Harry Potter and the Master of Death [Complete]

Harry Potter and the Master of Death

And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;—
This it is and nothing more."

         "The Raven" Edgar Allen Poe  c 1845                             

Chapter One – The Lifting of the Veil 

November 1st, 1998

Harry Potter was nowhere near the Ministry of Magic when the creature stepped through the Veil and into the Death Chamber. In fact, the only witness to the event was an elderly witch named Camila Crumblehorn who was only two weeks away from retirement.

Nothing had ever come out of the Veil before. Nothing could come out as far as the Ministry was concerned.

Shrouded from head to foot in long black robes, its face hidden in hooded darkness, it paused and placed a long-fingered hand upon the crumbling archway that held the Veil. The pure white flesh and sharp bluish nails stood out starkly against the dark stone as its hand lingered there a moment, almost lovingly. Then it swept across the chamber as if gliding upon a sheet of ice and made its way through the Ministry without a sound.

Wizards and witches parted in shock and no small amount of terror as the dark figure passed and klaxons wailed alerting Aurors and Unspeakables who arrived to witness the spectacle but could do nothing to prevent it.

As an Auror, Harry's third-floor office was magically locked and protected by charms and spells designed to thwart any and all intruders. However, the creature passed through the door as if it were made of smoke instead of wood and steel.

Outside, shocked wizards stood staring dumbfounded, while others began pointing wands at the door trying to open it. Finally, Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived in his bright purple robes and took control of the situation.

"Stop!" he cried in a deep booming voice to those that were blasting away with their wands in vain. "It will take hours to break through the charms Harry has placed on the door. Someone must go and find him and bring him here.

Ron stepped forward, nodded to Kingsly and disapparated in a swirl of robes.

Inside the office, the creature searched. Opening drawers and cupboards, strewing papers and personal items on the floor in its haste. Fawkes flapped its wings and screeched at the intruder, but did not leave its perch. Inside of Harry's old Hogwarts trunk in the corner of the room, the creature found what it desired. It lifted the invisibility cloak and held it up to the light, staring at its shimmering silvery surface as if in a trance. 

Then it turned, held out its white skeletal hand, and with a wave returned the room to its previous tidy state. Finally, it placed the cloak over its hooded head and disappeared.