Harry Potter and the Deal with Death

Chapter Three

Sirius Black, holding a fifteen-month-old Harry Potter in his arms, appeared just outside the wards of a little cottage. He had bought it as soon as he had gotten out of school. He wanted to move out of his parents' place as soon as possible. It had also become the 'Marauder's Hangout' over time, but that's another story.

Sirius removed Pettigrew from the wards and added Harry in his place, then went inside.

It was a quaint little house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen with a dinette, and a living room with a muggle television set. Sirius went into the living room, flopped down on the couch and sighed.

"I really hope Albus doesn't take this the wrong way," he sighed again.

"Siri ok?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine kiddo."

Sirius ended up falling asleep on the couch and that left Harry to do as he pleased.

With nothing else to do, he went and explored the house. One of the bedrooms didn't have a bed, but a desk instead. Harry assumed it was an office of sorts. The other two bedrooms had two beds each. Those bedrooms had a bathroom connecting the two together.

The fridge in the kitchen was full of food, as was the pantry. Harry knew that there wouldn't be a shortage of food anytime soon. There was also a microwave, which surprised him a bit, as their magic could interfere with it. He decided that it didn't really matter as it could be an enchanted muggle object like the ones Aurthur worked with.

He was walking back to the living room to lay down with Sirius when he tripped over his own two feet and fell flat on his face.

"Wow, how very graceful, Potter. Stupid one-year-old body," he muttered to himself. Walking would take a little getting used to.

He picked himself back up and continued into the living room - not falling on his face this time - and clambered onto the couch. He cuddled up to his godfather's side and fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Harry woke to his stomach grumbling at the lack of food in it. He sighed and went to wake Sirius.

"Siri, hungry!" he said, shaking his godfather.

"Wha- oh. Hello Harry," he said blearily.

"Hungry," Harry whined again.

"Ok, would you like a banana?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, I'll be right back," He booped Harry on the nose and left for the kitchen.

Harry waited patiently on the couch, thinking about nothing in particular. Sirius reentered the room with a plate with pieces of banana on it. They were cut up so they were bite-sized and easy to chew.

He ate the entire banana and then passed out again. He was really tired and didn't know why, nor did he particularly care. And so, he slept.

* * * Major Time Skip * * *

On Harry's fourth birthday, Remus Lupin showed up on their doorstep. His amber eyes were pleading as he asked if he could stay with them. Harry, of course, said that he could, Sirius eventually agreeing.

And in that moment, Remus was added to their odd little family.

* * * Major Time Skip * * *

On October 31, 1986, one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore sent Sirius and Remus an owl that asked if they would mind if he paid a visit. The two found no problem with it and replied that they would open their floo at noon to allow him entry.

While the adults were making conversation, Harry was in his room, reading a book, completely unaware of their guest.

That is, until the aforementioned guest showed up in his room.

"Harry, my boy!"

"Erm- hello. Who are you?"

"I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"And I'm Harry Potter, the only heir to the Potter line, but I guess you already knew that."

"Why yes, I did. Anyways, I would like to show you something."

"What is this 'something' that you would like me to see?"

"You will know soon enough," the headmaster replied. He grabbed Harry's arm and apparated away, the six-year-old Potter heir in tow.

* * *

Side-along apparition, Harry remembered, was not something he liked, but he somehow managed to keep his lunch in his stomach. He looked up at Dumbledore, then their surroundings. He felt dread sink into his stomach when it dawned on him where they were.

They were on Privet Drive, standing directly in front of number 4.

Harry barely tried to keep the worry from showing in his voice when he asked, "Why are we here?"

"Why, Harry, this is where you'll be staying until Hogwarts," Dumbledore lifted his wand, a gleam of... something in his eyes, "Memoriam Cincinno," he cast. Harry ducked out of the way and tried to pull the Deathstick out of Dumbledore's hand. The headmaster pulled it out of Harry's reach and laughed triumphantly.

"Really, old man, is that all you've got?" Harry smiled maniacally as his eyes began to glow an eerie shade of green. His hair began to move as if a strong breeze was tousling it, even though there was no wind.

"Accio Deathstick," Harry said calmly, holding out his hand to grab the wand when it got in range.

Stunned, Dumbledore could only look on in horror as his wand slipped out of his grip and into the Potter Heir's waiting hand. When the Elder Wand was in Harry's hand, he sighed contentedly.

"Oh, thanks for the Hollow, by the way. One down, two to go. The Cloak and the Stone, correct?" Harry enjoyed the look of confusion that shone on Dumbledore's face. "Yes, the Invisibility Cloak - my Invisibility Cloak - should be in your possession at the moment, and the Resurrection Stone should be in the Gaunt Ring. Yes, it should still be there-" he trailed off.

"Oh!" Harry snapped his fingers, "Can't have you telling anyone about what you've seen today. Oh jeez, this'll take a while," he muttered, then cleared his throat. "I, Harry James Potter-Black-Lupin-Peverell, Lord to Peverell, Slytherin, Gryfindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff, Heir to Potter, Black, and Lupin, forbid that one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is able to inform others of anything I have said or done within the past half-hour or will do in the next half-hour, lest he lose his magic. So mote it be."

The magic of the spell bound the vow to reality, it was now in effect.

"Let's get back, shall we?" Harry laid a hand on the headmaster's arm and apparated away.

* * *

On Christmas, Dumbledore gifted Harry the Cloak back. By that point, he had already stolen the Resurrection Stone and destroyed the ring itself and Slytherin's locket. All he had to do was cast Avada Kedavra with the Deathstick! No more stabbing things with fangs and decapitating snakes with swords.

It was fun, but at the time, it was life or death. Now he could look back and laugh, because he was Death's equal. He could not die, he was the closest thing to an immortal being that exists.

Harry grinned. He quite liked how everything played out so far.

I bet I can defeat Voldemort by the time I'm in my third year, he thought.

Oh yes, this will be fun.

* * *

Word Count: 1171 words

That's exactly 619 words more than the last chapter. I'm really freaking tired and can barely keep my eyes open. I'm gonna go lay on the couch.

Anyways, 'til next time,

-Kat