The Master of Death

Chapter8: A Lesson in Souls

Death turned to Harry after they had closed the door. The fire had almost burned down but even in the dim light, Harry could still see perfectly fine.

So, Sirius and Remus had been together once. That was something he hadn't known. Harry wondered if they'd had the same conversation in his first life here.

And Tonks mentioned that he reminded her of Moody. That was interesting. And amusing. Harry would've never compared himself to the gruff Auror. He hadn't even considered that people could notice changes in the way he carried himself. After all, he barely noticed that he was doing it.

He had always been observant in his own way. And oblivious to other things. But the war had changed him greatly. It was probably true that he acted like Moody in a way. Being on the run for a year when they hunted Horcruxes had left him paranoid. And the years after that, he was still trying to run from various so-called fans of his. It had turned into second nature to scan his surroundings. And the walk of an Auror was drilled into Harry from the first day of his training.
Not that the people who had lived through the years of Voldemort's reign had needed much help. Always keeping one's wand close, ready to deflect a curse was everyday life for them. But Harry had to admit that he'd probably started to waver a bit in his demeanour after he had been disillusioned with his job as an Auror, taking up more and more paperwork instead of chasing after dark wizards. Coming here had let him fall into his old habit like it was the easiest thing in the world. Harry guessed that Death had also something to do with it. At that thought, he turned to the being that watched him in silence.

"I thought, you might want to know some of the advantages that come with turning into my master," Death said after a while.

"You mean, I can do that myself? Dissolving into shadows, walking through doors?" Harry asked surprised.

"Yes. But it will probably take some practice to do it on your own."

An Idea formed in Harry's head. He needed to find a strategy for his trial and if he was practising moving like this anyway then this was the perfect opportunity. Death smirked as if he knew what Harry was planning. Harry grinned back and Death closed his fingers over Harry's wrist.

"Come on. Try it."

Harry focused and tried to remember the feeling when a slight pulse and a tugging in his chest reminded him of Death. He let himself be pulled into the dark embrace and then, he felt himself melting away and turning into shadows and darkness again.

He reappeared in a dark room three floors above the basement. It may have been a study once, or a personal library. Harry hadn't really explored this room until he had moved into Grimmauld Place himself in his twenties.

In here he had searched for a solution for the problem with Mrs Black's portrait. There were cobwebs on the ceiling, the walls and shelves. Dust was literally everywhere. The room would be cleaned out by the order in the time between the summer holidays and Christmas, but this time had yet to come. Death let go of his arm, and Harry strode through the room. He spotted some books that were long gone when he had lived inside this house. Books - if Mrs Weasley had already known about them - would have been removed weeks ago, before curious children could have found them. Thank Merlin Fred and George were probably too busy spying on the order to have given this room more attention. Death followed Harry silently, but unlike him, the being didn't leave any footprints on the dusty ground.

Harry walked past the first two shelves. He knew exactly which book he was searching for. If he was lucky it was still in the same place. He stopped in front of the third shelf and looked at the books close to the floor. Harry brushed some dust off the old tomes. There it was. Printed in bold silver letters on black leather was the title of the book. "Lords and Ladies of noble blood - the proper representation of the family"
Harry grinned at his luck, but the next one would be trickier.