Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don’t own HP.
A/N: The prologue takes place at the end of 6th year, shortly after Dumbledore’s death.
Prologue
Ever since Harry learned of Voldemort’s excessive fear of death, he’d always wondered why. After all, wasn’t death simply the next great adventure? Wasn’t it supposed to be a relief from life's hardship?
Such were the questions that were running through his mind as he gazed intensely at the sky, perhaps trying to find an answer in the stars. Beside him sat his beloved, the only person he’d ever truly trusted in this godforsaken hell called Hogwarts.
Sure, he’d kept up appearances, acting as one would expect from a Gryffindor, pretending to hate everything green and silver, but that was all a part of a mask he’d created for himself. A mask that, while not exactly the same as the one he wore living with the Dursleys, had the same objective; to keep him away from the spotlight.
The spotlight that, as a child, would result in him getting locked in the cupboard under the stairs of Number Four, Privet Drive, and nowadays meant he’d have to deal with the fickle-minded sheep populating Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
He’d decided to wear this mask on his first trip to Diagon Alley. Ever since Hagrid had told him all about how Slytherin meant dark wizards and all that jazz, it seemed evident that it would be better to stay clear of anything related to them, even if it meant having to hide the cunningness that had allowed him to survive his years as a child.
In the end, though, he’d never truly felt like he belonged with the Gryffindors and, as such, didn’t trust them entirely.
Back to the present, Harry turned his head to look in the direction of his companion. What greeted his eyes was a sight to behold; she looked beautiful, almost ethereally so, with her pale porcelain skin shimmering in the moonlight and a cute, thoughtful frown on her face.
As if she was reading his earlier thoughts, she asked: “Are you afraid of Death, Harry?”
While initially surprised at being asked such a question, seemingly out of nowhere, he took his time to consider how to best answer it and remained silent for around thirty seconds. Then, he answered her, choosing his words carefully: “I’m not afraid of Death. The way I see it, it’s just a new beginning. That doesn’t mean I want to die, though. I would never knowingly leave you alone in times like these.”
“What if I told you there was a way for both of us to have this new beginning… together?”
“What do you have in mind, Daph?”
With an enigmatic smile on her pretty face, his girlfriend, sixth-year Slytherin Daphne Greengrass, answered him: “Let’s take a walk, shall we?… I don’t want to risk our conversation getting overheard.”
When they were far enough away from the castle, Daphne turned her head to look towards Harry, her face suddenly void of any emotions as if she was preparing herself to tell him something important.
“What I’m about to tell you will certainly surprise you and might also make you angry at me, but please, let me explain before making any assumptions. The first thing you should know is that when the Death Eaters attacked the Quidditch World Cup in the summer of 1994, Daphne died.“
“Wha–”
“Let me explain! Daphne Greengrass, the person you’d been secretly friends with since your first year, was killed by the Death Eaters. They either didn’t recognise her as the heir of the Greengrass family or simply didn’t care about it, figuring that no one would know that it was them that had offed her. Ultimately, it didn’t matter because when I felt her soul departing her body, I knew I had to do something. After all, Death cannot let her champion’s only light in the darkness die. It wouldn’t do for said champion to go on a killing spree and get themselves captured by Voldemort and his lackeys in the process… Who knows what rituals these psychopaths might fancy trying? Death wouldn’t risk her champion’s soul being trapped somewhere out of her reach, thank you very much. In case you haven’t figured it out already, you, Harry, are my champion, and I, Death.”
While she was speaking, Harry only had one thought in mind; ‘she wasn’t kidding when she said that this would certainly surprise me’. However, when he heard that last bit, he was astonished.
“You’re telling me I’ve been in a relationship with THE Death for almost three years?!”
“Yes, though, it is much more complex; in a way, I am still Daphne. ”
“Wha… This doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”
“Would you stop interrupting me?! What I’m trying to tell you is that there is still a part of Daphne Greengrass in me. Before I took over her body, I had a talk with her and asked her if she had any problems with me doing so. While she was quite surprised (and angry) at first, she was all for it after I had explained how it would help you. She really liked you, you know? Anyway, one thing led to another, and it was at her suggestion that I went through all of her memories. The reason why I earlier said that, in a way, I was still Daphne is that not only did I see her memories, but I’ve also lived through them. I was able to feel every emotion she felt, to know exactly what she was thinking. ‘You’ll have to know all about me if you want to pass as me without people seeing through the masquerade’, she had said. Seeing those memories is what, I think, made the protectiveness I felt towards you slowly evolve into what I now know is love.”
“You… you love me?!” Naturally, Harry was astonished to learn that she loved him. After all, since when does Death love anyone? Hell, since when does Death have any feelings at all?
“Of course I do; why would I date you if I didn’t?” She replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and when he looked at the sincerity shining in her eyes, he almost felt stupid for asking such a silly question.
“Now that you seem to understand the situation that we’re in a bit better, I need to know something before we can proceed with this conversation; do you intend to stay with me even after all those revelations?”
Not even hesitating for a second, Harry replied: “Of course I do! It’s not because you’ve been hiding who you were for three years that you aren’t the same person I fell in love with. As far as I know, you were honest about your feelings, and it’s you I fell in love with. You saved me, you know? If you hadn’t taken over Daphne’s body and instead had let me be aware of her death, I would have gone mad and probably, as you said earlier, gone on a killing spree that would’ve resulted in me getting captured. You might be Death, but you gave me a second chance at life.” That last bit was said with passion edging into his voice.
It was evident from the look on Death’s face that she was extremely pleased with his answer. It looked as though if the matter at hand weren’t so serious, she would’ve snogged him senseless for such a kind and heartfelt answer.
Unfortunately, they had more pressing matters to talk about. With a small, genuine smile on her lips as a sign of gratitude, she looked him in the eyes and told him: “Let me tell you what I had in mind; since you have no one you care about in this universe, I thought you might be interested in leaving it… you and me… together. We could even ask Daphne if she wants to come with us. What do you think?“
“I… thank you so much!” In a rare show of emotions, Harry hugged her tightly against his chest.
“I take it that you agree?” asked Death amusedly.
“You bet I do!”
Death laughed happily before holding out her left hand for him to take.
However, before he did so, Harry had a question he wanted to ask; “Say, you never did tell me what your name was?”
“Dabria… my name is Dabria.”
With that, Harry gripped Dabria’s left hand with his right, and she took them to her realm, where they would be able to talk to Daphne.
A/N 2: Greetings! First off, Daphne didn’t have any feelings towards Harry when she died, and vice-versa. That’s why Harry and Dabria are still an item, even though the former will be able to see Daphne again. Second off, I tried something different with this one, and hopefully, you enjoyed it!
A/N 3: I’ve made a discord server for those who want to chat with me or just lurk around. To join, put TnC8nUgy5G in the “Add a Server” section or go to .gg / TnC8nUgy5G. Hope to see you there!
Edited: 25/01/2023