(I don't own Harry Potter or its characters, only this fanfiction's plot)

Silence accompanied the pair as they left St. Mungo's.

Popping back in Godrics Hollow, Sirius rubbed his arms, feeling strangely cold in the summer air.

It was nearly sundown now. They must have been gone all day.

"Are you feeling alright?" Lily asked, speaking up for the first time since they left the deity's office. Her eyes looking him over as if expecting to find some gaping wound, "I know James apparated with you before, but.."

"Lily, I'm fine." Sirius silently willed her to believe him, "Wizards apparate with their muggle spouses all the time, it's not going to hurt me."

Lily nodded, swallowing thickly as she tried to stay composed. Sirius wasn't fooled.

Her face was pale and red splotches decorated her forehead and neck; she was obviously upset, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. He must have her worried sick.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk," He thought aloud, gesturing awkwardly to the nearby woods. "You know.. Clear my head some."

Panic flickered in Lily's eyes, gently grabbing his wrist before he could run off.

"No, you can't! It's not safe, there are probably Death Eaters out an about and it's nearly dark and you can't-"

She broke off, You can't defend yourself. Hanging in the air

"I won't be gone long, maybe an hour at most." Sirius tried to give her a reassuring smile, "I can still handle myself, Lil's."

"Can I at least come with you? I don't... You might get lost." She tried again, a bit pathetically.

"I know these woods," He gently cupped her cheek, thumbing away invisible tears that she wouldn't let herself shed. Not in front of him, anyways. "I promise I'll only be a shout away. Plus, Jamie is probably ripping his hair out wondering where you've been."

"He'll want to see you two," She murmured, "He needs to know."

Sirius could already tell that wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation.

"I know, I just.." Sirius sighed, pulling away from her. Taking a step back as she tried to reach for him again, "I need to think it all over, please just understand that."

He didn't give her a chance to rebut him again. Sirius already knew she wasn't about to let him go out in the big bad world with nothing but his fists for protection.

The fact Lily was still recovery from child birth was probably the only reason she didn't chase after him and drag him back into the safety of the cottage.

He figured James would probably track him down within the hour, give or take thirty minutes depending on how much Lily told him and how much James believed it.

After a few minutes of running Sirius settled into a nice, easy jog. He'd normally clear his head as Padfoot, rushing through bushes and bothering the local wildlife, but he couldn't do that anymore.

He would never be able to, so his human legs would have to do. Forcefully simplifying the matter in his head would have to replace the simplicity that came with being a dog.

If I hadn't done this, Harry would be dead. He chanted to himself, like an inner mantra. Harry life matters more than any 'inner core'

Passing a creek Sirius slowed down, eyes drawing to the fish that swam past. Over rocks and on their way to wherever dozens of thousands of years of pure ingrained instinct was telling them to go.

Why couldn't his life be that simple? Why couldn't he just follow his set path and accept it like that?

"Because," A familiar voiced called from behind him. "You're not a simple fish, Sirius Black."

Sirius should have been more afraid of being in the presence of Death, especially when they wore his face.

Crouching down, Death poked one of the passing salmon with the tip of their new wand. The fish immediately sunk to the rocky bottom of the brook.

"They die, and they accept it." Death gave the corpse a nudge with their wand. "There is no fight. They don't plead their cases to me on where they should go. They have no concept of life after me."

Gesturing to all the fish swimming past their fallen comrade, Death let out a mirthless chuckle. "They barely even acknowledge the fact that one of their own lay, decomposing mere inches away from them. It only matters in terms of their own survival. That, is the selfishness of existence in it's simplest form."

Sirius nearly flinched as Death turned to him, grey eyes meeting grey eyes. "Humans, on the other hand, are a representation of the most complex form of selfishness. You plan, you scheme, you even go as far as to make it seem like your actions are indeed selfless; but most of you always have another motive. Most willing to damn ten people if it means your own individual salvation."

Sirius hesitantly crouched down next to Death, watching the fish swim past the dead without a second glance.

"You're different." Death stated, as if he were simply saying the water before them was wet. "I've thought it over countless times, but your actions are almost never selfish. You could have stayed away from this war originally, been the perfect pureblood son. Married well, had a boring but acceptable life; it's what I expected of you."

Death eyes narrowed, "Yet, you chose to push, and you pushed and you pushed even when it hurt. Until you broke free of that comfortable life fate granted you and you continued to push your way to the front lines of a war you had no stake in. At first, when you refused to be the Potters secret keeper, I assumed it was for the very selfishness most humans use to guide their actions in one way or another."

"I didn't," Sirius spoke up for the first time. "I was a diversion. I knew I probably wasn't going to make it through this war, and the Fidelius Charm sealed that fate regardless of whether or not I was involved."

Death nodded, "You didn't say that, though. You smile and accepted me like you accepted me a meer week ago. Most humans can't do that."

Silence fell upon them for a few moments, before Sirius finally asked what he desperately wanted to know, "Why were you there?"

Death smile widened slightly, turning to look up into the canopy above them both.

"You, whether you realize it or not, are important in the grand scheme of things. So, I decided to help you."

"Help me?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"A human healer wouldn't have even thought to guess what I spoke as truth. Leaving only two possibilities which would leave you in a most unfavorable position." Death shrugged, closing their eyes, "So I took possession of a freshly made corpse and played doctor for the day, think of it as a favor."

Sirius blanched, Dexly had been...?

"I prefer your skin, though." Death commented, as if he were speaking of the weather. They extended their hand and flexed their fingers, "It feels comfortable, and without that nagging feeling of decay."

"Thank you..?"

Patting him on the shoulder, Death stood up. "This has been a nice talk, but I'm afraid I have to go. You're about to have company."

"Wait-!"

Death flashed him toothy grin and disappeared before Sirius could even get a second word out.

Looking down at the water, Sirius could hear James cursing as he tripped over a root, and promptly sighed in relief.

It seemed his hour was up.