Monthly Challenges for All - Harmony of Souls Eternal

Fill #6

Representations: Phil Coulson, Harry Potter, Nicholas Fury

Bonus Challenges: Schooner, Keen

Word count: 1,148

The small unit was silent apart from the quiet breaths emanating from the one occupant currently sleeping. A constant ticking echoed through the rooms from the kitchen clock. For once, it was a calm night, the occupant not suffering from the cries of the dead unable to pass through the veil just yet.

It started with a stinging sensation. On the left wrist of the man sleeping in the large bed, a black tattoo started to fade to grey. The man grunted slightly, shifting onto his side as he registered the feeling but not yet understanding it. When the stinging turned to a burning, the man sat up, suddenly awake, and whispered one word as he clutched his burning wrist, "Phil."

Scrambling out of bed, the man turned and disappeared with a loud pop. The ticking clock continued counting seconds. It would count until its batteries ran out, although there would be no one around to appreciate its work. Once more, the unit was silent and the clock continued to tick.

Director Nicholas Fury of the Strategic Homeland Intervention and Logistics Division (SHIELD) was shoved out of the way by a slim man wearing pyjamas who then proceeded to take his previous location hovering over his downed agent. Agent Phil Coulson smiled up at the stranger. "Harry, you shouldn't have come," he croaked out.

The stranger—Harry—lightly swatted the agent before cupping the back of Phil's neck with his left hand and leaning his forehead against the agent's. "Where else would I be?"

Phil closed his eyes, basking in the presence of his soulmate before he had to cough out more of the blood that was bubbling up in his mouth. Harry drew him away from the wall and rested the agent's body against his own, "Hush, Phil, it's okay. Just breathe."

"I broke my promise, I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Phil." Harry's hand carded through the small amount of hair still remaining on Phil's head and Phil smiled slightly. "I knew this day would come, you know that. You are too much like me when I was young, this was always how you were going to leave this plane and I would have it be no other way."

Phil coughed out a laugh, along with some more blood, "You'd better visit."

"Just you try and stop me."

"They needed something to avenge," Phil explained to his Director who was still hovering and said man nodded in acknowledgement. Agent Phil Coulson died with a smile on his face, cradled in the arms of his love. Harry Potter looked up at the reaper only he could see and nodded. The reaper knelt down and gathered up the soul of Phillip James Coulson, protecting it for the journey ahead.

Before leaving, Phil asked Harry, "Look after them for me."

Harry grinned, "Only if you show me how."

"It would be my pleasure." Harry gestured to the reaper and the being tightened their hold on Phil's soul before setting off to the world beyond the veil. They would take the soul to the Master's domain and there the soul would learn how to become a reaper like itself.

Every soul had a choice, the reaper reflected. Be reborn in the world after a waiting period or become a reaper and look out for those left behind. For them, it had been an easy choice. Luna Lovegood never left behind a friend in need and the new Master of Death, one Harry Potter, had definitely been in need. "Thank you," the reaper whispered once they had seen the soul of Phil Coulson safely to the Master's domain.

The reaper that had been Luna in life did not know what would have happened if the soulmate of the Master of Death had decided to be reborn, but they knew that the waiting period would have been horrendous for their friend.

Back on the SHIELD Helicarrier, the Director of SHIELD was staring at the young man who had appeared from out of nowhere to comfort his dying agent. "Mind telling me who you are?" he finally growled out.

The man glanced at him briefly before going back to examining the gun that Agent Coulson had used to shoot Loki (which was classified SHIELD weaponry and should not be in the hands of an unknown). "I do mind, so I'm not going to tell you. You should really fix the balance on this weapon, whoever uses it will tire quite quickly with the current dispersal of weight."

"It's a prototype," Fury found himself defending and then almost slapped himself for giving out information to an unknown. He restrained himself, no need to give the stranger any more information, even if that information was that Fury was annoyed at himself.

The man simply made an understanding sound and dropped the gun onto the ground. Twirling to face the Director, he doffed an imaginary hat and said, "Well! I'll be off then. It's impolite to leave a guest waiting, after all and I have a lovely guest waiting for me. Ta ta!"

With those words, he continued his twirl and vanished with a loud pop. Fury was left alone with only the dead body of one of his best agents. Pushing the thoughts of the strange man aside, Fury stalked out of the room and headed to Coulson's locker. If Phil thought the Avengers Initiative needed something to avenge, Fury would give them something to avenge.

"It is both lovely to see you here and terrible," were the first words Harry said when he arrived at what had been his home for far longer than the small unit in New York on the living plane. Phil smiled at him before turning back to the window that he had tuned to watch the Avengers.

"You knew I would be here eventually. Where else would I have gone?"

The Master of Death draped himself around the shoulders of his soulmate and shrugged slightly, joining him in watching the ragtag group of people fight off aliens. "You could have chosen to be reborn."

"I couldn't, that would have left you all alone."

"You would have come back, and I would have kept watch over you."

Phil turned in the loop of Harry's arms and gave him a quick peck on the lips, "I know. Now show me how to be a proper reaper."

Harry laughed, "Well my young padawan, it just so happens that we have the perfect training ground for you! See, there are a lot of deaths happening in New York and those Chitauri aren't going to reap themselves." Offering Phil his arm, Harry asked, "Shall we?"

"We shall," Phil replied, looping his arm through Harry's and allowing the other man to take them out of the veil and to New York where the souls of the dead were waiting to be reaped.