The Master of Death

Chapter24: Reunion

Cursing, Harry appeared in the middle of the scarcely illuminated kitchen of Grimmauld Place No. 12, his ankles full of scratches and a bloody gash on his forearm. Death was right next to him, amusement evident on his pale face. Harry was just about to heal the still bleeding wound near his elbow when a voice pulled him out of it.

"Harry!" Sirius was staring at him from the other end of the table, where he'd been brooding over some notes. His initial smile had been replaced by a frown. "What happened to you?"

Harry's green eyes flashed once his skin was knitting itself together once more. "You try travelling cross-country by your own," he snapped, throwing a dark look at Death who still appeared incredibly entertained. "Someone didn't think it would be necessary to help me along."

"You wanted to try it on your own," Death voiced hoarsely and he smirked at Harry.

"At that time I wasn't aware of the risks that came with it," Harry hissed.

"Um," Sirius began confused and he gestured at Harry, "You've got a leaf in your hair, I think."

Growling under his breath, Harry ruffled through his hair, pulling out the sole remainder of his crash in a forest near Wiltshire. He barely took notice of how it crumbled to dust in his fingers while he was stomping over to Sirius where he let himself fall into a chair. Sighing, some of the tension left him. "Hello, Sirius," he finally greeted his godfather.

The man in question was eyeing him in a mix of confusion and worry. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, Harry. But what are you doing here?"

"Visiting you," Harry promptly retorted. "I guessed that you perhaps were in need of some company. Even more so after the article in the Daily Prophet."

Sirius dismissed the statement with a wave of his hand. "They always speculate where I am, it's nothing new."

Harry shrugged, tracing an old scratch on the table. "If you say so," he replied and his eyes flicked to Death who had started to roam through the room. Forcing himself to not give in to the feeling that always drew his gaze towards the creature he looked at the notes and sketches scattered all over the table. "What is all of that stuff?" Harry asked and gestured at the parchments.

"Plans and information collected by the Order," Sirius admitted freely and then he shivered when Death walked past him. Despite himself, a smile tugged on Harry's lips but he banished it a moment later. He didn't doubt that Death had done it simply to mess with his godfather. "You shouldn't even be aware that these exist, at least in the opinion of the others," Sirius continued, "But you also shouldn't be able to appear out of thin air, so there goes my iron will to treat you like a small child," he ended jokingly.

"How are you?" Harry inquired curiously.

"I'm fine," his godfather said and pushed a few strands of his dark hair out of his face. He sighed. "Bored most of the time. I haven't really seen anyone in three days. Not even Kreacher keeps me company. Not that I'm complaining," Sirius added with a smirk. "By the way, why did you want me to allow him to leave the house?"

Harry smirked. "I needed a spy in the Ministry and nobody notices a house-elf. Most of the time, people just forget they are even there. And Kreacher likes me."

"Yeah and this is by far the strangest thing that happened during the last months. And, are you already regretting it?"

"No, not really. Thanks to Kreacher I knew the time and day of Podmore's trial. Although It wasn't very exciting."

"You were there? Didn't go too well for Sturgis... six months, the poor guy," Sirius said with a haunted look and Harry hummed in agreement.

Both of them stared at the notes in front of Sirius for a moment. The thing Sirius had been looking at, was a map with small drawings and scribbles in every corner. Circles and arrows marked various places all over the landscape. "I also visited Lucius Malfoy today," Harry began casually while he studied the map.