So, sometimes I get the odd review asking me about things Harry has mentioned in Bitter Hug, that led me to this. I decided to write random one shots about things that either happened in before Harry met Voldemort or moments that happened from another characters point of view.

And if you were wondering about the title of the collection and the titles of the one shots (and Bitter Hug), they're all lines from the poem Song of Myself by Walt Whitman. Fair warning, it's bloody long.

Summary: Harry was eleven when he first performed a ritual for Lord Beli.

Uncut Hair of Graves

Harry quietly and cautiously followed Ignotus to a cemetery that the spirit had promised him would be empty and the perfect place for him to perform his first ritual.

"Um… isn't this private land?" Harry asked cautiously, nibbling on his lip as he awkwardly climbed over the crumbling, run down stone wall edging the property.

"Technically, yes. But you're a necromancer and in the laws of old, necromancers are allowed free access to any and all places of rest," Ignotus told him, leading him a bit further through the graves before coming to a stop before what Harry could feel were the newest - though that wasn't saying much as they were still about fifty years old.

"Right. Laws of old. Um… wouldn't these laws no longer be in effect? I mean, we don't actually exist anymore, do we?" Harry asked, even as he took in the somewhat intimidating headstone looming over him.

"You would be proof that we do exist. Besides, no one alive owns this land anymore. Well, no one… with a physical body at least. My point is, no one will complain about your use of this cemetery and you are less likely to be interrupted here than you are at the church graveyard."

"Okay… what are we doing for the ritual today then?"

"It's not complicated. Nor will it be painful in any way. All you really have to do for this one is sit down and finally connect your own death energy to the natural death energy flowing through the earth. And possibly give thanks to Our Lord for His gift to you."

"Will I get to meet Him?" Harry asked, looking both excited and terrified at the thought of meeting his hero - which according to his aunt was possibly a little strange to idolise Death, but no stranger than speaking to the dead.

"It is doubtful. So? What are you waiting for? Lughnasadh doesn't last forever," Ignotus informed him impatiently, getting a shy, sheepish grin from Harry in return before he sat down in front of the grave and then tried to find the energy running through his veins.

After a few minutes with no results, Harry huffed and looked up at Ignotus with a pitiful look on his face. "I can't do it! Maybe you're wrong and I'm not a necromancer."

"If that's true, then that is the least of your worries, because that would also mean I'm a figment of your imagination. Now, stop being ridiculous. You just need to give yourself more time than it takes to brew a proper cup of tea."

"Green or black?"

"Pardon?"

"Well, Aunty Sylv said that you should leave black tea to brew for three minutes, but only two minutes for green tea."

"Does it matter? You need to give yourself longer than either. I realise that it's hard for your to sit still for longer than two minutes, but at least try," Ignotus told him with a sigh, shaking his head and muttering under his breath about annoying children.

Harry just looked up at him for a second before he shrugged and looked at the grave in front of him. Frowning and nibbling on his lip once more, he tightly shut his eyes and forced his mind not to wander to what kind of cake his aunt would be teaching him to bake that night.

Which proved to be his undoing, because as soon as his mind told him not to think of it, it automatically thought about it. For the next five minutes, Harry sat with his eyes shut, imagining several different kinds of cakes and hoped that what they made would have cherries included. He really liked cherries. Black cherries especially.

"Whatever you're thinking about, it is not what you should be thinking about." Ignotus' sharp reprimand jerked Harry out of his cherry clafoutis daydream and he guiltily opened his eyes and sheepishly looked up at Ignotus.

"Sorry."

"You're young. I can only hope you'll become better at focusing as you grow older. Perhaps it would help if you anchored yourself with the dirt. Dig your fingers into it."

"Okay. Right." Harry nodded, then did as Ignotus suggested. This time it was more successful, and after a few minutes, Harry finally sensed a slow trickle of energy flowing around his body, filling him with a contradiction of warmth and cold, but also an unending sense of safety. Feeling all of this was somewhat overwhelming, and Harry couldn't stop his awed gasp even if he had wanted to.

"You've finally sensed it then? Good, now I need you to concentrate on a similar feeling flowing through the earth around your fingers. Once you've sensed that, accept it into yourself."

Harry concentrated on doing exactly what Ignotus told him to do, taking a little longer sensing the energy in the ground than he had hoped, but finally feeling it. He then felt his own energy almost reaching out and playfully tugging at the natural energy. This made it much easier to accept it into himself.

When he did, he felt it fun quickly through his whole body, energising him and - though he couldn't see it - his hair sticking out from his head like he'd just touched a live wire.

"Now, just pull back from this gently, and you should be done."

Harry did that and then opened his eyes, blinking a little at the bright light before looking up at Ignotus with a wide grin on his face.

"That was awesome."

"Glad you thought so. Now, don't forget to thank Our Lord for His gift."

Harry nodded, then paused and looked up at Ignotus with a shy grin on his face. "I made Him something. Should I leave it here for Him?"

"You… what? No, actually, why?"

"Why not? Everyone likes getting presents, right? I thought He would like one as well. Only, I didn't have any money, so Aunty Sylv helped me make him a friendship bracelet. Look!" Harry exclaimed excitedly, fidgeting a little to reach into his pocket and pulled out a thin, blue and gold woven thread bracelet that was clearly handmade by someone not an expert in making friendship bracelets. Or someone with no thumbs as his aunt had said.

"And you want to give that to Our Lord? Death?!"

"Yeah! I made it for Him, why would I give it to someone else?" Harry asked, head tilting to the side as he looked up at Ignotus with wide eyes. Ignotus just stared back at him before he sighed and shook his head.

"Fine. Feel for your energy, thank Our Lord and then leave the bracelet on the gravestone. He may come and collect it, but He may also not. We'll never know," Ignotus told him. Harry just nodded and did as he was told, before carefully leaving the bracelet on the scythe of the gravestone.

"Come on then, let's get back! Hopefully Aunty Sylv will teach me to make cherry clafoutis. I like cherries! Did you like cherries when you were alive? Did they have cherries when you were alive?"

As the sun set over the empty, abandoned cemetery; a short male figure with cropped black hair, wearing short wrap around his waist walked over to a large and intimidating headstone depicting an angel of death and gently took something from the scythe.

The man looked at the thin, childishly made bracelet in his hand with a soft smile on his face, before he carefully tied it tightly around his wrist with a soft shake of his head.

"For all the millennia I have been around, this is my first gift where the recipient expected nothing in return," the man mused aloud, still smiling softly as he stared at the bracelet. "Yes, I was definitely right in choosing you, my little necromancer."

A/N - So, this is the first one! I just wanted to show people how Harry has endeared himself so much to Death and if you're wondering, yes, He does still have that bracelet.

If anyone has anything they'd like me to write a one shot of, let me know and I'll try and write it! And when I say anything, I do mean in relation to The Bitter Hug. Let's not get too random now.

With regards to the main fic, I have now planned up to Chapter 21 (I also know how it's going to end) and hopefully the next chapter will be out next week. Hopefully. Not Wednesday though because that is my Goddaughter's birthday so I'll be busy all day!

Review and let me know what you think! Cheers for reading! :D

Should there be a fact of the oneshot here? Hmm. Oh! I know, if you were wondering, yes there would have been cherries around when Ignotus was alive. Wild cherries have been around since the bronze ages apparently. *grins*