The Master of Death

Chapter6: The Order

Sirius was white as a wall, Remus trembled and Tonks' hair had taken on a shocking platinum colour.

"Harry, are you alright?" Lupin asked.

"Thought we'd almost lost you here," Sirius said, but the tremble in his voice betrayed his weak attempt at a joke

"Yeah, I think so," Harry uttered absentmindedly and he stared at the black snake in his hands. They were trembling.

With a conscious effort, Harry slowed his breathing. He was still shivering. But not only of fear. His body was brimming with energy. He had just died, hadn't he? And Death had tried to warn him, but who could've known these walls to be so damn dangerous?

A hysterical laugh was building in his chest.

He had died. And yet he was living.

"Third time's the charm..." Harry muttered, crazed thoughts cursing through his mind. A chuckle broke over his lips.

"Can you walk?" Tonks asked, successfully distracting him and keeping him from giving in to the breakdown that had been about to happen. Harry looked up and into her concerned eyes. He needed to gain back some control. He exhaled and then consciously let a grin flash over his face. It was surprisingly easy to ignore the feelings rising within him and to pull up a mask of emotions.

"Only one way to find out, huh..." he said. He ignored the hand he was offered to pull himself up, not ready yet to let go of Death, bringing the creature closer to his body as he stood up. Back on both feet, Harry took a moment to find his balance and Death proceeded to snake its way under his shirt.

The creature curled around his torso in a strange mix of a hug or a death grip, but Harry was grateful and he folded his arms, unconsciously putting up another barrier between Death and the others. He was still shaking, but other than that, he showed no outward sign of his disturbed state of mind.

"Come on, let's try to get over here," Remus said and Tonks guided Harry to a chair not far away, while Sirius was hovering over them in concern. Harry sat down, wiping the sticky mess of spit and tears from his face.

"Do you feel dizzy, or tired?" Lupin knelt down and took his face in both his hands to look into his eyes. He felt Death pull tighter around his body, almost in a painful way, but he could only feel grateful at the weight curled around his body. Then Lupin's words slowly began to sink in and Harry truly thought about how he felt. On a physical note - albeit sore - he felt ...great. In hindsight, it had been a miracle that he hadn't been bouncing with every step on his way over.

The werewolf tilted Harry's head to get a better look at his pupils.

Harry was suddenly reminded, that Lupin had been the most competent teacher in Defence against the Arts he'd ever had over the course of his school years. "Maybe we should call Severus," Remus said, turning to Sirius.

It meant something, that Sirius didn't complain. He only nodded, pale faced and concern in his eyes.

Making a decision, Harry brushed Remus hands aside. "I'm fine, really," he said firmly. His decisiveness seemed to unsettle the others earlier impression.

"If you are sure," Sirius said uncertainly. Remus stood up. The werewolf was suddenly frantic.

"I don't know how this could happen. I mean how- I just used a few detection spells, nothing serious, it shouldn't have-"

"It's not your fault, Moony." Sirius put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "It's this house."

"I still think that we should call Severus. Just to be sure," Tonks said. "I've never seen something like that."