Ante mortem

Chapter 4

Harry's POV

I was very chock at what was happening and also nervous because I do not have my wand with me to defend myself.

'' You shall not need your wand as you don't stand in need to protect yourself, I will in not in any way harm you Master''

I turned around as I was trying to find the source of the voice, but no matter where I was looking at it was just impossible to find it. And as I was thinking that, a masked silhouette appeared in front of me, and with that came a cold breeze of air, which was surprising because the fireplace was lit. The person (?) had this kind of cold feeling emanating from them, but at the same I was relaxed as if I knew that the thing won't hurt.

''Because I won't master, I would never permit myself to hurt you''

'' Who are you ?'' I finally decided to ask.

'' I'm an entity you humans call death, the grim reaper and so on''

'' T-Then does that mean I'm dead..?''

'' Naturally not, you can't die, well in a way you can if you decide so Master'' I was then very confused at that why was it (?) here if I'm not dead, you can't convince me that it's here for a tea party.

The figure standing before me, cloaked in darkness, radiated an eerie calm. I couldn't quite place the emotion running through me—fear, yes, but something else. A strange familiarity, like I had known this entity all my life, though we'd never met before.

"You are not dead, Master," the figure repeated, it's voice soft, oh so soft that it was strange as it has this endless cold in it. "Not in this timeline. But that is not true of where you come from."

I swallowed hard, a lump forming in my throat. "What... what do you mean?" I managed, my voice weak but demanding an answer. I had a gnawing feeling in my gut—this entity wasn't here to harm me, but it was about to tell me something I wasn't ready to hear.

"You were betrayed, Master," Death said, and the word hung in the air like a curse. "In the timeline from which you hail, those who called themselves your allies—the so-called light—turned against you."

My heart stuttered in my chest. Betrayed? The light?

"Your closest friends, the ones you fought alongside, believed that the prophecy about you and Tom Riddle was too dangerous. You were a threat to them, to the power they sought to maintain. They feared that once Voldemort was defeated, you would become too powerful, too uncontrollable. And so, they made their decision."

Images flashed in my mind—Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore. The people I had bled for, fought for, trusted with my life. And yet, the voice before me was telling me they had...

"No," I whispered, shaking my head. "They wouldn't—"

"They did," Death cut in softly but firmly. "They plotted to remove you from the equation the moment Voldemort was gone. In the end, it was they who struck the final blow, not your enemy."

My knees felt weak. I took a step back, the room spinning as I struggled to reconcile what I was hearing. Hermione? Ron? Dumbledore? They... killed me? My mind reeled at the thought, but deep down, something inside me whispered that it made a dark kind of sense. The pressure to conform, the manipulation, the countless times I'd been a pawn in their plans.

"Why... why are you telling me this now?" I asked, voice hoarse. "Why bring me here?"

Death stepped closer, and for a moment, I felt a strange comfort in its presence, like the coldness it carried was also the truth.

"I brought you to this timeline, Master. When they betrayed you, I intervened. I gave you another chance, another life—here, in a different reality. One where you could make your own choices, not just live as a tool for others' purposes."

My mind struggled to catch up. "So... this timeline—this version of me—isn't the original?"

"No," Death replied. "The timeline you came from is gone, it's events sealed in the past. You were meant to die there, but I did not think it fitting for someone like you, who had given so much, to die in betrayal. I offered you a new life here, in this timeline, where you and Tom Riddle co-exist."

"And why Riddle? Why him?" I asked, though I dreaded the answer.

"Because this world needs balance. You and Tom were never meant to meet here. You were not supposed to exist at the same time. But here, I have given you the chance to find your own path, not to simply be a weapon in someone else's hands. But make no mistake—this version of you exists because of my choice."

I tried to process it all. My life—the one I had known before—was gone. I had died, betrayed by the very people I thought were my allies. And now, I was living in a timeline where I was never supposed to exist. The weight of it felt crushing.

"So, what now?" I asked, my voice low, almost broken. "What do you want from me?"

Death's gaze, though hidden behind the mask, seemed to pierce through me. "I want nothing more than for you to live as you choose. You have been given another chance, one that is untainted by the lies of your past. But know this, Master—Tom Riddle will rise in this timeline, as he did before. His power will grow. The choice you face now is whether you will follow the same path as before, or forge a new one."

My hands clenched into fists. The thought of facing Voldemort again filled me with dread, but there was something else. A burning need to claim my life as my own, to not let anyone manipulate or control me ever again.

"You're telling me I don't have to follow the prophecy?" I asked, feeling a flicker of hope.

"You are free of the prophecy's chains here," Death said softly. "You may do as you wish. But beware—the choices you make now will shape this world. You can walk away, or you can stay and fight. But it will be your decision, and yours alone."

The air around us seemed to still as I stood there, staring at the dark figure before me. My life had been stolen once, my trust shattered. But this was different. This was my chance to take control, to decide what kind of person I wanted to be.

I had been betrayed before. I wouldn't let it happen again.

"I won't be their pawn," I said firmly, feeling a strange sense of power surge through me. "Not this time."

Death inclined its head slightly, as if in approval. "Then go, Master. The path before you is yours to choose. But know that whatever you decide, I will always be watching."

With that, the figure began to fade, the cold presence withdrawing. But the weight of its words lingered.

As I stood there in the quiet room, the flickering fire casting long shadows on the walls, I realized something: for the first time in my life, I was truly free.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Here is the fourth chapter I hope you liked it as much as I did, so I didn't really plan for this chapter to only be the encounter between Harry and Death but yea I really liked this chapter, so just to say in thus chapter I was not the only one who write it so yea that person mostly wrote the whole chapter I only wrote like a hundreds word and that's it 😭 but anyways yea we'll surely again have Harry's pov in the next chapter but maybe the one after will be Tom's but that it peace gyals.

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