(Don't Fear) The Reaper
Summary Harry defeated Voldemort at a cost. He eventually ends up in America, where, eight years after the defeat, he meets to brothers who fight the supernatural…. He certainly isn't the one they are set to save either. HP/SPNL crossover. Slash
Prologue
Diagon Alley. October 31st 1998.
Harry felt tears fall down his cheeks as he watched wizard after wizard fall down to their enemy. Both sides had suffered it's losses, and now the dark side was going to be dealt it's biggest loss. Harry had spent the last three years of his life training to defeat Voldemort. Since his fifteenth birthday and he made that deal. Since he turned fifteen and got taken to Grimmauld place. Since he began to be trained.
He finally found Voldemort, at the edge of the Battle of Diagon. If Harry was completely honest with himself, he would admit a bit of shock that the final battle wasn't held on the grounds of Hogwarts, like everyone had assumed. Of course, that would have been before Voldemort made his biggest mistake and killed Hermione. That sure pissed Harry off.
So here he was, striding through the fighting wizards, killing the occasional random Death Eater that tried to stop him. He didn't particularly like killing anyone, but he knew it was a necessity of war. Plus they were in his way and trying to kill him.
Finally he stood across from the fugly wizard known as Voldemort and smirked, Voldemort narrowed his eyes at Harry and drew his wand slowly.
"So Potter. Think you can finally defeat me?"
"I don't think. I know. I've been training and training for this, though in truth I was just preparing myself and setting things to right. You see I made a deal. A life for a life." Harry said, and drew out a small dagger that looked ceremonial.
"What is this Potter? You think a silly muggle weapon will be able to defeat me?" Voldemort said, before laughing and making Harry smile sadly.
"No. Not a muggle weapon. But this isn't muggle. You know, you would have probably had a chance to live a little longer if you hadn't killed Hermione. She was the only one I could talk to, and so the only one keeping me here. The only one telling me that there was another way. There isn't though. Neither shall live while the other survives, and in the end, neither really will survive."
"What are you talking about Potter?" Voldemort said, spitting out his name.
"What I'm saying is, Hermione was really the only one who knew my plan. She was the only one searching for another way to kill you off. Everyone else, Remus, Sirius, Dumbledore, they all tried to train me, but they all, deep down, knew that I wouldn't out live you." Harry said, looking at the dagger in his hands.
"What is that Potter?"
"This? This is a ceremonial dagger that I got from a mutual friend. Well actually I wouldn't say friend. All those years back, we both really pissed him off. He gave me this, and in using it, I would pay off some of my debt to him. I would be giving him your soul and mine." And with that confusing statement, Harry drew the knife quickly across both his wrists and watched in morbid curiosity as the blood dripped down his wrists and fell to the floor.
Voldemort stood and watched with a wide grin on his face as his main enemy in this war went and killed himself in front of everyone. The fighting stopped as everyone turned to look in horror as their saviour (or the guy they were fighting) slashed his wrists instead of killing Voldemort.)
"I knew you would fail us! Hermione told me that you were beginning to get some strange thoughts and that I was to keep an eye on you and keep your hopes up if she ever died before the war was finished. She never said anything against you, but I knew what she was trying to say. You have signed all of our death warrants with your selfishness!" Ron yelled, making everyone on the side of the Light look at Harry in disappointment. Harry looked at Ron and smiled serenely at him before turning his attention back, once more to Voldemort and speaking.
"I take unto me, the soul of my enemy. With my soul and his as one the debt that was owed shall be repaid. The wrong of seventeen years shall forever now be righted. Take my soul and his. Take them and let the debt be done." Harry said, holding his arms out to his sides and letting the blood drip even faster. He felt black begin to encroach on the edges of his vision. He grinned when he saw Voldemort begin to panic as he felt his own life be sapped.
The people on the battlefield that was Diagon Alley all watched in mixed disbelief and horror as their leaders both fell to the ground, a white screaming mist leaving both bodies and twisting around each other until they were indistinguishable and both disappeared, the scream still ringing in everyones ears.
When everyone suddenly found it within themselves to move once more, they slowly began to make their way over to the two bodies now lying on the floor only yards away from the other.
Kingsley Shacklebolt knelt down next to Harry's body and felt the pulse, then dropped his hand away and bowed his head,
"He's dead." With that statement came a flurry of activity as everyone quickly began to move. Aurors began arresting left over Death Eaters and other people began crying about their lost saviour. No one noticed the shadowy figure watching over the scene with a sad expression on his face.
--
Privet Drive, Little Whinging. July 31st 1995.
Harry sat on his bed, awaiting for whoever Dumbledore sent to collect him and take him to wherever it is that they would be taking him.
As the clock struck nine in the morning, and Harry's aunt still hadn't rapped on his door telling him to make breakfast, Harry knew something wasn't right.
Sighing, Harry stood up from his bed and walked over to his door. He listened, pressed up close to his door for a few seconds and heard nothing. Not even the sound of Dudley's snoring or Vernon's loud chatting with aunt Petunia.
So, with another self-suffering sigh, Harry opened his door and made his way downstairs to investigate. What he found was certainly not what he was expecting.
His aunt was in the kitchen. As was his uncle, which, for the time of day, was not all that unusual. However, the fact that they weren't moving was odd. And Harry had no clue as to what was going on.
"They're not harmed. You have nothing to fear for them." Harry spun around and faced the tall man standing behind him. He had white skin and long black hair. His eyes were black and he had a large wide grin on his face.
"Who are you?" Harry asked, a waiver in his voice giving away his fear.
"Chill! I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to cut you a deal." The man said, walking into the living room. Harry followed him and sat on the chair opposite him, sitting on the edge, ready to defend himself should he need to.
"Seriously! Relax a little. I'm not going t harm you."
"Who are you?" Harry asked once again, scowling at the man.
"You can call me Hank. I suppose you would say that I'm a Reaper. Actually, I'm the reaper." He said, still smiling charmingly and conjuring a small glass of what Harry assumed was Whisky.
"The Reaper? What like Death?"
"Sure. You can call me that too if you want. I do prefer Hank though. It's more approachable, don't you think?"
"Sure." Harry said slowly. He looked at the man across from him and wondered if he was for real.
"I can assure you that I am the real deal. Anyway, to cut to the chase, I'm here to cut you a deal."
"Yeah, so you said before. What's the deal?"
"I'll give you the way to defeat old Voldemort."
"Really?" Harry asked sceptically.
"Yup! However, you will have to do something for me in return."
"Ah, the world famous catch. So what is it you want me to do?"
"Die?" The man, Hank, said with a large grin on his face. Harry just stared at him in shock, not believing what the man had just said.
"Pardon?" Harry asked when he finally found the ability to speak. "You want me to die? How, exactly will that kill Voldemort?"
"Simple. You kill yourself using this dagger. Your soul and his belong to me, and both of you cheated me out of it all those years ago when you both escaped death. You owe me. I was not very happy that night. I should have received four souls and I only got two. You can't run from Death forever you know."
"What if I don't want to die yet?"
"Oh, it's up to you when you die. Just as long as you use this when you do the dirty." Hank said, holding out a small dagger with a silver hilt and a medium sized sapphire at the end.
"And then what happens? Where does my soul go?"
"Oh you know. I take it with me, like I do all other souls." Hank said with a shrug. "So do we have a deal?"
"Fine. I kill myself and Voldemort dies with me? You said it is up to me as to when I do this?" Harry said, taking the dagger.
"Yep, whenever you like, hell it can be years form now. Totally up to you. Now, listen to me, because this is the important bit. You must say these words, exactly as I tell you." Harry leaned forward and took the dagger out of Hanks hands, not noticing the grin on Death's face as Harry looked at the dagger closely.
"Okay, so what do I say?"
Gringotts, Diagon Alley. November 1st.
"This is the last will and testament of Harry James Potter. I hereby declare that I am of sound body and mind. To my godfather, who has been there for me since I was thirteen and whom I shall always consider to be a second father, I leave all monetary possessions left in the Potter vaults.
"To the Weasley's I leave one million galleons. Spend it on whatever you wish, or just leave it in your vault to gather the interest! Thank you for treating me as your son or brother and finally allowing me to see how a family should treat one another.
"To Remus, I leave one million galleons and my heartfelt hanks for treating me as you cub. I want you to know that I am proud to be considered part of your pack. Please don't ever think otherwise.
"Finally, to the Order and everyone who helped me in this war. I know you will wonder why I did what I did, but I had to. I'm sorry for any disappointment and grief I have caused you, but I made a deal with Death all those years ago, on my fifteenth birthday. Voldemort will no longer bother you and he certainly won't be rising again. I want you to know that I am completely at piece with what I have done. I will finally be allowed to see me parents and Hermione. Thank you to everyone who believed in me and stood by me. It meant a lot to me. I'm sorry I had to leave you behind. I wish for you all, the happiness you deserve.
"My thanks to you all. Harry." The goblin reading the will discreetly wiped the tear from his eye and then looked over the piece of parchment in his hands at the people gathered around. Everyone in the small room was sniffing and wiping away any tears that had formed in their eyes.
"All keys to the vaults shall be given out at the teller's desk at the front. The money has been added to the vaults stipulated and will register with your next statement. Should anyone wish to contest the will read out today, then please come to me and we shall discuss it in private." With that the Goblin gathered up the parchment in front of him and walked out of the room.
"You yelled at him Ron. The last thing he knew before he died was that you were disappointed in him! He must have thought we all were! He died thinking we didn't understand!! How could you!" Sirius yelled, Remus holding him back, tears running down both of their faces.
"I-I-I didn't mean to! I thought he had dragged us all out there just to kill himself. I thought he was leaving us all to die at the hands of the Death Eaters and him!! I was scared!! My best friend and girlfriend had died just days before and now my other friend had killed himself!" Ron said before breaking down into tears. Molly gathered him into her arms and shushed him softly, rocking him as he cried on her shoulder.
"I think we should all go to our homes and mourn our lost saviour with only our close friends and family by us. Together we will surely just start sniping at each other. Not one of us knew of his plan. No one could have stopped him. I just wonder why it took him four years." Dumbledore said, almost to himself.
"Hermione knew. She knew and I bet she was the one to hold him off. When she died, he figured he had nothing left to lose." Ron said quietly from his mothers lap.
"Why didn't she tell us? We could have worked something out! He wouldn't have had to kill himself!" Sirius exclaimed through his tears.
"I don't know Sirius. And the two people that could have told us are dead. We shall never find out." Dumbledore said softly, he then stood up and looked around the room at the people who were invited to the reading. "I think we should all leave now, the goblins will want their meeting room back."
With that everyone slowly began to stand up and leave the room in small groups, leaving only Remus, Sirius and Tonks sitting at the table, staring at it in silence.
"You know, he wouldn't want you mourning him. After all, he did it for you." All three looked around them, searching for the owner of the voice they had just heard.
"Who's there?" Tonks asked, still looking around her.
"I am called Hank. Though you may know me as Death." A man seemed to appear from the shadows in the front of the room and sat in the seat left vacant by the goblin.
"You! You're the one who killed my godson! Why! Why couldn't you have given him another way!" Sirius roared, having to be held back, once again, by Remus.
"It was the only way. He wouldn't have survived anyway. His soul was old. It was supposed to have passed on when he was one. He skipped bail so to speak and now he has to pay for it. He paid with his soul. Don't worry he is perfectly happy where he is now. He gets to see his family and be with his sister." Hank said, shrugging his shoulders and tracing invisible patterns on the table with his finger.
"So he is happy?" Tonks asked quietly from her seat next to Sirius.
"Yep. Very. All giggles and smiles with swiss family Potter." Only Remus seemed to get his joke and sniggered, making Hank sigh. "Seriously though, you can spend the rest of your lives wondering about Harry and why he did what he did, or you can carry on with your lives, spending the money Harry so thoughtfully left you and be happy, as Harry would have wanted it."
"So you're basically telling us to mind our own business as we won't find anything out. Don't think no one noticed that the knife he used was missing when someone finally thought to search the body." Remus pointed out, making Hank smirk and look at Remus appraisingly.
"Harry said you were good. I might have a deal or two for you later on. But yes, that is what I meant. Now I have to go I am afraid. Lovely speaking with you all. Hope we can do this again sometime. Ta ta." And with that Hank disappeared.
"You know, I never figured Death as a Hank."
A/N – Yeah, yeah, I know, you're all expecting another chapter to DitS, but well… I was watching Supernatural on the plane to New York and I kinda got this idea. I wrote it in the six hours it took to get back home!! Well… to be fair it was actually four, seeing as the hour taking off and landing where I was a nervous bleeding wreck were consumed by me gibbering in my seat… So yeah, sorry, but I had to write this. Chapter six of DitS is nearly finished though, and if you do read that, then please do vote again in the new poll… Cheers!!