of calling him ‘kiddo’, he found was Rabastan, and the thinner one that always hit his brother for calling him that was Rodolphus. They were both beaters with the Quidditch team (mean ones at that), so they were constantly asking about the broom tricks he’d pull during games. Plus they were both pants at charms but great at astronomy, so he found himself and Luna joining them in the library on Saturdays for study sessions.Next came Barty.Barty Crouch had always been one of Harry’s favorites because even if he had tried to kill him, he was a great teacher and had looked after Harry for a year (he hadn’t needed to turn Draco into a ferret, but he had ). Not to mention he was a genius at History, quickly joining their Saturday gatherings.With him came Regulus, who after hexing him for his flirting in a way that sent Harry though a wall, was granted relief from the flirting and Harry’s begrudging respect. The boy was best at Transfiguration but had dragged Snape with him to help with any potion related questions.However, their 'ignorance' had only lasted a couple of weekends where they pretended not to know what was happening before the (not very well hidden) secret was broken to them. Sitting around the table, they all worked quietly. Luna talking closely with Rabastan and Rodolphus, Snape and Regulus talking quietly with Barty, while Harry curled up in his chair with a thick textbook.“There you are!” Lucius strolled in at a fast pace (Malfoys never run), Narcissa on his heels. “I was looking for you everywhere! The Dark Lor-” His words cut off suddenly, eyes meeting Harry’s, face in a state of shock. “I mean…”Harry tilted his head. “If you were going to say that Vord Loldemort wants an update on how becoming friends with us is going, I would say pretty well. I think Rod and Rab’s scores in Charms are going up quite nicely, not to mention all of us really appreciate Barty’s dry humor in teaching History of Magic.”The whole table stilled comically.“Couldn’t you have waited another week Harry? I was really enjoying having friends.” Luna pouted slightly.He winced at the disappointment on her face. “Sorry, Moon. Maybe Amelia Bones would sit with you? Susan was always pretty nice… Or maybe Amos Diggory? He reminds me of Cedric a little.”Narcissa stepped forward. “Wait, you know about the orders to get close to you and you played along because you two were… lonely?”Luna and he looked at each other, before both nodding, as that was a good description of what had happened. “Pretty much. I mean you did turn from trying to hurt either of us to being ‘buddy-buddy’ pretty fast… So we just took what we could get.” He stood up, flipping his textbook on Muggle physics closed, Luna packing up as well. He sent a small smile at the group, Luna hooking her arm with his. “Well… It was fun.”Walking away, his sister made a soft sighing sound. “I was really squishing on the Lestrange brothers.”Blinking down at his sister at the term she’d picked up for a platonic friend crush, he moved to throw his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side more. “I’m thinking the Lost Things Room, lots of blankets, and hot chocolate.”“Yeah. That would be nice.” She leaned in closer as they walked up to the seventh floor, soon finding themselves curled up in a nest of blankets with warm hot chocolate. After a quiet weekend, both of them blinked in surprise when Severus sat down on the other side of Luna in potions. As if immune to their stares, the boy sneered. “You two are not horrible at potions, unlike everyone else I could have sat by.”They both knew that was as close to an apology as they were going to get.Glancing at each other, Harry let his lips curl up into a teasing smile. “You sure it’s not just because you like my face?”“Harrison, I will drop your textbooks into the Black Lake.” But the boy was flushing lightly, and though neither of them were rude enough to call him on it, they still both shared amused looks before starting to work as if nothing had changed.Slowly but surely the group trickled back towards Harry and Luna, Saturday finding them all in the library, along with Narcissa and Lucius who were (unsurprisingly) courting due to their marriage contract.At hearing this news, he turned to Rodolphus so fast his neck hurt. “Did you sign your marriage contract to Bellatrix yet?”The boy gaped at him, glancing around the table, which had gone silent. “I- My father just got it this weekend… How did-”“Please, for the sake of a very old friend that would be devastated to know I was even talking to you- don’t marry her.” Harry’s eyes were wide, hands shaking slightly as he grabbed the boy’s arm. “Please. You’ll drive each other insane- both spiraling into madness.”There was a pause, the skinny boy gaping at him.Luna cleared her throat. “Harry just knows things sometimes.”The group looked from her to him, before their eyes filled with some sort of awe and knowledge.Harry looked at Luna with a raised eyebrow, to which she shrugged. Brushing it off, he turned back to the boy he was gripping at. “Please don’t sign that contract.”Rodolphus swallowed thickly as if he believed Harry’s words now that Luna had said something. “But father wants to marry me off to someone...”“What about Severus?” The whole table seemed to choke on their own tongues, but ignoring that, he turned to look at the flushed boy. “You’re the heir to the Prince line, so it should be good enough for a marriage contract, plus you seem to be into dark-haired guys…”The boy’s eyes were as wide as saucers, opening his mouth with nothing coming out.Rodolphus looked at the boy with assessing eyes, seeming to get past his surprise enough to see the tactical advantage of marrying one of his friends. “That could work. Even if it was just a marriage of convenience, I’d be fine with that.”Harry sunk back in his seat with a sigh of relief, Luna leaning over and kissing his cheek lightly. He gave her a look. “What’s that for?”“Saving Neville.” The girl smiled brightly. “And Bella.”He shorted softly. “Should’ve known you’d like her, given her crazy is just like yours.”Narcissa leaned forward. “Wait, what about Bellatrix? Mother’s going to pitch a fit when she finds out Bella’s last chance to be married was denied, especially by the word of a seer! It’s going to make no one want to marry her!”He started coughing at the word ‘seer’, Luna patting his back gently and leaning forward. “I’d be happy to propose a marriage contract, with the clause that we adopt any abused muggle-born we know of and raise them according to Pureblood traditions.” Harry coughed harder, sputtering in surprise, but Luna just winked at him. “This way we can both say close to our soulmates.”“You-?”The girl nodded. “While you were getting your core unbound, Gurak had me take an inheritance test. I guess it just never came up, as I had to drag you back to the townhouse.”Jumping up, Narcissa looked ecstatic at this. “I’m going to write to Mother right away!”There were a few minutes of silence around the table.“You had your core bound?” Regulus’ voice was soft and horrified.Harry shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad. In fact, it was the only thing that saved me from becoming an obscurial, so I’m not too upset about it.”“What- who would do something like that?”He frowned deeply. “Someone I am trying very hard to get arrested and given a dementor's kiss… but for now, all I can do it wait.”"He's right. We have extensive plans." Luna smiled, pulling him up. “Come on Harry, we have to get you some food or you won't eat until you pass out.” Harry and Luna were walking to Hogsmeade with the group, holding hands but both talking to different people. Currently, Luna and Narcissa were discussing Bellatrix and writing letters back and forth to start the courtship, while he was debating the use of light spells in defense with Rabastian- both Severus and Rodolphus listening in from where they had their arms linked together.He was in the middle of explaining the different uses for a Patronus other than just to ward off dementors when his eye caught on a man with unsettling yellow eyes watching him, able to recognize the younger version of Fenrir Greyback anywhere.The man watching him stared right back, before disappearing down an alley, knowing he was seen.Lips curving into a smile, he reached out to squeeze Luna’s hand lightly. “Hey, Moon? Do you think I’ve healed enough to start exercising again?”Regulus looked at him with a frown. “Harry, you’ve been doing Quidditch practice every night, what are you talking about?”They both ignored him, his sister nodding slowly. “Yeah. Maybe you can even use some of that potion that you used that one time in Norway?”“I will, thanks love.” Pressing a quick kiss to his sister’s forehead he smiled at the others. “I forgot I have to send off a letter at the owlery, I’ll be right back!”The soft voice called after him as he separated himself from the group. “Make sure to wear your red riding hood!” Chuckling at the muggle reference, he put his hands in his pockets and strolled down the student-populated streets, acutely aware of the eyes on his back.Though, as if fate hated him (it did), he knocked into someone. “Oh- sorry, I didn’t-”“What’s your problem, Peverell!”Blinking up at Sirius Black, he let his face sink into a blank mask. “Look, I’m sorry for running into you. Let’s just go our separate-”His arm was caught by the boy, his lean frame nothing compared to the other boy’s muscles, the long hair falling into the grey eyes as the boy leaned over Harry slightly. “Why don’t you apologize, tough guy.”“If you’re going to sarcastically call me anything, that has to be the worst name to call me. I’m not tough...” Harry grinned, slow and slightly maniacal as he leaned in, nose brushing Sirius’ every so slightly. “I’m crazy.”Sirius used the hold on his arm to push him back, lips twisted in disgust. “What you are is some psycho fag.”Harry kept his face black, but that stung (more than anything else the boy had done). Sirius had been the first one he’d told, the first one to tell him that he wasn’t a freak for not liking girls, that it was perfectly alright and the Wizarding World would accept him as he was. He scoffed under his breath bitterly.Of course they would’ve accepted him like that- they very well couldn’t deny him when he not only had died for them but was also famous and rich, could they? Eyes darting around the group, he saw only Remus had any hint of remorse on his face, and he just laughed bitterly. “Whatever you say, Snuffles. I have a date with fate.” Turning on his back, he felt a spell whiz past his ear and stopped with clenched hands.“What did you call me!”Breathing through his nose to stop himself from attacking the boy, he glanced over his shoulder. “You’re a dumb dog- why not give you an appropriate name?” Seeing the boy start to cast another spell his way, he flicked his hand, a wave of his magic knocking the boy off his feet.As the other three bullies went to check on their friend, he stalked off.The crowds thinned the further he walked, the feeling of being watched getting stronger.When he passed Hog’s Head, he was pulled into an alley, pushed up against a wall. The alpha werewolf that leaned over him, breath hot on his face, looked more human than when he’d last seen him. With less hair on his face and more on his head as if he had a mane of messy locks, he could be thought of as hot if said person had a thing for dangerous golden eyes and an iron grip.Good thing bad ideas were exactly Harry’s type.“Hey, big bad wolf…” His voice was a murmured taunt. “I thought you went for younger blood rather than someone almost legal? I never thought you’d be here .”The eyes of a ravenous wolf looked him over, grin accented by sharp canines. “I thought I saw something tasty… couldn’t help myself.”Harry chuckled. “I couldn't either. Guess neither of us has control over our impulses.” He grabbed the man’s jacket, biting at the man’s bottom lip and then watching in fascination as the black pupils expanded in arousal. “Too bad that I’ll get more satisfaction out of you than you’ll get out of me.”With a crack of apparition, they were standing in the Forest of Dean, the werewolf thrown off his game by the forced side-along travel.That pause was all he needed, dipping into his fold of space and slipping on silver knuckles with small but sharp blades attached to them like claws before uncorking a potion and pouring it over the blades.The man shook his head as if to clear it from the form of travel. “What the-”With a slash of his hand, the man yelped in surprise, clutching at where his skin had been torn apart. But the irritation and slight pain turned to agony when the slow-acting combination of snake venom and wolfsbane hit his system and he dropped to his knees.“You see… I really don’t mind sleeping with monsters- I mean I'm not much better about my murderous impulses- but I’d rather not sleep with someone who gets off on attacking children.” He emphasized his point with another slash of his ‘claws’. “So, handsome, how does it feel to be mauled like the dumb dog you are?”There was an attempt at a growl from the man, but it came off as more of a whine than anything, making him smirk in satisfaction.Kicking the man over onto his back, he sat on the man's lap, plunging the poison-laced metal claws into the man’s stomach. The gasp from the man’s lips was swallowed by his own, bloodlust making his chest burn, and he only pulled back when the other’s lips had gone cold.Standing up and pulling the blood-stained silver weapon out of the dead body with a wet sound, Harry smiled down at the man. “Don’t worry. I’m sure that you’ll make great food for the animals that you think so beneath you.” Cleaning his blades off on the man’s clothes and transfiguring a blood-red Angel's Trumpet flower that he laid on the man's chest, he stood up again. “Death?”Shadows pooled into the shape of a man leaning against a nearby tree. “Busy Master?”“Once I leave, get rid of any magical presence that I was here.”The man eyed him. “Get me a kneezle and maybe I’ll do it.”Harry sighed, storing his weapons away again and giving the man an exasperated glare. “Sure. Fine.” Death grinned, but before another word could be said, Harry apparated into the alley outside the Three Broomsticks, walking in and sliding into an empty chair between Rabastan and Luna. “Sorry I took so long.”The table looked at him with wide eyes.Luna giggled. “Harry, you have a bit of-” She tapped the side of her mouth and his tongue darted out, tasting blood.“Oh, oops, y’know how messy split lips can get sometimes.” He assumed that he looked a bit ruffled, using his thumb to swipe at his lip, looking at the blood with an amused smile before licking it off his finger.His sister rolled her eyes. “Have fun?”His grin was sharp and a little wild, but then again his blood was still singing from the thrill of the hunt. “Do you really was to know? I’d hate to scare you away.”“You know that’s not possible.” Luna smiled softly, leaning against him and tucking her head into his shoulder. “I just worry is all.”Narcissa leaned forward, eyes curious. “Who's the lucky guy?”He smirked as if the surrounding tables weren't listening as well to try to get gossip. “Narcissa, don't you know better? I never kiss and tell.” He ignored the soft scoff to his side, just grinning. “But... I can tell you he's an animal in the sack. Wild as hell, that one.”His sister sighed deeply at his sense of humor, the others looking both pacified and mildly disturbed at that, and they all moved on easily to different subjects.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“My Lord...” Voldemort spun around, red eyes narrowing on where Abraxas Malfoy was standing, hands trembling slightly at his sides. “Fenrir Greyback… has been murdered.”

Rage boiled through his veins.

He had just convinced that idiot over to his side! Who would dare-

His thoughts stuttered slightly, getting a creeping suspicion he knew

exactly

who would do something like this. “Your son. He has memories for me?”

Abraxas stiffened, but handed over the vial of shimmering liquid. “As you requested. The week of the Peverell boy’s movements.” The tone held an air of something he didn’t like, the man stepping forward even after he'd gotten the memories. “Permission to speak freely My Lord?”

“Go on.” Voldemort was already moving towards his Pensieve.

The man cleared his throat. “You-you're not okay.” He froze and the man scrambled to cover the mistake. “I mean, you aren’t acting as you did, obsessing over this-”

“Crucio.” Within moments the man he considered a close friend was tense, falling to his knees as he shook with the fire of the pain coursing though his veins. Letting go of the curse, he poured the memories into the Pensieve. “Leave Abraxas, and do not return until you have thought deeply on how you are to speak to your Lord.”

Abraxas pulled himself up and rushed out as fast as his body would allow, but he was too distracted with the memories.
So…  A seer.
That would explain the knowledge, but the fact that the boy had his core bound and still had such a gasp on his magic bothered him to no ends. That and the absolute truth behind the words the siblings had said. Not only had they known that he had sent his Death Eater’s children to make friends with him, but they had accepted because they were

lonely

.

It meant that all of these memories were useless, as they could have been staged, and he was about to pull out of the pensive-

“Oh, oops, y’know how messy split lips can get sometimes.” The Peverell boy gave the table a half-smile, collecting the blood before giving it a look of thinly veiled dark amusement before licking it away.

Voldemort knew that look.

He’d seen it on the faces of his followers enough times to recognize it.

Blood-lust.

This boy had killed the Alpha werewolf, and all he had to show for it was dark amusement and blood on his lips and chin.

No, scratch that… there was no wound on the boy’s pink lips. That meant... the blood on the pink lips wasn't his own.

Temper flaring for a reason he couldn’t pinpoint, he pulled himself out of the memories, pacing the tiled floors.

How dare the boy-

But he paused. He couldn’t tell whether he was more upset about Greyback being killed, or the fact the green-eyed boy had been so cavalier with making out with the werewolf before he killed him, and that just made him angrier.

Perhaps Abraxas was right... He was getting over his head, but not to worry, he knew the best method for getting this particular obsession out of his way.

Harrison Peverell had to die.

By his hand.

An honor really.
  Harry frowned, pausing in where he was filling squirt bottles with lemon juice.Luna looked over to him with a raised eyebrow. “Something wrong? Is Tom giving you a headache?”“Kinda.” He furrowed his brows. “The bond is mostly blocked by the Death magic, but I can tell he isn’t happy. He probably just found out about the dog I put down… Though when I remembered last, he hated that dog... so I didn't think he'd be too upset.”The girl shrugged. “He’s probably just upset that you did something to bother his bubble of perfectness.”He snorted, hooking the squirt bottles on the straps around his waist and legs like a muggle holster, shrinking down the huge canisters of borax and peppermint oil so he could store them away in his pockets. “Yeah, that's probably all it is…" Then he sent her a smile. "Ready?”“Ready.”Both siblings marched out of the abandoned classroom, ignoring the strange looks they got for both being dressed in thick dragon hide robes and carrying muggle squirt bottles, heading for the forbidden forest.Stopping a little ways away from the Acromantula nest, they both nodded, casting disillusionment charms and scent-blocking charms. Silently, they started in opposite directions around the nest, Luna laying down a think line of peppermint oil and Harry a thick line of boric acid.It was slow work, arms aching as they moved slowly, making as little noise as possible.They met up on the other side and clasped hands for a brief second of silent reassurance, before starting up again, switching out to full containers when needed.Seeing Luna’s original starting point, he stopped, putting the container down and taking off the charms. Luna did the same, both moving to stand in the opening they’d created in the circle. He looked at his sister. “There won’t be as many as I had to face, but they've still been breeding for fifty years… are you sure you want to do this?”He had the elder wand. Luna did not. Not to mention the fact he’d never force his sister to do something that she didn’t want to do.But the girl just smiled at him. “Let’s kill some spiders.”Grinning, he put his fingers up to his lips and whistled loudly, the skittering noise prompting both of them to raise their wands. He cast a charm and the lines of liquid became a tall wall, lined with the two substances that would advert even the biggest of spiders.He heard a few screeches of spiders who had found out the hard way that the boric acid would eat away at them if the peppermint oil didn’t avert them.Clicking angrily, a mass of spiders advanced on them like a wave of brown and black bristling legs.Squeezing Luna’s shoulder, he started casting the darkest curses he knew as she cast high-powered severing charms that cut the mass down in swoops. As the spiders got closer they brought out their squirt guns, the acidic fresh lemon juice making the screeches get louder while the spiders that were sprayed in the eyes with the acidic liquid writhed on the ground.A spider lunged for Luna and he kicked out her knees, killing the spider that had just missed her. In turn, his sister cast a sectumsempra on a spider that went for him. Getting closer, he closed the barrier more, and they continued to cut through the acromantula hoard.Luna moved behind him, using his cover to light a molotov cocktail they’d made just for emergencies, throwing it in the crowd of spiders and lighting another when the first exploded into a wave of flames.Seeing that the spiders were almost out of forces, Harry grinned and cast fiendfyre, watching as the cursed flames made a mess out of the remaining spiders and their nest. Putting out the fire, he and Luna slowly made their way through the mass of bodies, casting curses at anything that moved.Aragog himself was laying, half-burned up, in the middle of the lair. “Why do you kill us, wizard?” Harry shrugged. “I’m not a fan of spiders... plus I was bored.”
“You kill off my family because you are bored?”
He grinned at the charred spider, raising his wand. “Yeah, that’s what I said. I was going to read a book, but then I thought ‘why not kill off a clan of pesky spiders?’ So here I am.”Aragog’s eyes narrowed on him. “You are not immune to death as you would believe, human. Eventually, it will catch up to you and I will have my vengeance.” “Hmmm. Maybe. What do you think about that Death?” He looked at where the thin pale man in the suit was leaning against a tree.The man’s eyes were emotionless as usual. “I think you owe me another kneezle for cleaning up your messes.”Harry rolled his eyes, transfiguring an Angel’s Trumpet flower and throwing it at the feet of the dying spider. “You and your damn cats. Fine, whatever. Come on Luna, I’m thinking hot chocolate in the kitchens?”The girl gave Death a quick hug, muttering a quiet thanks, before skipping over to follow him. “Sounds good to me.”  
Voldemort has always had a weakness, one that he wasn’t particularly ashamed of having.

He liked to have only the best, only the finest things.

Maybe it was from growing up in a place so twisted and backwards, but he tended to hoard the shiniest things he could. Before he’d become the monster he was, teeth and hands stained with blood, the small of people that considered themselves his ‘friends’ would affectionately call him a magpie. Not that they saw the calculating gleam to his eyes, or the vicious sneer on his lips when they did, or they’d know that it wasn’t a good idea.

Even as he grew more powerful, with more followers, he still collected.

Three of the four founder's objects. Books so rare people would kill for them. The heirs to influential families.

Voldemort collected power and talents.

Dumbledore did some of the same things, but he also knew the man collected people subservient and quick to defer to him.

He was the opposite. The more fight the thing he wanted had, the more interesting it was to see that struggling soul be wrapped in his manipulations, the more enjoyable it would be to finally twist them to see his side of things.

So when he was shown a memory that was slightly hazy and filled with fear, of the Peverell siblings decimating an acromantula horde (Lucius had run away the second the barriers had fallen, even if the spiders were dead), he knew what he wanted.

He had previously wanted those deep emerald eyes in a jar on his shelf... but now?

Now he wanted the whole boy.

The bloodlust that lied beneath the mask of a lonely teenager, the grace in which the boy moved while fighting, the power… Oh yes, the boy was more powerful than he probably knew. But that would make it all the more interesting to him when he wound his spiders' web.

He had a very pretty fly to catch, one he was planning to devour whole and remake.

And when Harry Peverell came out of his web, he’d be the prize emerald of Voldemort’s collection.
  Harry only half-listened to Slughorn, making the Dreamless Sleep potion from memory, before bottling it quickly and vanishing the rest of the liquid.Luna glanced at him knowingly.There had been a time all those years ago that he would do anything not to dream. Everyone knows that Dreamless Sleep is one of the worst positions to get withdrawals from, most of the time leading to death. But he couldn’t die. So he suffered through the withdrawals, Luna at his side, and then promptly never touched a drop of the potion ever again.Regulus must have seen the look on his face, convincing Slughorn to give them early leave, as Snape and he had also finished early.Barty was on one of his off periods, so it wasn’t much of a surprise the boy found the four of them in the library talking quietly, but the pale tint to his face and the parcel he was holding like glass- that was out of character.Slightly shaking hands held the parcel out to him, and with raised eyebrows, he took it gently.Black velvet wrapped up a small box, tied with a green ribbon that was hiding a small note.
Heir Peverell,

It has come to my attention that I apparently missed an important date to you,

and hope that this can make up for my lack of knowledge of this ‘death-day’ of yours.

-An interested party
Harry chuckled, showing the note to Luna, who also cracked a grin. His sister leaned into his side. “Well, I can’t say that I didn’t expect this to happen, what with your luck and all… But I had hoped he’d waited until after you meet face to face at least once.”He made a grabbing gesture. “Fork it over missy.”The girl snorted, handing over five galleons. “I’m blaming your face for this. He would have totally held out on trying to convert you if you were more annoying than you were absurdly pretty.” She pouted.“Aww, is Moon upset she lost the bet?!” Harry put the package to wrap his sister in a hug and plant a kiss on the bridge of her nose. “You’re pouting!”Pushing him off, the girl huffed. “Open your damn gift.”Harry cooed slightly but moved for the gift. “Don’t worry love, we both know Thomas’ dead heart will always be more fond of your calm than my crazy.” This made his sister smile just a little, and he carefully unwrapped the gift and opening the box before busting out laughing.Luna leaned over, devolving into a fit of giggles when she saw Slytherin’s Locket laying in the felt box. “You- he-... You should send it back.”Nodding, he grabbed the note that had been on the package and a quill, jotting out a quick note on the back of the other one. Placing it in the box, he held it out to Barty. “Sorry for using you as an owl, but if you could get this back it’s sender… I would greatly appreciate it.”Both siblings giggled as the boy took it with a pale face, Luna moving to tie the green ribbon around Harry’s neck in a small bow. “He’s not going to like that.”The boy shrugged with a wide grin. “What’s he going to do? Kill me?”     
Voldemort opened the box, glaring at the untouched Locket, the same Horcrux that if the boy had put on would have twisted his mind into something easy to slip into and manipulate laying in the box, obviously untouched.

Taking his note in long bony fingers, he flipped it over.

Hey Snake-Face!

I’m happy to report, I’m still alive and kicking, no thanks to your evil locket.

Thanks for entrusting me with a part of your soul, but no, I think that’s at least fifth date stuff. I mean, we haven’t even held hands!

Get some standards, Voldiekins.

Your ever-loving companion in madness,

Harry <3

This-

This was an offense on the highest level!

Not accepting such a fine gift, making fun of him, and then mocking his ability to kill such an irritating
insect
?

No, he was back to his original plan.

Harry Peverell would die.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Harry leaned over in the middle of History of Magic, draping himself over Luna’s back where she was currently sketching the back of Sirius Black’s sleeping head, voice reflecting how painfully bored he was. “Hey... do you think that our animagus forms are the same?”Luna looked up, seeming to think about it for a long moment. “Probably not. You haven’t tried it since you went crazy and I died so…”He hummed, glancing around the class. Most of the Gryffindors were either asleep or absorbed in something, only about half of the Slytherins looking their way curiously, but he knew they wouldn’t tell anyone (other than maybe Tom). Sitting back up and closing his eyes, he focused intently on the meditation to clear his mind that Dorea had taught him.Suddenly he was falling, and scrambling to catch himself, he stared at where four fuzzy black paws had dug into Luna’s robes while trying to catch him.
Well this was new.
Trying to get the girl’s attention, he heard a soft chirping sound, a pair of deep blue eyes turning to look at him.“Oh. Look at you!” Soft hands grabbed him by his midsection and he flailed at she picked him up, pausing when he saw a fluffy thing waving behind him.Now, logically, he knew that it was a tail… but when he was set down on Luna’s desk, he tried to grab it only to find it moved. That, of course, was not okay.
He was the Master of Death, the fuzzy object should bow down, let him crush it!
He chirped angrily, trying to chase the fuzzy thing, even rolling over to try to catch it. And finally, he did, biting down- Harry let out a murp of distress at the pain it caused, before trying to smooth out the place he’d bitten by licking at the fur.Looking up, he saw the class watching him, the girls cooing softly.Luna smiled at a girl who was asking what he was ( as if he didn’t want to know the same thing! ). “This is my familiar. He’s a Red Panda named… Nex.”He chirped approvingly at the name loosely translating to ‘murder' or 'death’ in Latin and before he could do anything, a hand was rubbing a place on his head that made him feel like goo and he melted into a puddle of fur.Maybe being a small fuzzy creature wasn’t all that bad after all.After that, he decided to go the whole day like this, finding endless ways to amuse himself. Everything from getting his fur all over Snape’s black clothes while the boy just rolled his eyes, to play wrestling with the Nifflers in Care of Magical Creatures was infinitely more interesting when in this form.Plus, his balance was supreme.The most annoying part though was the way that the Marauders tried to take the chance that he was ‘sick’ and talk to Luna. In charms when he was chasing around a feather that some Hufflepuff girl was levitating, he looked back to Luna only to find Remus Lupin next to her. Bounding back over, he sat right in front of the boy, tilting his head as if to ask what he was doing.Remus paused, looking at him. “Oh. You have a Red Panda?”Luna shrugged a shoulder. “He was a gift from Mortis, my uncle.”
Damn right he was a gift. A gift to wizardkind.
The boy reached out hesitantly, petting him, and Harry allowed it because Remus smelled good and wasn’t irritating him too much yet. “I’m sorry about earlier in the carriage. Sirius gets… defensive. His family pushed him away because he went into Gryffindor, but it wasn’t like your brother helped the situation by- Ow!” The boy looked down at where Harry had taken to chewing on one of the long fingers, moving to pull his hand away from the sharp teeth.He chirped.
No, you’re not allowed to talk bad about me in front of my sister! Bad werewolf!
Remus rubbed at his hand, before looking back to Luna. “Either way- sorry. You seem like a nice girl if a little biased in your beliefs.”He was about to bite the boy again for the backhand insult when Luna picked him up and put him on her shoulder while she packed up her bag. “If I was ‘biased’- as I believe was the term you kindly used- then I wouldn’t be letting someone like you talk to me… would I?” Giving him the familiar stare that could make anyone rethink their life choices, she started out of the class.
Mangy mutt.
Luna sighed, reaching up to scratch at his side and he almost lost his balance in distraction. “I wonder if Mortis has burned down the house by now… I guess though, that we will see when we go back for winter break.”
Oh right. That was tomorrow, wasn’t it?

Well, then he should get
something
productive done before he left.
 Harry sat at the end of the corridor, waiting for the girl that he had been subtly mapping the routines of for the past couple of months. Bottlecap glasses and frizzy hair rounded the corner, the large shawl around the girl's shoulders swaying as the girl stumbled along.Chirping at her, he inwardly smiled as she stopped to look down at him. Pawing at her feet, he turned and went inside the bathroom, knowing the girl would follow.
Doesn't every seer believe in signs?
A young Sybill Trelawney followed him in, soft voice as she asked him what happened and why he was all the way over here, alone.Transforming as he thought of his human form, he sent a stunning spell her way before moving to stand over her crumpled body. Shrugging, he turned to the Chamber of Secrets entrance. “Open.” When the sinks opened to reveal the gaping hole, he quickly moved the girl's books inside her bag before pushing the body and bag into the opening. “Stairs.” Starting down the flight of stairs, he cast a Lumos. “Close.” He stalked down to where the self-proclaimed seer was laying in a heap in piles of bones. “You'd think she would know it was coming, what with how often she predicted other people's deaths.”There was a bell-like laugh, Luna pushing off the wall she was leaning on and coming to stand by him. “You forget she was a fake.”He hummed. “Didn't forget. Just didn't want to believe it.” He looked up. “Should we chance the Basilisk or do I have the pleasure of staining these boring white walls?”“Would it matter? She’ll die either way.”Harry grinned, moving smoothly in bringing out his golden daggers. “I say let's paint the walls red with the blood of the liar. Revive her for me, won't you darling?”Luna flicked her wand, the bushy-haired girl sitting up with a groan and paling when she saw the bones. “Where- what did-” Wide blue eyes caught sight of them. “You two? Why-... Did you do this?”His grin was feral, knives flicking through the air as he spun them as he had practiced obsessively his last life. “Little mouse, do you not see you are trapped? Will you not run and give the pursuing predator something to chase?”With a squeak befitting to a caged animal, the girl scrambled up, starting to stumble away, but a wordless spell from his sister cut a gash in her left leg to slow her down.Smiling fondly at Luna, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Oh, how I love you, sister of mine.”She chuckled softly, pushing him away gently. “Go finish your hunt. I will keep company with the shadows while you work.”“As you wish.” Dipping his head in a show of respect he’d only ever give his sister or his Tom, Harry stalked forward, catching up to his prey easily. Kicking out the girl’s knee he watched in glee as she fell forward.Flipping to her back, the false prophet tried to crawl away. “Please, you're not like this, not a killer-”He made a loud noise of error, voice cheerful. “Wrong!”Sibyll tried to get away from his slowly approaching steps. “You don't have to do this-”“Wrong!”Gasping, tears running down her face, the teenager looked up at him. “Please don't. Please, I'll do anything! You wouldn't kill me, would-”With a dark grin, he again made the noise of error. “That's three wrong answers! I would have accepted ‘I'm sorry’ or maybe even ‘I promise not to tell any lie ever again’ but you just couldn't do it, could you?” His voice was mocking with a cruel undertone, earning himself a whimper. “How utterly disappointing you are. I find myself more partial to screamers, fighters, and runners... but this sad show of patheticness is really grating on my nerves.”The girl whimpered as he moved to straddle her legs, wiggling only a little when he pressed his dagger to her throat. “Please… Lun-”He covered her mouth with a hand, eyes blazing. “No no, little mouse. You don't get to say that name. Now, when I release my hand, if you beg for me prettily and wash that forbidden name from your foul mouth I might just be kind…” He let go.Trelawney shook like a leaf. “Please, please don't kill me- I- I don't wanna die…Please...”Harry smiled wickedly, hand stroking her cheek in a cheap imitation of mercy. “There. Wasn't that easy?” Then with a decisive movement, he was sprayed in warm liquid, the daggers making quick work of staining the surrounding marble.“Darling... was that your idea of kindness? I would hate to see what you give as gifts at a party.”Shrugging slightly, he stood up. “My kindness was not gutting her and watching her clutch at her own entrails as I drank a glass of wine… don't you think this was nicer?” His eyes softened on Luna when he turned, bringing his clean(er) hand up to bush a droplet of red blood off her cheek. “Did I scare you? I told you I could do this on my own…”His sister cast a wandless cleaning spell on him, smile soft. “No, of course not. I know exactly who you are and love every part of you- nothing you do will ever surprise or scare me… Now can we go to dinner?”He grinned widely, taking her arm. “Right this way, milady, I believe there is a short cut I know that can take us right outside the Great Hall…” Rabastan looked up with a smile to him when they got to the table for dinner. “Hey, kiddo.”Almost instinctively, Harry looked to the boy's side to chance seeing Rodolphus smack his brother, only to blink when he saw the other boy talking quietly with Severus. Instead of commenting on that, he sent an easy grin back at Rabastan. “Hey old man.”Luna laughed brightly from his side. “If anything Harry's the oldest one here. What are you, almost three hundred?”He pouted. “More like two hundred and seventy- over a hundred years older than you young lady.”His sister grinned. “Touche.”Severus eyed them from next to Rodoluphus. “You two are so full of it.”Before Harry could argue his age, Lucius sat down across from him, fiddling with his hands in a very un-Malfoy like way. “Winter break is coming tomorrow…” His voice was flat, totally unexcited. “Do... do you have any plans?”“Other than getting attacked by our favorite insane Dark Lord? Nah, I think Luna and I will stay in most of the time. I think the manor will be quite cozy this winter, compared to the last couple of years.”The group around them seemed to freeze, looking at each other.Rabastan sounded strangely guilty. “You know that too? How much… do you know how it’ll turn out?”The group all looked at him.He’d been going along with the whole ‘seer’ thing, as he could guess some things about the future that would blow the others away, but at this, he just smiled easily. “I think that we’ll have to see. Everything’s kind of revolving around whether or not I open my mouth.”Narcissa's voice was soft. “Be careful? I don’t think I can ask you not to be the crazy, brash idiot you are,” that got a few smiles, “but you and Luna are and will always be counted as our friends.Luna and he shared matching smiles. “We’ll be fine.” Even though the atmosphere was slightly tense at first, the group was spread out between two compartments, Barty, Lucius, and Narcissa joining the two of them in the one to the right. The blonde couple was curled up together, Barty reading a book, while Luna laid herself out over the other bench with her head in his lap.Harry watched the scenery go by, so lost in his memories of Ron and Hermione, that he missed Barty’s question until the last few words.“-cruciatus curse?”He blinked up at the boy’s curiously glinting eyes, tilting his head. “What about the cruciatus curse?”“Have you ever been hit with it?” The boy looked morbidly curious, Luna’s giggles obviously catching the boy's attention. “What’s so funny?His sister smiled slightly at the boy. “Harry. He- well- he’s been hit with that curse more than the disarming spell.” She tilted her head back, eyes finding his. “Isn’t that right? Back when Thomas was insane, he used to throw one at you every time he saw you.”Smiling softly, he flicked her nose softly. “That’s because we were trying to kill each other Moon. All’s fair in love and war.”Luna’s eyes were knowing. “He’s going to be mad at you, you know? Mad that you didn’t get to him sooner.”“Who’s Thomas? You two always talk about him...” Narcissa looked at them from where her head was laying on Lucius’ shoulder. “Harry’s boyfriend? Or an old rival? He doesn’t sound that nice…”Harry’s smile was soft, fond, a look he’d never show to the man in question but that he reserved for when the possessive bastard wasn’t looking. “My soulmate. Fated since my birth to share an intertwined destiny. He’s kind of a prick sometimes, but I wouldn’t trust anyone else to stick by my side forever either, so… he’s okay.”The blonde girl cooed softly, while Barty’s eyes just widened. “Really? Like actually soulmates? There haven’t been recorded soulmates in forever .”“And I have Bella!” Luna chimed in, smile bright.He huffed softly. “Yeah, well, we’ll just have see how that goes.”The group slipped into a soft silence once more. They must have been about two hours into the journey when the sound of raised voices made Harry blink tiredly from where he’d been leaning his head against the glass, mostly asleep.Rabastan stomped in, Luna moving to pat his shoulder and whisper something to him as she left the compartment.He frowned, trying to clear the sleep-addled thoughts in his brain. “Luna?”The bigger boy with the shaggy black hair moved to sit on the bench, patting his legs. “She’s going to get something from the other compartment… You should lay down, I’m not sure sleeping like that’s good for you.”Harry snorted softly. “I’ve done worse.” But he found himself laying out on the bench, head on the boy's thighs anyway.The door opened, Luna smiling down at him. “I’m going to be writing to Mortis, telling him to meet us at Kings Cross. I’ll be across the hall-and will scream if I need help.” Nodding slightly he waved his hand lazily, putting a tracking spell on her before closing his eyes. He still heard the slightly exasperated breath of air and the door sliding closed though, smirking.Narcissa’s voice spoke up. “Why’d you choose to join us instead of your brother?”He could hear Rasabstan’s eyes rolling, voice irritated. “He’s been ditching me for Snape for weeks now and had the nerve to try to tell me off for making a small joke at the boy’s hair.” There was a huff. “Rod’s just… he’s not the same.”“No, he’s not.” His voice was a gentle murmur, eyes still closed. “Rodolphus is courting someone sane that likes him back mutually… That’s considered to be an important, if not the most important milestone in a Wizard’s life.”There was a pause and a sigh as if the boy hadn't even considered that. “I just- I-... I don’t like it.”Eyes slipping open to look at the boy lazily, he looked up at the Lestrange with assessing eyes. “And is that because you think Severus isn’t good for Rodolphus, or because you’re jealous?” The tension in the compartment got thicker and Harry sat up slowly, leaning back against the window. “I knew these twins. Brothers. They both found nice girls, but in the end, both of them were miserable because they weren’t together.”There wasn’t a word, the silence thick and oppressive.“Then, one of them was killed.” Harry’s voice was so gentle in the silence that it felt like honey rolling off his tongue. His eyes locked onto Rabastan’s tense frame. “You may think it wrong- may have been told by someone else that all your life- but do you think when the war starts the enemy will care who you married to hide those feelings for?”A thick fist hit the wall to the side of his head, but he barely blinked as Rabastian snarled at him. “Shut up.”Shugging, he rolled his eyes. “Fine, but the souls of the unhappy stay with me when they die and let me tell you now, it’s not a pretty sight- the end of the world... So I would take my advice and try to avoid it.” Without another word he shifted his head, closing his eyes again.He could hear the compartment door being thrown open, feet stomping out before the bench dipped and Luna laid her head in his lap once more. "Did you think he would take that well Harry?" His sister's voice was quiet."No." His hand moved to stroke her soft hair, and the sigh he gave was lined with weary tiredness that gave away just how old he felt. "But do you blame me for not wanting to see him end up like George?"A long pause- before his hand was caught, smaller fingers twining with his. "I could never blame you for something like that Harry. Never..."There was little talk the rest of the train ride.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Harry had on big mirrored sunglasses as he exited the Hogwarts Express, moving to help Luna out of the train. Feeling something prick his magic, he blinked at the weightless feeling that came over him, as if he’d drank a whole cauldron of calming drought.Feeling calm and relaxed? In this economy?That was definitely the imperius curse.Shaking off the curse like water off a raincoat, he hooked arms with Luna, looking over to where a man in a heavy glamour was watching him. Though no glamour could cover up those familiar red eyes.Sending a fond smile the man’s way, they started to walk towards where Mortis was watching all of this with visible interest but a body was suddenly blocking their way, the white-blonde hair and pale skin giving away Abraxas Malfoy easily.Harry sighed deeply, looking at Luna. “I’ll meet you two at home.”Knowing what he meant Luna nodded, about to go, but paused and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Her voice was a whisper against his skin. “Say hello to Tom for me.” Then with a soft smile, she dipped her head at Abraxas. “Draco with bad hair.”Then she was skipping off to Mortis’ side, leaving him to laugh loudly, covering his mouth to try to stop. “Merlin! She’s right! You are Draco with bad hair!” This made the man frown, instinctively raising a hand to touch his long (and slightly stringy) hair.“Mr. Peverell… So good to finally meet you.”Spinning on his heel, he crossed his arms at the man that had his bone-white wand by his side, the platform having mostly cleared, a circle of people surrounding him that he vaguely recognized as past generations of Death Eaters. He registered that the younger generations were watching, his friends hiding worry on their faces. “Lion Volunteer and his Not-Alive Munchers!” He stepped to the side to avoid a crucio, frowning. “Um, rude?”The red eyes were burning now. “My name is LORD VOLDEMORT!”“Loaded Volcano?” This time the torture curse hit him and he laughed at his legs gave out and he fell to his knees. Panting softly as the spell was lifted, he grinned. “No, wait- I got this- Lewis Vladmir?”Another crucio, lasting longer.When it was released long fingers reached out to take hold of his mirrored glasses. “You cannot out-fly me, Harrison Peverell.” Pulling his sunglasses off only to reveal another pair of heart-shaped mirrored glasses underneath, the man growled. “What is this?!”Harry batted the man’s hand away. “You really don’t want to do that. You’ll get all overbearing and possessive and it’ll make all of this way less fun.” Blocking the next crucio sent his way with an overpowered protego, he took a second to pull himself up, transfiguring a cane out of a quill he'd put in his pocket when his legs wobbled slightly. “I really should’ve just left sooner, but I couldn’t resist seeing you, even if you do hate me at the moment… Guess that never really changes though.”“What are you talking about!” The shield blocked the curses sent his way easily.“Nothing. Just thinking aloud.” He looked around, before locking eyes with Igor Karkaroff and smirking. “You should know from your little messengers- that I see everything … So Riddle me this Batman- who is a person who lives in disguise, who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies?”The Lord reared like a snake. “How dare you-”Smiling, he pulled out a certain diadem out of his pocket and the man froze almost comically. “Don’t worry love, I’m just borrowing it. It makes a wonderful portkey though, don’t you think... Thomas?”Before the Dark Lord could react Harry was gone, the diadem disappearing with him only to appear on the ground of King’s Cross Station a second later, completely unharmed.Collapsing to the soft grass outside of the manor, he chuckled brokenly though the pain, remembering the man’s face. “Worth… it.”Luna blocked out the sun, standing over him. “Was it really?”“Oh yeah. You should have seen his face.”She shook her head. “I bet it was amusing if you endured three crucios for it.”Helping him up, she just sighed lightly, the only sign that she didn’t agree with his actions. Death had apparently gotten six kneazles, all different colors, and Harry was about ready to crucio the one grey one that had decided to rub its fur all over his dress pants. Luna, however, intercepted his wand hand before he could, moving to gently pry his wand from his hand with smiling eyes. “Now now, brother. You know how Death is about his cats.”Snarling down at the cat, for it only to look at him with indifferent yellow eyes, Harry frowned. “I don’t like it. It’s ruining my new pants.”“That’s too bad. I say that the cat gets to be as it is.” Luna smiled at his soft huff, watching him put away his wand before hooking arms with him. “Gringotts then?Harry dipped his head. “As you wish, princess.”Sliding mirrored glasses onto his face, they apparated out of the manor to a designated apparition point in Diagon Alley.They ended up stopping for ice cream, Harry getting vanilla while Luna got peppermint fudge swirl. The girl looked at his cup of off-white ice cream with a slight smile. “Really Harry? Vanilla? We both know that’s nowhere near what you like.”Chuckling softly, he shrugged. “I don’t much feel like throwing up on Koroax.”They both knew that his stomach was still having a hard time with all the sugar in the food, having lived mostly on a diet of muddy water and the meat of whatever animals he could find for practically the last century of his life, but the comment still made Luna chuckle. “I think he’d appreciate the sentiment.”“Shall we go see how our bumblebee trap is going?”Luna stood up, smiling slightly as she fixed on a spot of the wall for just a second, before moving to take his hand. “Harry, remember that little gift you gave Hermione fourth year? Can I have one?”His eye caught the beetle on the wall while he looked back at their table as if seeing if he’d missed anything, turning back to Luna with a smile. “Of course Moon. Anything for my dearest sister.”Strolling along the Alley, they got to the stone steps of Gringotts, the goblins at the door bowing their heads deeply. Harry nodded back, making a motion with his hand when one of the goblins moved to intercept Rita.The sharp eyes of the goblin caught his own and when the goblin shifted back to his position, there was a hidden grin on his lips.Harry nodded to the tellers, stopping at the end of the hall at the Head Goblin of the Main Floor. “I would like to see my account manager- it seems I have a problem that’s giving me quite the headache and would like to deal with it myself.”The Head Goblin nodded slowly, obviously already knowing of Rita’s presence. “Yes, of course, Young Master.”Goblin Ancient Koroax met them like usual, but instead of trading greetings and small talk, they were waved to follow the old goblin into a ritual room instead of their normal room. As soon as the door was closed, he unhooked his arm from Luna’s, his seeker’s eyes catching on the beetle. “Gottcha.” With a flick of his wrist, a knife was pinning the bug to the wall by its wing.Slowly the beetle shifted, moving and changing until Rita Skeeter fell to her knees, gasping at the knife in her shoulder. “What the hell!”“Goblin Law states that any magic used inside Gringotts to collect trade secrets or gain unlawful entry is prohibited and will be dealt with by a representative of the Goblin Nation.” The Goblin Ancient’s voice was dry.Harry moved forward, pulling his dagger from her easily, grin sharp. “And guess what that law states? I have the right to kill you. Legally.” At the girl’s panicked sob, he chuckled. “This is better than I had hoped to get out of this break. Much more fun...”“No- no please-” The girl tried to crawl back with her good arm but ended up just pressing herself against the wall. “You don’t have to-”He groaned, turning to look at Luna. “What is it with all the pathetic begging! And the manipulation!” He glared at the now sobbing girl, grabbing her hair and yanking her up to his level, voice a hiss. “If you’re going to try to convince me, do it right. I know you’re a snake, how about you use that silver tongue of yours! Impress me!”The girl watched him back up, and at his impatient snapping, moved to stand shakily. “I-” She sniffed to try to clear the nasally tone of voice she had. Tilting her head, she smiled wobbly. “You’re kind of hot, you know…” She started to unbutton her shirt. “Maybe a good shag and we’ll forget about-”There was a soft scream as a golden dagger sunk into her other shoulder, the girl forgetting about her pathetic seduction tactic to go back to crying.Harry turned on Luna with a frown. “Do I look like a fool?” At his sister’s soft giggle, he stalked over to the girl, kicking her to the floor easily and bending over to look her in the eyes. “I had such high hopes for the bitch that used to make my life a living hell, whose silver tongue was renowned for being the worst in the Wizarding World… but to find that you slept your way up to the top? I am disappointed, Rita. Very very disappointed.”She whimpered. “I- I’m sor-sorry.”“What do you think Moon? How should I do this one?”There was a soft hum before Luna moved to wrap her arms around his waist, head on his shoulder. “As much as I like the idea of seeing what would happen if you pull her wings off, I think that one of those torture spells you found in Russia would do.”Sending her a smile, he pulled out his wand. “What a lovely reminder… I think that we’ll go with water for her.”“Appropriate choice.” His sister pulled away, moving back to where Koroax was standing.With a flick of his wand, the girl wretched to coughing up water- but she couldn’t seem to force enough water up to clear our her airway. After a few seconds, the water started coming up bloody, the girl convulsing one last time before going still.He hummed, moving to Luna’s side and taking her arm. “Well then. Down to business then, I suppose.” His eyes looked to the Goblin Ancient watching with sharp eyes. “I assume you can clean this up? I would like her to be dumped somewhere public… preferably with an Angel’s Trumpet flower nearby.”“That can be arranged, Young Master.” The Ancient dipped his head.  
The screams of Igor Karkaroff rang out through the dungeons of the Malfoy manor and when they stopped, a thin man moved away from the limp body of the barely-graduated teen.

Avery Sr. was one of the inner circle to go to school with him, so Voldemort didn’t sneer at the blood he was painted in as the man dipped his head. “My lord… Karkaroff has indeed been sneaking your plans to Dumbledore.”

The weight of that sentence hung in the air.

“Does this mean...”

Voldemort hummed with a scowl on his face. It seemed to add up. The bizarre knowledge of his attacks, the flaunting of his Horcrux, the easy ability to block his curses, the way he’d put Greyback and those damn spiders down so easily…

Well, it seemed that Harry Peverell would have to be kept alive after all, but he was still going to scoop out those pretty eyes and lock him in the darkest of the cells after he made the boy watch his sister die.

A seer would still be useful to him, broken or not.

Now if he could just get the boy in the same room as him…

Oh, how to tempt fate so…

Voldemort smiled cruelly, red eyes flashing. “I think the Malfoy Yule Ball will need two new invitations this year Abraxas...”
 Harry yawned, pulling a letter with thick paper from the foot of a black raven. Opening it, he scratched at the back of his head and groaned softly in horror at the message it held.Luna slid over in her socks, snatching the paper from his hands. “Ooooh! A ball! I’m having a Cinderella moment here!”“You know this is a trap.” There was no mistaking it. He could feel the evil plotting, even through the closed and locked soul bond. “It’s probably the most obvious trap to ever be set! We can’t go!”His sister shrugged. “I’m sure that it is, but with your ‘seer’ abilities he’d be insane to kill you, especially in public. He’s not that crazy just yet.”Harry frowned deeper. “Then if not me, he’s going to be directing his anger onto you- and that’s not okay with me.”They both fell silent.“But Harry, we’ve been in this Manor all break! I would love a chance to go out! We can avoid all the people, but I really want to catch up with Narcissa- she said she would give me some advice for stores to...”He sighed deeply, faintly listening to her rant on fashion and plans for her inevitable wedding with Bellatrix.
Why was it that he could never say no to the people he loved?
“Only if you stay at my side the whole time.”Luna smiled brilliantly. Dressed to the nines (as was appropriate for a high-class ball), Luna and Harry stepped out of the floo, and made their way down into the crowd. He could feel the eyes on them, but he just focused on where Luna was smiling and looking around Malfoy Manor in excitement. “Is it to your liking?”The girl beamed, radiant in her soft flowy blue dress, eyes sparkling like pools of gleaming water. “I love it, Harry. Thank you.”When they reached the bottom of the stairs, a man met them, smile as tight as his blonde hair being pulled into a ribbon. “Heirs Peverell. A pleasure to finally meet you.”“You mean... out of public, Lord Malfoy?” Harry grinned slowly when the man flinched just slightly. “But of course, we are pleased to make the acquaintance of the father to one of our close friends.”Luna unhooked her arm, curtsying while he dipped into a bow. “A pleasure, Lord Malfoy.”The man seemed to regain his composure, eyes fixing on Harry. “I hear you are very talented in school… and how is your divination classes? Lucius tells me that the teacher is most obviously a fraud.”It was more of a blunt question, but he expected that was because of the jab earlier. He just smiled politely, tilting his head. “I don’t take divination. You must have been misinformed, crystal balls aren’t really my thing.” Hooking arms again with his sister, he started passed the man, muttering just loud enough for the man to hear: “Though I would stay away from dragon-pox if I were you.”And when the sound of a glass shattering was heard, he just grinned lazily.“Was that very nice?” Luna sighed a bit. “You know that dragon-pox is a very hard disease to diagnose ahead of time.”Harry winked at his sister. He knew it was a bit of a dick move, but it was both satisfying and had the intention of helping Lucius, so he couldn't bring himself to regret it. “Then maybe he’ll put more money towards a better cure.”The ballroom was draped in white, floor covered in a thin layer of snow that seemed to melt where you stepped only to appear again and there were thousands of twinkling lights making the room glow softly.They made their way to the small bar that was privately staffed, ordering two glasses of wine. Casting a wandless charm to check for any poisons by habit, he noticed Luna’s glass sparkle in warning, taking it from her hand. “Oh my… It seems that someone's trying to poison you.” He tilted his head, turning to a man just far enough out of earshot and raising his voice. “Sir, pardon me, but I think my sister accidentally grabbed your glass.”The man thanked him, taking the glass, and Harry watched in amusement as practically six different people tried to tackle the man to get the glass away from him.“Hmmm… I think I might actually drink the next glass you’re handed that has something harmful in it.” He grinned slyly at Luna. “Good day to die young, am I right sister of mine?”“Always.” Luna hummed, smile just barely hidden away.A few people around them paled and before he could pick up the glass that had replaced Luna’s last glass of white wine, it was snatched away by a waiter. “Sorry- sorry sir I- that glass was dirty...”Harry huffed just a little, small smile curving his lips. “Such bad service…”“Maybe you should leave a bad rating on Yelp.” Luna deadpanned.Harry almost spit out his sip of (unpoisoned) red wine, before throwing his head back with a laugh that bubbled up from his lips, beaming at where she was smirking slightly. “Maybe I should. What do you think? Two stars for being poisoned?”Luna snorted. “Three at least. Did you see how fast they corrected their mistake?” She held up her (third and finally unpoisoned) glass of white wine. “At least they didn’t try to stab you like that one time in Bulgaria for refusing to drink their poison- and you still gave them two stars.”
((He caught sight of a certain red-eyed man seething out of the corner of his eye and chuckled slightly.))
“Harry? Luna?” They turned to see Barty looking worriedly at them. “Why are you… here?”He smiled widely. “Got an invitation and decided it was improper not to show. You see Severus or the others?”Before his question could be answered, a taller younger Bartemius Crouch Sr. moved to the shoulder of his son. “Mr. Peverell. I’ve heard so much about you… perhaps my son here has talked of me?”It was a play for information, clear and plain, and he was more than happy to comply. “Well sir, the imperius curse is not a very good curse, in case you didn’t know.” The man blinked and he smiled somewhat cruelty. “Also- maybe avoid getting buried in a pumpkin patch.”By now there were more than a couple of people listening in intently.“Actually, no I take that back. Someone who thinks throwing people in Azkaban without a trial deserves that kind of death.” The crowd stilled and a hand was wrapping around his arm tightly, pulling him away as he hissed at the man, anger bubbling up in his chest. “At least fact-check, bloody wanker!”When they were on the other side of the ballroom, wine in hand and Luna’s arm around his, he sighed. “Too far?”She made a noise that seemed to imitate the shrug she seemed like she wanted to give him. “Maybe a little- not that he didn’t deserve it.” Seeing his frown, she pulled his glass away and set both of their barely touched drinks down. “Dance with me?”Nodding, he moved with her out to the dance floor, closing his eyes and letting himself be led by her as they were used to doing when they had downtime in their traveling the world. Normally Tom would be watching them, criticizing their steps or their timing until they were up to his standards- but now it was just him, her, and the soft music.After a couple of songs, they moved to the table of food, each getting a few small sweets and letting themselves be swarmed in the people that had been watching them avidly. Pretending not to hear certain questions he didn’t know or just didn’t feel like talking about, he had a wonderful time giving out advice that was less than helpful.A question on laws?
“Did you know that the Hogwarts thestrals know exactly where the Ministry is?”
Something about potions?
“Well let me tell you- Gillyweed is best given by an enemy.”
Maybe a question on dark creatures?
“Hippogriffs are actually very sensitive to inflated egos… isn’t that fascinating?”
The clearest answer anyone had pried from him was when he got into a half an hour argument that ended in him stating that not only would the Chudley Cannons never be good, but the next red-haired female seeker for the Holyhead Harpies was a lying bitch.(Luna had put her head in her hands when she heard that, but he was also sure it was because she was trying not to laugh so…)The crowd just looked tired at this point and some guy cleared his throat. “And… any opinion on budding businesses?”Snapping, he looked to Luna. “Damn! Remind me to invest in those muggle companies- what were they- Lemon and Megasoft or whatever they’re called.”His sister giggled but nodded.“And any… wizarding companies?” The crowd leaned in.Harry looked at Luna. “A few broom companies are going to be big soon, and there’s one other… but the creators are otherwise unreachable for a few more years.” They shared grins at the thought of seeing the twins grow up again.Someone sighed as if there was no point trying to get really clear answers out of him (there really wasn’t) and a waiter moved over to look at him. “How are you liking your food, Heir Peverell?”And then the grin was falling from his lips as he looked down at the plate he’d barely touched, knowing that eating something so sugary as he wanted would lead to him throwing up later. “Better when it’s not coated in ash… but I fear that there is nothing to do for that.”Luna rubbed his shoulder, taking the plate from his hands gently. “Doesn’t everything taste better without ash and radiation?”The joke fell a little flat.“Why would you eat ash ?” It was some snotty pureblood woman that spoke up and he tried not to reach for his wand, curse her for her ignorance.Instead, he looked up, eyes cold and more serious than they had been all night. “Have you seen the world end around your ears ma’am? Seen civilizations wiped of the map with just a-” He snapped and a few people flinched back, “-shuttering bang? Because I have… The world will end in fire and blood that will run in rivers, there is no ice or slow creeping death for any of us. Only the blast of a thousand atomic bombs falling from the sky like rain.”A horrified silence descended from the crowd.“Harry, darling, I believe that’s our que...” With the most brilliant smile in the room, Luna guided him towards the sitting room with the floo.A hand caught his arm, slight tingles spreading through him. “And what of my future?” The silky voice of his soulmate made every hair stand on end, his blood almost vibrating.Luna looked back at him, concerned. “Harry-”“Five words: Diary, ring, locket, cup, crown.”The man hissed, voice a low whisper. “Start telling me your secrets Peverell or I start casting curses.”Harry was left with two choices. Tell the man something and possibly have someone get hurt anyway… or turn around. So he did just that, turning and locking eyes with the man’s glamoured face. “How about you suck a dick, Thomas.”With a cry of agony, a bright light surrounded the man and he tore his arm from the (now weak) grip, grabbing Luna’s hand and running for the other room.They were two steps from the floo when a low voice laced with anger rang out. “Harry!”
Oh shit. Tom was pissed.
But neither of them stopped, Luna throwing the powder down and flooing out-The name of their manor was off of his tongue when red eyes met his and a green curse the color of his eyes hit his chest.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Irrational anger.

Voldemort's mind was whirling.

This boy had the gall- the nerve to dare casually throw his Horcrux items back in his face like that?

And for some reason, his blood was boiling hotter than usual, stemming from the point of contact they were holding. Voldemort looked down at the arm he had his hand wrapped all the way around. The boy was thin, but his forearm was solid under his hand and he found himself wondering just how the boy had gotten that impressive layer of muscle that lined his body.

Then his focus was once again diverted, the combination of a name so much like his (yet not) and a vulgar suggestion falling from the boy’s mouth before-

Green eyes, the color of the killing curse.

He tried so very hard to hold on but his head was splitting and he was falling to the floor, a cry of agony slipping past his lips. It was like hellfire, burning his insides out, setting fire to the deepest parts of his personality. But with the fire came the healing cool- the ice of knowledge.
Vold- no, Tom - growled out the one name he could. “Harry!”
No, don’t leave him here! No- come back! Harry, where are you? Harry? You-… you left me here! How dare you run from me! How dare you act like I wasn’t by your side for so long!

Thoughts screaming at him, he had his wand in hand in a second, propping himself up and catching sight of green flames. Anger pushing him to punish his soulmate, make him feel the pain that Tom felt for being left behind for so long-  he cast a wordless curse- the green light hitting Harry just as the green flames swallowed him.

A thick silence fell over the crowd around him, but he could care less, ignoring the pain in his heavy limbs as he stood. Looking at his hands, he found they had color- a novelty after being a disembodied spirit for almost a hundred and fifty years.

Looking around the room, he found that the few non-Death Eaters had already been stunned, the rest of the group looking at him as if he had shed his own skin.  
Conjuring a mirror, he looked at his reflection. Smooth dark hair, high cheekbones, fair skin- all as they were before he started to go insane with so many soul shards- but the only difference to how he had looked in his mid-twenties was his deep maroon eyes. They were no longer a vivid red, but in a vain way, he almost liked this color (Harry would like them too if he was here to see you- his brain supplied traitorously). His face twisted into a scowl, letting the mirror dissolve into nothingness again. “The brat fixes me back up and then leaves? How… petty.”
A man approached- Abraxas, as he realized after a long moment- eyes uncertain. “Milord… was that... a spell? What did the Peverell boy do?”

“Peverell?” He thought on the name for a moment, before smirking. “Ah yes- Harry… As completely insufferable as he can be, the boy did me a favor. It’s dark magic to piece together someone’s sanity, but he did it, and very well at that.”

The elder Malfoy gaped.

Tom snapped his fingers, frowning, a thought coming into his head. “Crouch. Where is Barty Crouch?”

A boy stepped forward, looking both awed and terrified. “M- my Lord?”

“Tell me, Barty…” He moved forward just a bit, his height towering over the teen. “Did I really order a hit on Luna Peverell?”

Please tell me no...

Blinking, the boy nodded. “You said to- to wound them as bad as we could get away with, but he was too vigilant and she was just… there.”

Cursing under his breath, he moved to pace the floor of the ballroom. “No wonder he didn’t find me earlier- Luna might forgive me, but knowing him he’s going to pitch a fit over it- unless…” He paused, before shaking his head, muttering and twirling his wand in hand as he paced. “No, elaborate gifts would just piss him off more in this situation…”

“My Lord…” Avery Sr. stepped up to Abraxas’ side, another of his inner circle. “Last you spoke of it, you were hoping to capture the Peverell siblings, make the boy watch as you killed the girl and then were planning to scoop his eyes out?”

A few of the students shuddered- much less the other Death Eaters not in the inner circle.

Ah. Yes... he did say that- didn't he? Well, better correct his former self's mistakes before it cost him his darling Harry.
He stopped with his eyes as cold as ice, voice like sharp knives. “Listen to me clearly and listen well. Harry and Luna Peverell will not be harmed, unless you want me to cut you open slowly and feed you your own insides, keeping you alive only until you beg for your own death. One scratch on either of those two and I will burn you and any of your extended family at the stake.” He could feel his magic whirling around him like a storm (and wasn’t that the most wonderful feeling after not having magic of his own after so long). “Harrison James Peverell is my equal in every sense of the word, my soul bonded, and one of the most powerful wizards you will ever face. If your try to touch him or his sister- who I happen to be quite fond of- you will not like the consequences…”
At this, the room proceeded to gape at him.

He turned to the group of students that had made friends with his green-eyed brat. “You lot, come with me. We have things to discuss.”

Tom would find him.

He would find Harry if he had to rip apart Hogwarts apart stone by stone.
  Funny thing, dying.His vision was always the last thing to return and hearing the first, so he heard Luna’s worried murmurs, the monotone voice of Death before he could see them or even move. Then came sensation, filling every part of his body with a wave of pinpricks and needle-like sensations that made him twitch before he finally blinked up at the two people looking at him.“Good morning. Have a nice nap?” Death sneered down at him. “Seems that soulmate of yours never gets tired of killing you.”It seemed Harry was lying half-out of the fireplace, soot covering him, and he groaned as he half-crawled half-scooted out of the fireplace before standing and stretching. “Fuckity buggering fuck- that hurt more than I remembered.”Luna hummed, casting a cleaning spell over him and then handing him a bowl of soup. “This might help.”Reaching out, the three of them looked at where his hands were still shaking slightly- a side effect of having a younger body that wasn’t used to the effects of dying via the killing curse.  His sister drew the bowl back, her smile gentle. “It’s okay- why don’t you come back to the table, have a seat?”He nodded slowly, but his mind was elsewhere, on crimson red eyes and he hoped that Tom wasn’t too mad that he’d run. Luna sat, reading calmly as she sat on the Hogwarts Express. Harry was taking a meeting with the goblins at the moment- hence the lack of his presence- but she could tell by the faces of their friends as they filed into the compartment that they believed the worst.There was only a 15% chance that Tom had actually said the name of the killing curse, as he was much more used to wordless magic, but still, only one curse had that vibrant green color.“Hey, Luna…” Narcissa sat down across from her, face holding a thin smile. “Where- where’s Harry?”The few people in the compartment paused in their conversations to look at her.She looked up from her book, face expressionless, said, “He’s… not around.”All of them flinched, Rabastan and Barty (who had less control over their pureblood masks) paling.That was good for her to know though because it meant not only was Tom back, but he had but some type of blanket protection over their heads. Not that she expected the man to do anything different (he was quite possessive), but still, good to know. Harry had a knack for getting into bad situations and the extra layer of protection would also help in their quest to hunt the infamous bumblebee.After that conversation was jilted, so she buried herself back in her book on thread magics- a type of wandless, silent magic that was used for charms, created during the witch burnings to do magic and not get detected- but soon enough they were changing over to the carriages.Taking her time in walking over to the Slytherin table, she ignored the assessing and curious looks, sitting down next to where their group usually sat- leaving a space next to her.Harry would have a fun time making his entrance later- he always did like to cause some chaos. Harry was walking through the halls, knowing that most of the students were already in the Great Hall. Slipping in silently, he ignored the pull of the soulmate bond, looking instead to the Slytherin table. Noticing the table was all looking at Luna, he put a silent Notice-Me-Not charm on himself.The whole of the silver and green table seemed to be half suspicious of his sister, half wanting to find out what was so special about her, and he saw a boy move to sit next to her.“Excuse me, but I think I’d like to sit next to my sister.” The charm was gone and 80% of the table startled as if they’d been shocked, the other 20% of the Slytherins just staring at him as if he had literally risen from the dead in front of them.The boy stumbled back, voice a whisper. “How…”Ignoring that, he smiled down at Luna. “Sorry I had to leave you on the train, it seems that the Goblins had some sort of miscommunication that I had to sort out.” Shaking his head, he remembered the unimpressed faces when he’d told them they couldn’t trust the magic-made death reports and to not actually file them unless they didn’t hear from him or Luna within four days.Barty was the first to break. “But- but you died!”He grinned sharply, teeth showing for just a moment before he composed himself to his normal smirk. “Funny… That’s what the goblins said.”
Ah- and there was the famous wizarding paranoia- though, if all fairness, the Goblins were 99% of the time right about deaths unless dark or obscure magic was involved.
“Anywho… I hear we have a new defense teacher.” He could feel Tom’s gaze which was currently trying to pry open his mind and rummage through it, looking at Luna with a half-smirk. “I bet he sucks.” The scorching fire of fury ran down the bond, making him suppress a shiver.However, Luna just laughed brightly from next to him.“What’s his name- Thomas Slytherin or something? I heard that since this position was left in such a hurried manner, that the board had to put in someone and that they overruled Dumbledore’s suggestion with a unanimous vote for Mr. Slytherin.” He felt a flash of pleasure and pride down the bond, sneering and stabbing the pancakes he’d requested for dinner. “Bet he’s a prick though. My spidey-senses are tingling, telling me he’s trouble and a total prat.”It was quite funny, the mix of the irritation down the bond and the way the table would freeze as if he was going to be set on fire every time he said something even mildly insulting.Luna, however, must’ve thought differently and leaned into his side slightly. He melted at the causal touch, leaning back into her more and greedily accepting the calm heat she exuded. “Harry, darling, give him a chance or I fear I might have to make you sleep in the chair by the fire.”Harry’s eyes flew open, brows furrowed, ignoring the smug amusement. “Luna? But-”“Nope. You’ll give this defense teacher the same chance as every other defense teacher or I’ll kick you out of bed and you can deal with sleeping by the fire.”
Exasperation.
He grinned. He’d been antagonistic at worst to his defense teachers, suspicious at best, and now he was given free rein with everything except killing or cursing. “I can do that.”The rest of the table looked as if they were regretting coming back to Hogwarts. Walking with Luna back to the Slytherin common room, he perched on the arm of the chair by the fire she’d curled up in.“I'm Thomas Slytherin, the new Head of Slytherin.” The smooth voice had him stiffening, even as Luna’s hand moved to wrap around his ankle, grounding him. “Slughorn had expressed his desire to not deal with the duties that being Head of House entailed… and here I am.”The message was clear.
Notice me. Look at me. I’m right here. Look my way.
Taking a deep breath he looked up into the glamoured brown eyes, seeing that the man was more than angry- he was furious.“As this is the middle of the year I expect all of you already know the rules that come with the Great House of Slytherin…” The man smiled, but it was cold, dangerous. “But to make sure, Mr. Peverell, can you list for me what the first rule is?”Not able to look away from those eyes he took a deep breath, feeling the hand around his ankle tighten briefly. “If I am correct, the first rule is never to be caught, sir.”Slowly, the crowd parting for him, the man stalked over until he was looming over Harry. “No, Mr. Peverell.” The intense eyes flashed red, glamour flickering, the air between them charged with something raw and hurt. “The first rule is to never leave a fellow Slytherin to fend for themselves.”He swallowed thickly. “And the second rule is to do what you must to protect yourself, Mr. Slytherin. So if the person you were supposed to stay with was nothing but trouble, would it not be your moral responsibility as a Slytherin to keep yourself out of trouble?”Luna cleared her throat. “Fascinating debate aside, my brother and I will be retiring... if it’s okay with you sir?”The blank mask of indifference was back and somehow that hurt more than him being angry at Harry. The man waved his hand, turning his back on them as he walked away. “Yes, you’re all dismissed.”As soon as the door to their room was closed behind them, Harry sunk into his armchair, bringing his knees up to his chest. “Luna?”His sister hummed from where she was undoing the braids her hair was in.“Do you think we made the right choice- waiting this long?”Luna glanced over to him, before looking back to the mirror she was using. “No.” Her voice was soft. “No, I think we really hurt him… but I understand. It was seeing all those people, the ones you lost, wasn’t it?”Harry tilted his head back, looking up at the ceiling. “Yeah.”“Then in time, I’m sure he’ll understand.” Padding over, she smiled and ruffled his hair slightly. “Don’t stay up too late, numskull, we do have classes tomorrow.”Sticking his tongue out at her childishly, he watched her get into bed, before standing and stretching. Leaning over and grabbing his worn copy Marauder's Map off the side table, he pulled on the magic of Death’s cloak and silently made his way out of the Slytherin common room.He had time to kill, why not hit two birds with one stone and add a rat in as well?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was a novelty to be sane, fully whole again and yet… yet he wasn’t complete.

Not really. Not with that gaping hole in his heart, the one that with every heartbeat hurt him a little more, the one that made him want to curl in on himself, scream out in pain.

But these emotions...
He’d missed the smell of the low-hanging rain clouds that kissed the earth leaving behind a slight chill and the smell of something so familiar he ached, but this empty cold chill that settled in him? No- no he hadn’t missed that one bit.
Why did you leave?- were those years nothing to you?- please come back- did you really ever care about me at all?- why didn’t you come for me as we planned?- did I do something?- was it me that messed this all up?- I'm sorry- please come back- why did you leave?- am I not the one you want to love anymore?- sorry- I'm so sorry- please come back...

Over and over and over.

Thoughts whispered like poisonous gas in the air around him, making it hard for him to breathe.

Tom closed his eyes, feeling like he’d done nothing but revert back to the weak little boy in the orphanage as warm drops of saltwater ran down his pale cheeks.
  “Come on, why don’t you scream?” Harry grabbed the boy’s chin, nails digging into his chin before he let go and stepped away, footsteps muffled. “It would make me very very happy if you did?”The boy blubbered, eyes darting around in the darkness. Bound in thick ropes, Pettegrew hadn’t stopped shaking and twitching at every little sound the Forbidden Forest made around them. “P- please.”“NO!” Backhanding the boy, Harry snarled, the bloodthirsty creature he kept locked deep inside his chest writhing- guilt and shame and anger making it lash out. His voice was sharp, deadly. “You will scream… or you will run.”Leveling his wand at the boy, he cast a curse, leaving a small grey rat in the boy’s place.“Run, little rat… run.”With a terrified squeak, the small rat started to scamper away.Laughing, Harry shifted, the dark of the night turning into shades of green. Eyes tracking the rat’s movement, he flicked his tail and darted after the small creature.The hunt was on.  
How far he’d fallen.

Sitting alone against the edge of the Forbidden Forest, watching the stars and wondering who was causing that

happiness

and
exhilaration
that his little soulmate was feeling so strongly. Wondered if Harry could feel just how shattered he felt. Wondered if he even cared.

And wasn’t that a sad fact.

Tom wasn’t even moping like a teenage girl over Harry’s good looks or charm or- no that wasn’t really what he missed, what he was craving like a starved man.

No, it was the way that Harry would laugh, bright and clear like the sun when Luna would say something silly, or dark and promising pain to whoever was opposing him. The casually affectionate comments, the way he’d always try to get Tom to move things to freak out muggles, the soft gooey looks he’d give him when Tom said something ‘nice’.

For so long, since Hogwarts had been reduced to rubble, his home had been with Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood. He’d found a home in their morning rituals, their gentle teasing, their nightmare-induced cuddle sessions.

And now- with this horribly damp chill hanging over him, slowly seeping into his very bones- he wondered just what he’d do without that.

Hogwarts wasn’t his home anymore.

And didn’t that hurt more than his soul fusing back together had?
  Covered in blood and tufts of grey fur, Harry hummed happily as he made his way out of the forest. Blood singing with the leftover adrenaline, like a high, he noticed a familiar man sitting against a tree on the edges of the forest.Laughing slightly, he grinned sarcastically even as the man jolted, ignoring the maroon eyes as he sat down in the grass only a few feet away from his soulmate. “We’re really fucked, aren’t we?”Even as mad as the man had every right to be, as much pain he could feel fluttering through the bond, the red wine-stained lips curved up slightly. “We sure are.”The stars were out in full light, twinkling down at them as if watching them.He imagined it would be a hell of a show, two rotten souls constantly orbiting only to crash violently every time they got close enough to touch. Two monsters trying to save the world they refused to let die, one starting in pain and blood and ending in understanding, the other born of understanding but resorting to blood to feel something- anything.“My parents- as horrible as dad and his assorted bigoted friend are… they’re alive here. It was strange. Surreal. And seeing Barty, Regulus, Lucius, hell even Severus so very young…”Tom didn’t speak, didn’t look at him. “I understand why you did it.”He looked back up at the sky. “No, you don’t.”There was that telltale clench in the man’s jaw. “No… you’re right. I don’t.” Eyes flashing red, the man snarled at him like a wounded animal lashing out in hurt. “Because the only family I ever had left me alone with half a soul to try to kill them!”“Will it help if I say sorry?”“No.”They sat in silence, the night still and cold around them.Harry sighed deeply, moving to pick a tuft of grey fur off of his robe and throwing it in the grass. “Then… thank you.”Incredulous eyes looked at him, wide in the dim light of the castle. “For what?”“I don’t know. Killing Karkaroff? Not immediately trying to kill me at the train station?”Tom huffed. “You’re impossible.”He felt a cleaning charm wash over him and smiled. “I’m pretty sure if I was impossible, I wouldn’t exist, but okay.” Moving to stand up, he stretched, before leaning down and pressing a kiss to the man’s temple. “Get some sleep, Thomas. I hear you have classes to teach in the morning.”It wouldn’t make up for everything, but it was a start.Walking towards the castle, blood singing for a reason other than his sated blood-lust, Harry chuckled softly and shook his head.Silly Dark Lord.He’d always have a home with them- As if Harry would ever let him leave.  
Looking back up to the stars, Tom let himself smile.

Good. He felt good.
Harry, you should know not to invite the devil in for tea- he thought, and the grin turned to something darker, more possessive- Because once you do, he’ll never leave.
Picking himself up, moping like a teenage girl thankfully forgotten, he whistled a funeral dirge as he walked up the hill to Hogwarts.

Now…

What to do about that old man inhabiting the home he was determined to make his palace?

The old goat was stinking up the halls that he and his lovely green-eyed angel would make their home- and he didn’t like that a single bit.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Was it something magnetic in their blood?

Perhaps just this itch of some type of hold that they couldn’t reach- couldn’t fill without each other, as if one of the final puzzle pieces that held them together had been switched and they held part of each other in their twisted hearts.

Tom couldn’t say exactly what it was that found him here, unable to look away from where Harry was laughing with his friends as Luna poked at him with a smile, that rawness aching as he wished he could be next to them. He just wanted to feel the warmth of that smile directed his way, but they’d made their beds.

They were fighting and he had to stick to his side or the boy would never give him another inch again.

But when Luna stood from the table at the end of lunch, saying something to Harry in a whisper and then starting to where he’d just stood, he tilted his head slightly. Greeting her with a thin smile, he motioned for her to walk with him. “Good morning Luna. How are you?”

“I’m alright.” Then those understanding eyes fixed on him, a hint of a smile on her lips. “I see you finally got to teach, just like you always wanted.”

“I did- I do.” But his words were empty, leaving more than a few things unsaid hanging in the air-

But now I just really want to be close to the two of you. I want to be able to feel at home again and that’s really why I’m here- I just want… whatever I wasn’t able to have before.

Smile softening the further they walked into the castle, a smaller hand reached out to take his. “I know. It hurts.” Her laugh was soft. “And Harry can feel it too, though he’s been resorting to his usual coping mechanisms to feel better… I give it another day or two at maximum before you get yourself an armful of apologetic craziness.”

This turned his lips up slightly.

He could do a day or two. That was easy compared to the long dance of hundreds of years falling in love with the gleam in those green eyes and not being able to even reach out to feel the heat under his soulmate’s golden skin.

“Thank you.” Then as they got to his classroom, he pushed the door closed and pulled the shorter girl he was so fond of into his arms. She just let him cling to her for a long moment, tracing small patterns on his back as he rested his chin on her head and soaked in the easy affection. “I heard you were injured and wanted to tell you that anything you could ever ask for, I would give if just to gain your forgiveness back, as I never wished for you-”

“Just… be easy on Harry alright?” Luna’s voice was soft, her fingers not stopping her light patterns. “He’s still a bit mad from everything and even with Death’s help… he’s been missing that piece you have for much longer.”

He could imagine as he felt the hollow feeling in his own chest acutely- but for how many years even before they’d come back to change things had Harry felt the same thing? It was almost no wonder his angel had gone a bit mad with blood slicking those pretty hands of his…

Pulling back, he nodded and then reached out to fix her long silvery-grey hair. “Of course.”

“Then I’ll see you this afternoon, but for now I have to go to Herbology.”

Tom watched the girl he had a unique fondness for start out of the room, taking only a moment to wish he’d asked her to stay before shaking his head and moving to the blackboard so he could start to write out his name and the few rules he had for his classroom.

Unsurprisingly, the day went far slower than it had any right to go.

The younger years were too scared of him to get on his nerves and the older years were actually interested in what he said so teaching gave him less trouble than he thought, but when it got to the last class of his day he was just about to think that Luna had been saying her parting remark as a sort of ‘good day’ when the girl herself walked in after Harry with a small frown on her face. “That’s a ridiculous idea, Harry.”

“No, but it would be hilarious! Imagine walking into a top-security base to check on your nuclear warheads and finding out they’d been replaced with giant gummy bears!”

Despite himself, he found a hint of a smile tracing his lips in humor at the boy’s wild imagination, speaking up despite himself. “Hypothetically, how would you do such a thing? Transfiguration would eventually go back to normal, not to mention that muggles use things to make the security of those places quite tight.”

Harry sat down with a small snort, kicking his feet up onto the table in the picture of uncaring grace. “You would have to be invisible, of course, but you could just vanish the warheads and replace them with giant conjured candy.”

“Ah, of course.” He rolled his eyes slightly. “Simple.”

“Well, it would be! I bet you that I can do it in less than 24 hours!” The boy stared at him challengingly.

Tom knew better than to let his Harry do something that could get him in trouble with the acting government, much preferring the idea of letting his darling boy wreak havoc on the muggles when Dumbledore was dead and his loyal underlings had secured power in the Ministry. So he just arched an eyebrow calmly. “I’m not doubting you, Harry, nor am I about to take that bet.”

This seemed to make the other cringe slightly, feeling the guilt though the bond and just turning away so he wouldn’t give in to make the horrible feeling leave his darling alone.

The class was quiet and sort of refrained from what he had expected in seeing Harry take over the Slytherin table this morning, but then again the boy was quieter than normal too, so he kept an eye on the mop of messy black hair as he moved around the room to help with dueling stances.

“You’re staring. I can feel it.” Green eyes glanced at where he was indeed staring, narrowing slightly in aggravation, though he could tell it wasn’t really directed at him. “Just say it, whatever it is.”

Tom pointed slightly at the boy’s stance. “You’re standing wrong.”

With a slight wrinkle of his nose, Harry peered down at his own stance for a moment as if to check before frowning at him. “Bullshit.”

“I should really take you up on all those curses and wash your mouth out with soap.” The threat was idle if spoken cooly as he made his way over to his soulmate and before Harry could respond he put a hand on the boy’s shoulder to push them back slightly before pressing his back straighter. “But for now I will just focus on correcting your mistakes in posture, as you know how much I hate that just as equally.”
Green eyes held a slight smirk, a soft huff of a laugh coming out as a short breath from slightly upturned lips. “Apologies for not being perfect, Tom. Not everyone’s as good as you.”
“Not unperfect, just… out of practice.” Then turning the slimmer shoulders and kicking one of the feet more forward, he then moved a gentle hand to raise Harry’s chin to meet his eyes. “Plus, nothing perfect is ever as pretty.”

“I… uh...”

He watched in amusement as the green eyes dilated slightly, sure his own were in the same state as the boy seemed to be at a loss for words, before pulling away and moving to eye Luna’s posture. “Wonderful. Now, a demonstration, perhaps?”

And when he felt a vague irritation and guilt and something that was almost hungry in its neediness for human contact through the bond, Tom just smiled and moved to lean against a nearby desk, pleased that both Harry and he had a study period after this class.
 
With the students packing up and trickling out slowly, he set about cleaning up the classroom idly, vanishing any dirt or crumbs of food the children had tracked in before turning to erase the blackboard.

“I’m sorry.”

Pausing and glancing back to see Harry sitting on the edge of his desk looking at his hands, he continued what he was doing. “Do you really think that I would hurt anyone who had the barest connection of fondness to you unless they went out of their way to make trouble for us? Do you understand that had you found me sooner, or even looked at me in the train station that I would have been there sooner to abate these ridiculous fears of yours? To steady that part of you that’s lashing out at everyone who ever hurt you?”

The boy was silent.

“What would have happened if I hadn’t grabbed your arm at the ball? Would you have let this go on? Would you have-” He turned just in time to see a small shimmering pearl of liquid drip from his soulmate’s cheek, the sadness and guilt hitting him full force when he’d been too caught up in himself to notice. With a soft sigh, he set aside the chalkboard eraser and cleaned his hands silently with a spell so he could run his thumb down Harry’s cheek to wipe away the tear tracks. “But then again… the past is in the past and I’m glad that you’re here, no matter any of that.”

“S-sorry-” With a small hiccup of a sob, he was pulled forward with thin fingers curling in his robes, Harry pressing his face into his chest. “I- I wasn’t ready…”

Tom just stayed silent, sure the boy would explain himself, and instead took the moment to rest a hand between the warm shoulder blades with his other carding through the raven locks gently.

And as he predicted, Harry seemed to relax slightly at the affectionate gesture, sniffing wetly and then wiggling forward on the desk to wrap himself further around Tom. “You’d always been there without actually… being there.” The other’s voice was muffled, turning his head finally to lay it on his chest as if listening to his heartbeat that would surely line up to the boy’s own. “I didn’t want us to change… I was afraid you’d hate me again.”

The admission was a whisper, Tom’s ears barely catching it, though when he did his chuckle was amused. “Never, my darling Harry.” And in a surge of affection for his silly boy, he dipped down to press a kiss to the bridge of Harry’s nose. “I wouldn’t give you up again for a million stars in the sky.”

“What about a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream?”

He hummed. “Maybe then, depending on if it also had Oreos in it.”

A fist hit his shoulder though Harry giggled wetly. “I love you too, idiot.”

Tom froze for just a moment, brain looping that sentence on repeat until he could fully break down that- yes this was happening and he had to just deal with it- before rasping out a hoarse, “Say that again?”

“Idiot?”

He flicked Harry’s ear lightly. “The other thing.”

Pulling away just enough to peer up at him with eyes that were almost luminescent as they shone in the light of the setting sun creeping in through the far windows of the classroom, the boy smiled at him brightly. “I love you.”

“I-” He swallowed, almost forgetting how to breathe for a moment, voice laced with awe even as he couldn’t bring himself to care. “Me too. I- I lo-... lov-”

“It’s okay.” And sitting up straighter, the boy beamed brighter as he brushed their noses together. “I can feel it through the bond.”

It was then that they both felt that missing puzzle piece return- not their own, but just as good- and found that they held the same colorful mosaic of pieces in their chest, their souls just two parts of one beautiful picture.