Death turned to Harry after they had closed the door. The fire had almost burned down but even in the dim light, Harry could still see perfectly fine.
So, Sirius and Remus had been together once. That was something he hadn't known. Harry wondered if they'd had the same conversation in his first life here.
And Tonks mentioned that he reminded her of Moody. That was interesting. And amusing. Harry would've never compared himself to the gruff Auror. He hadn't even considered that people could notice changes in the way he carried himself. After all, he barely noticed that he was doing it.
He had always been observant in his own way. And oblivious to other things. But the war had changed him greatly. It was probably true that he acted like Moody in a way. Being on the run for a year when they hunted Horcruxes had left him paranoid. And the years after that, he was still trying to run from various so-called fans of his. It had turned into second nature to scan his surroundings. And the walk of an Auror was drilled into Harry from the first day of his training.
Not that the people who had lived through the years of Voldemort's reign had needed much help. Always keeping one's wand close, ready to deflect a curse was everyday life for them. But Harry had to admit that he'd probably started to waver a bit in his demeanour after he had been disillusioned with his job as an Auror, taking up more and more paperwork instead of chasing after dark wizards. Coming here had let him fall into his old habit like it was the easiest thing in the world. Harry guessed that Death had also something to do with it. At that thought, he turned to the being that watched him in silence.
"I thought, you might want to know some of the advantages that come with turning into my master," Death said after a while.
"You mean, I can do that myself? Dissolving into shadows, walking through doors?" Harry asked surprised.
"Yes. But it will probably take some practice to do it on your own."
An Idea formed in Harry's head. He needed to find a strategy for his trial and if he was practising moving like this anyway then this was the perfect opportunity. Death smirked as if he knew what Harry was planning. Harry grinned back and Death closed his fingers over Harry's wrist.
"Come on. Try it."
Harry focused and tried to remember the feeling when a slight pulse and a tugging in his chest reminded him of Death. He let himself be pulled into the dark embrace and then, he felt himself melting away and turning into shadows and darkness again.
He reappeared in a dark room three floors above the basement. It may have been a study once, or a personal library. Harry hadn't really explored this room until he had moved into Grimmauld Place himself in his twenties.
In here he had searched for a solution for the problem with Mrs Black's portrait. There were cobwebs on the ceiling, the walls and shelves. Dust was literally everywhere. The room would be cleaned out by the order in the time between the summer holidays and Christmas, but this time had yet to come. Death let go of his arm, and Harry strode through the room. He spotted some books that were long gone when he had lived inside this house. Books - if Mrs Weasley had already known about them - would have been removed weeks ago, before curious children could have found them. Thank Merlin Fred and George were probably too busy spying on the order to have given this room more attention. Death followed Harry silently, but unlike him, the being didn't leave any footprints on the dusty ground.
Harry walked past the first two shelves. He knew exactly which book he was searching for. If he was lucky it was still in the same place. He stopped in front of the third shelf and looked at the books close to the floor. Harry brushed some dust off the old tomes. There it was. Printed in bold silver letters on black leather was the title of the book. "Lords and Ladies of noble blood - the proper representation of the family"
Harry grinned at his luck, but the next one would be trickier.
There was another tome he would need. Last time he had found it on a stack of books in a corner, but right now everything was still on the shelves. Harry had probably read half of the books in here thanks to Mrs Blacks screeching and his boredom, but where was the one he was looking for? Harry's head snapped to the door when the sound of muffled steps and a voice reached him.
"...is sneaking around...the old... only the master. Kreacher can hear- ...filthy twins, blood-traitors and bastards they- ... Kreacher is going to look-"
Harry turned around when he heard Death's hoarse voice.
"You are searching for this one," he said and pulled out a book from a shelf on the opposite side of the room.
"Let's go," Harry whispered. He could hear the doorknob being turned and Harry tried to reach for the bond between him and Death. A familiar feeling connected them and all of a sudden it was the easiest thing to disappear into the shadows.
Harry saw how Death was fading away too and then he found himself back on his bed, just next to the being, with two books on his lap. Harry looked at Death who was grinning.
"You did well," the being said and the echo of a warm feeling that wasn't his own filled him.
Harry smiled and he leaned down to hide the books under his bed. "I think I'll try to sleep now," he said. Death looked at him with an expression he couldn't quite read, but then the being turned into a snake again and Harry couldn't wonder about it much longer. Death settled on his chest and Harry smiled. A fuzzy feeling at Death's protectiveness emerged and warmed him just where the bond was connecting him with the being settled on his chest. "Goodnight," Harry whispered petting the snake.
It turned out, that even if you didn't need to sleep, being woken up was still as unpleasant as always.
When George had apparated into their room Harry had almost cursed him on instinct. He already his wand pointed at the redhead before he'd realized who it was. After George's announcement that breakfast was ready and that Mrs Weasley wanted to start cleaning the drawing-room afterwards, he vanished with a crack.
Ron groaned. "This is going to be hell. The drawing room is the biggest room here! You won't believe how filthy this house is. You might think you know it but this dust isn't even half of it," Ron said. Then he looked at Harry as if he wasn't quite sure if he could talk to him like that and if he was still angry.
"I know," Harry replied and Ron seemed to be reassured.
"You can use the bathroom first, I'll just stay here, "Ron yawned, "Only five more minutes..."
Harry thought that it wouldn't be such a bad idea to brush his teeth and headed for the bathroom. While he was walking through the dark hallway, he remembered something.
The drawing room... Right now, Slytherin's locket should still be in there. Harry wasn't sure what to do about the Horcrux. He hadn't really thought about it. Should he just let it be? Harry locked the door and walked over to the sink. Even the tap looked like a snake. While he brushed his teeth, Harry looked at Death through his reflection. The being was sitting on the edge of the bathtub in his human form. He felt oddly attached to the being. Every so often, he found himself searching for the being with his eyes, only to feel a wave of relief rolling over him when it was still there.
Just when Harry had spat out and was rinsing his toothbrush the inhuman voice echoed through the room once more.
"What are you thinking about?" the creature asked.
Harry snorted."Can't you just read my mind?" he questioned and turned around after putting his toothbrush away.
"I can," the creature lightly admitted. "But I prefer talking to you..."
Harry stared at Death who looked at him openly, considering what to say.
"I'm thinking about the Horcrux," Harry eventually began, "I don't know what to do about it... Should I just grab it? But with everybody in the room, it will be hard to stay unnoticed," Harry mused. Death only grinned. The creature graciously extended his arm and opened its closed fist. And on Death's palm was the locket. He twisted his hand and when his palm was facing downwards, the locket had vanished.
Harry stared at it with an open mouth.
"You can summon it too."
"But isn't it warded against every summoning?" Harry eventually asked after he had regained his voice. "At least human summoning, after all, it's a Horcrux..."
"That factor should be making it even easier for you to locate. There is after all a piece of soul inside." Death crossed his ankles and continued, "And as I said, you are no longer only human. You are able to summon every object you desire, as long as you know where it's located. With a bit of practice that is. The Horcrux here should be easy enough to summon since the piece of soul inside is connected to you and you know where it is."
"The Horcrux inside me," Harry said baffled. So, he was able to summon every Horcrux, whenever he wanted. It didn't even matter under which protection or wards a certain object was. Harry grinned. That made things so much easier.
"Want to try it yourself?"
Harry nodded. "Alright." He pushed himself from the sink. "What do I have to do?"
"Close your eyes."
Harry exhaled and did as he was told.
"Focus. Feel it."
Harry squinted at Death from under his lashes. "Wow. Thanks a lot for the detailed instructions," he said sarcastically.
Death still grinned. "You haven't even tried it yet."
Harry sighed. "Fine," he said and closed his eyes again. He tried to do what Death had told him. Focusing on the Horcrux. He already knew where it was and it wasn't too hard to picture it in the glass case in the drawing room. A frown appeared on his face. Nothing happened.
"Don't focus on the object. Focus on what's in there. What you are connected to," Death rasped right into Harry's ear. Harry shivered at the proximity and he longed to reach out, to touch the being, but then he inhaled and focused on the Horcrux.
"You have to know, that every soul wants to be whole..." Death whispered. It made something click within Harry's mind. He didn't try to picture the locket again. Instead, he tried to find the piece of soul in his own head. The part that connected him to Voldemort. And in the depth of his mind, he found it. And he felt it.
Strange and familiar at the same time. In his previous life, he had never been that aware of the piece of soul intertwined with his and now it was so prominent he didn't know how he could've ever missed that it was being there. There was a pull... one most prominent, but there were others. And then he found the one he had been searching for. When he opened his eyes, Harry knew exactly where the locket was and what he had to do. It was just like the accidental magic as a child or apparating. The intent had to be there and the determination to get it. Harry felt his magic gather around his hand and then, suddenly, it was there. Slytherin's locket. Dark and luring it pulsed in his hand.
Harry stared at the Horcrux which gleamed in his hand in the sickly echo of a living being. He felt an incredible sadness wash over him and confused he looked up and his eyes found Death who stared at the Horcrux in his hand with a lost expression.
"Hey Death, what happened to the other Horcrux, to the one in the ring?" Harry asked, simply to get the being to stop acting so strange. He didn't like it.
"It has merged with its other part." Death extended his hand once again but didn't open his fist this time. An unearthly glow emerged from it. Harry gasped at its beauty.
"Is that... a soul?" Harry remembered how he'd stabbed Tom Riddle's diary and yet he couldn't connect it to what Death was showing him.
"A piece of it." The glow vanished when Death opened his hand. It was gone. He looked at Harry and then at the locket. "Nothing really vanishes, but not many can retrieve what is lost."
"Sometimes you are really cryptic," Harry said and rolled his eyes at Death. The being only grinned, but Harry guessed that he understood what Death wanted him to know. He looked at the locket and gathered a bit of his magic. But the Horcrux didn't disappear. Vanishing and conjuring it again was apparently out of his pay grade.
"Let me," Death said. Gently he picked the locket from Harry's hand. Harry's palm tingled where the being's fingers had touched him. When Death closed his fingers around the locket, it was gone.
"And, can you retrieve it again?" Harry asked. Death grinned and when he opened his other palm, the Horcrux was dangling from the long chain.
"You done yet?"
Harry's head snapped towards the door. Ron's muffled voice died away at the other side. Harry's eyes flickered back to Death. The locket had vanished from his hand.
"Yeah, coming," Harry answered over his shoulder hurriedly dried his hands on a towel before he opened the door.
He shared an awkward nod with Ron when they were passing each other and then headed for their room. Death followed without a sound while Harry was caught up in his thoughts.
In only three days he would have his hearing. Harry was pretty confident regarding the outcome, but going there simply to relive what he had experienced sounded rather boring. Perhaps this hearing was an opportunity to spice things up a bit.
He would need to write some letters. Today was Saturday. His hearing was on Thursday. He just needed a few more days. Harry smirked as he entered his bedroom. Being bored most of the time came with the advantage of having much time. And thankfully Hermione wasn't the only one who could read. Harry would have to consult the dry books from the Black library again, but hopefully, it would be worth it.
Absentmindedly, Harry filled Hedwig's and Pigwidgeon's bowl with water, the empty portrait on the wall breathing quietly, when Ron came back into the room.
"Come on, let's head down, or mom is going to get us on her own."
They dressed quickly - well - Ron did. Harry had slept in his clothes. He put on a fresh shirt and then they headed down, Death once more in his snake form hiding half beneath his shirt. Ron eyed the black snake suspiciously.
"When did you even get it?" he asked.
"A few weeks ago," Harry said while petting Death. A normal snake would probably hate being carried all the time, but Death seemed to enjoy it.
"What's its name?" Ron asked curiously.
"Um," Harry almost stopped in his tracks at the surprising question. Nobody had asked him that yet. He couldn't really tell him that he'd called his snake 'Death', could he? "Grim," Harry said after a moment. It was probably fitting. Ron scrunched his freckled nose as he looked at the dark snake. "You called your snake Grim?! Isn't that a bit... over the top?" he inquired, as they headed down the stairs.
Harry shrugged. "Probably." He bit back a grin at the irony of Death being named after an omen of death.
"Is it venomous?" Ron asked curiously.
"Actually, I don't know."
"You don't know? And then you just brought it with you?!" Ron exclaimed in shock, "You kept it in a room with me! All night!"
"Well, I could always ask him, I suppose," Harry said. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Mrs Black had returned to her frame but she didn't meet his gaze.
"Please do," Ron said. Harry looked at Death.
"Well?"
"I can be if you want," the black snake hissed, baring its fangs.
"I take that as a yes," Ron muttered. His face had lost quite a bit of colour and he shuddered.
"Well yeah, but he won't do anything," Harry said.
"Won't do anything," Ron muttered absentmindedly and shook his head.
On the way to the kitchen they encountered Ginny who was heading upstairs, her red hair pulled back in a ponytail and there was a smudge of dust on her cheek.
"You better hurry up, mum is already stressing around," she said as she shuffled past them. Ron grunted something unintelligible before he opened the door to the kitchen with a creaking sound.
Sirius sat at the table, in front of him a cup of coffee. He appeared to be in a bad mood, staring at his cup with a gloomy expression.
"Morning. Where's Remus?" Harry asked. Sirius raised his head while Ron walked over to the shelf to get some plates.
"Order business. Dumbledore called him in the middle of the night, something to do with the werewolves."
"He will never be able to keep them from following Voldemort," Harry expressed and sat down next to his godfather.
"Why's that?" Sirius asked and shifted in his seat to face Harry with a mildly interested expression.
"Well, there are probably some packs and a few other people who don't want to be involved," Harry theorized, "They'll stay neutral as long as they are able to. They won't follow Voldemort and certainly not the ministry. But most of them will at least consider supporting the dark side. Because, unlike the ministry, Voldemort can give them something they always wanted and he doesn't appear to have misused their trust yet."
"What could they possibly want?" Ron mentioned disparagingly as he sat down next to Harry, shoving a plate with scrambled eggs and some toast over to him. Sirius gaze pierced Ron.
"He promises them acceptance," Harry said. "A place among wizards and witches without hiding or being afraid of being hunted down. Of course, he doesn't think too highly of werewolves and they aren't stupid. Not all of them are like Greyback. He and his pack are the only ones actively supporting Voldemort on his raids but there is always the chance that Voldemort keeps what he promises," Harry continued.
Ron's eyes widened. "But there haven't been any raids," he objected.
"Yet," Harry replied with a sharp smirk on his lips. "Nobody really believes that Voldemort is back. This factor has a good and a bad side. On the one hand, nobody will be prepared if he decides to attack, but on the other hand, there haven't been many deaths. He has power over his followers and their actions. But should it become common knowledge that he has returned-"
"He has no reason to keep them from killing everyone in his way," Sirius finished, a dark look on his face. In silence, they began to eat and Sirius sipped on his coffee.