Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Harry Potter, nor do I make anything from this.

Warnings: Several over the course of the story, but for this chapter? None really. Lemme see... Death (literally in this case), mentions of death (and not just the immortal taker of souls), Time Travel, Humour…Think that's it for this chapter… NOTE: I write for fun, relaxation, and to make me happy… If these requirements are not met, there is a chance of me just giving up. Besides, I'm ADD and it's hard to keep my attention long to begin with LOL

Key:

§ Parseltongue

' Thoughts '

Spells

" Speaking "

oOoOoOo

Harry Potter and Death's Deal

Chapter Two: Death's Deal

WC: 3474

oOoOoOo

~* Last Time:

"Starting to understand, Harry? Surrender your title of Master. Rather than making you a mere Servant in this deal, I've decided to make you my Child. A Child is much more useful to me anyway, and I can make this deal quite sweet for you… in return for your eternal commitment, of course..." *~

Harry just stared at Death in shock. Talk about unexpected. But could he really do that? Surrender his title of "Master" to become Death's Child? And what would being said Child entail? What would he have to do? And what had Death meant by that last bit…

"What do you mean, eternal commitment?" Harry wanted all the details before he even thought about considering this. That, and he was skeptical about this even being real. Seemed too much like a dream to him. After all, it wasn't every day a living being came face to… er, hooded face with Death.

"You would be mine to do with as I please. If I want a vacation, you will take over for me. You will not be reborn, ever, not truly. If I need you to accomplish something for me, I will send you to the Land of the Living in whatever form I deem most likely to help you on your mission, but it wont be a true rebirth."

Harry let all that sink in. For the chance to save so many lives, Muggle and Magical alike, it would be worth it wouldn't it? Sure, he would be stuck serving this person, Death, for all time but... people wouldn't lose their souls.

"Do you... do you get the souls that Dementors, you know... Kiss?"

"No." Death growled, which sounded rather frightening. "Those things are unnatural. Once the disgusting thing gets a hold of a soul, it is lost. Magic is quite upset about this as well, mind you. Most wizards and witches are old souls that have been blessed by Magic. They are recycled again and again, so to speak, and few are ever created beyond this."

"So by having all these people Kissed, the Ministry is really limiting the number of Magical people we have in the future."

"More or less, yes. Sure, Magic will bless more as the years go on, but... last souls Magic blessed to be Magical, aside from yours, was nearly a millennium ago. Magic is really picky!" Death huffed in frustration, and almost sounded like a shunned suitor or something.

"Aside from mine? So I have an old soul that was recently blessed?" Harry questioned. That would be pretty wicked.

"No, you have a new soul that Magic deemed worthy to bless. And not just Magic, mind you. The Fates have been rather interested in you since your soul came into existence. That, and Lady Luck." Death chuckled at that. "Bad thing about the Lady, she goes both ways. Good or bad, you've got Luck on your side."

"I have a NEW soul? But I thought Magic only blessed old souls." Harry was becoming more intrigued, as well as confused, the longer this went on.

"That's what we all thought, but you were different. Hell, your soul was born with a Soul Bond... That is unheard of, mind you. As in it's NEVER happens. Ever." Death commented and then paused.

Harry could tell that the being was thinking about something and didn't wish to interrupt, so he remained silent and just watched. He couldn't tell anything from facial expressions, seeing as Death had not shown their face, but he could decipher a thing or two from Death's body language… what little he could make out from beneath those overly concealing robes.

It took a few minutes before Harry saw the being nod their head as they seemed to decide upon something before Death continued the conversation.

"You really are something else, and that's what makes me believe you are meant for so much more. That is why I want you to be my Child." Death seemed somewhat hesitant to lay all their cards on the table, so to speak, but Harry appreciated the honesty.

'Wait, do I really believe all this?' Harry wondered and after a moment of mulling over the question in his mind he realized that, yes, he really believed all this was happening. He truly believed that Death was here trying to make a deal with him. 'Why not?' And with that he concluded that he should just go with the flow.

"That's why I saved you that night, mind you. But Riddle... he did something rather unexpected that forever entwined your destinies."

"Voldemort?" Harry asked and cocked his head to the side as he looked at Death where he thought their eyes should be. "What did he do?" He was curious.

"You... You're a wealth of firsts, you know that?"

"Huh?" Harry knew he sounded rather dense, but... he couldn't help it! Death kept throwing him curve-balls and he felt completely off balance.

"First new soul that Magic blessed, first to survive the Killing Curse... granted, you were given a helping hand, but it's still a first. First to be born with a Soul Bond already formed, and first to have a second Soul Bond forged from a failed assassination attempt." Death paused. "Okay, first to have a Soul Bond forged from a failed assassination attempt period, actually." They shrugged.

"A second Soul Bond?" Harry inquired, finding it hard to believe that Voldemort had created a Soul Bond. Sure, he knew the man had placed a part of his soul inside him as a baby but... a Soul Bond sounded like much more than that. "That sounds a little bit more..."

"Permanent? It is. Think Soul Mate. Few ever have one, I have to be careful when allowing these because they are forever. Like, eternally forever. Once made those souls can only be reborn together. True, not necessarily "same place, same time" but in the long run, they are together in the same time and will find one another. To have two souls bound to your own is unheard of, but again you are a first for many things."

"So people with Soul Bonds always find each other and fall in love?" Harry wondered aloud.

"No." Death shrugged. "There is a fine line between love and hate. Those who are Bound always find each other, unless Fate intervenes for whatever reason, but they aren't always lovers." The cloaked figure commented nonchalantly and walked over to sit on Draco's headstone.

"Have you no respect." Harry seethed upon seeing this display.

Sure, he and Draco had always been at each others throats during school and all, but they had come to an understanding after he had saved the blonde from the incident in the Room of Requirements. Heck, during the "Battle of Hogwarts", Draco had only gone to Voldemort because both his parents had urged him. Only because his parents had wanted to run and hide him away where the Dark Lord could not reach him.

If it hadn't been for them, Draco would have stood with the rest of the students. Draco had wanted to stand with the people he had harassed for ages, not for himself, but in what he had thought was Harry's memory. To honor what he'd thought was Harry's death.

Draco had even confessed to Harry, once, that he had been relieved when he found that Harry was alive. The blonde had been happy that his school rival had survived not only a second Killing Curse, but the Final Battle as well.

They had become close in the time Harry had been fighting for him and his family. The blonde had talked to him about, well, everything really. It was somewhat of a stress relief for the other boy and Harry had found himself enjoying the ponce's stories. Heck, he had even become accustomed to the prat's whining.

Boy, could Draco complain! Had the blonde still been with them, Harry was sure that the young Malfoy would be giving Death a thorough tongue lashing for daring to desecrate his grave.

"I have respect for souls, not the fleshy husks they once inhabited." Death sighed. "Did you know that the young Malfoy had a Soul Bond?" Well, that question seemed to come out of nowhere.

But Death seemed to be good at doing that, asking questions and making comments that totally throw Harry for a loop. But this? Malfoy had a Soul Bond, the blonde had a Soul Mate and because of the Dementors they could never again be together.

"Are you trying to rub it in my face, that two are suffering instead of just the one, because I was unable to protect him?" Harry ground out as he fought back the tears.

"No, I'm just helping to give you a little more perspective... to give you a bit more motivation." Death replied. "I'm offering you the chance to prevent not one but TWO wars. I will also give you the opportunity, and the power, to make those... abominations known as Dementors cease their meaningless existence..." Death made a gesture towards the headstone on which he was seated. "I'm giving you the chance to save him and so many others, to protect not only those dear to you but those who are Bound to the souls that have been stolen."

Emerald eyes narrowed as he allowed the words to sink in. Harry looked at where Death's eyes should be, which were veiled by the hood of their cloak.

"You offer a lot, so there must be a catch. What aren't you telling me? There has to be more than just me becoming your "Child," and minion, more or less. And why don't you get rid of the Dementors yourself if you have the power to?" Harry asked as he sat down quite gracelessly at the foot of Draco's grave.

"I cannot interfere directly with the past... actually, I'm not really supposed to interfere directly with any time period, but well..."

"The opportunity to get me alone and alive was too much of a temptation or something?" Harry chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation.

"I could have waited for you to die and THEN offer you this deal, but I wanted you to make this commitment of your own free will, not because you think you have to." Death stated. "Because you are right, there is more to it than just you becoming my Child. You have two Soul Bonds, after all." The cloaked figure shrugged.

"Which means I would damn them to the same fate should I accept." Harry muttered, realization dawning on him. "Three for the price of one."

"Not damning, per se. Yes, they would roam the realm of Death with us until you are reborn, a time and place of my choosing, but... it wouldn't be all bad. You three would get a chance unlike any mortal has ever had. You will be able to become closer in your bounded mates than any Human or Creature before you."

Death sighed when they realized that Harry was in his own little world, worrying about what his decision would do to some "unknown" Soul Mates. Actually, Death knew that Harry didn't much care for Voldemort's feeling on the matter, and Death couldn't blame the boy. It was the other Bonded that Harry was worried about. Worried that he would forever damn his Soul Mate for one decision, one chance to fix things would bind them all to Death for eternity.

"Here is something that will help you make your decision... If you don't accept, you will never be reunited with either of your Soul Mates. Wouldn't it be better to see them again, even if it is on my terms?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, which let Death know they had successfully retrieved Harry from Worry Land.

"I mean that one of your Soul Mate's soul was so shredded that it will never recover enough to be reborn. And the other? Well... They were Kissed..." Death trailed off as they hoped that the sudden information would not overwhelm the young man before them.

"Kissed?" Harry gasped as the implications sunk in. One soul torn beyond repair, one that he might have the chance to save should he accept Death's Deal. And the other? "A thin line between love and hate..." He spoke softly as he looked at Draco's tombstone. "They were Kissed."

Well, that hit closer to home. It would also explain just WHY he had been fighting so bloody hard to protect the blonde.

"Draco..."

"Bingo." Death confirmed.

"What... what happens if I go back in time? Will I see him..."

"I will send you to a time where you will see his life before this one. After all, you have to save Tom Riddle as well so you might as well kill two birds with one stone, right?" There was a light tone to Death's voice, but it quickly became serious. "Those monsters, those disgusting Dementors, were created during Grindelwald's time. During the war to be more precise, and that's where you will find your best chance to defeat them I do believe."

"Before Draco, so I can't..."

"Because you will be there, he will be attracted to you. You are Bound, after all, and regardless of the circumstances your mere presence will send him signals and he will come to you. Be it in love or hate will be up to you in the long run."

"How will I know?"

"You'll feel the pull... but I will let you in on a little secret, IF you agree to this whole thing of course." Harry could hear the grin in Death's tone.

Death knew they had won. After all, he couldn't really deny saving his Soul Mates on top of everyone else now could he? He would be a fool to let an opportunity like this slip away, to let the chance to save the Wizarding World and his precious people from the horror of two wars... No, he wouldn't let them suffer. Even if that meant doing Death's bidding for the rest of time, it would be worth it.

"So? Would you be willing to give up your title of my "Master" and take on the title of my "Child" instead?" Death questioned. "I will even give you and your descendants a gift, if you will... one that shows you are blessed by Death itself."

"Heh." Harry chuckled. "Trying to sugar coat a deal you already know I'm going to accept?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.

"It would be to my advantage as well, actually. But it will definitely help you in the long run, so why not tempt you and seal the deal?" The cloak moved, shook in fact, and Harry realized that Death was silently laughing.

"Very well, I accept. I relinquish my title of your "Master" and accept being your "Child" instead." A flash of light, which reminded Harry of one of those Muggle black lights, surrounded them and then it was gone.

"Good." Death chuckled and pulled back their hood to reveal quite a sight to Harry's eyes.

The androgynous face before him was like one of those timeless masterpieces. An ageless beauty. Black hair had streaks of red throughout and was styled in a way that said "just got out of bed after a good shag". Plump, bow shaped lips were pulled up in a smile and a straight, perfect nose was scrunched up slightly in their owner's mirth. And those eyes. Those amazing, yet frightening eyes.

Harry had never seen anything like them and he was having trouble looking away. It wasn't everyday that one saw solid black eyes, after all. There was no color, not even whites, the eyes were just these pure obsidian orbs.

"Whoa..."

"This is the form I choose. You wouldn't have been able to see it had you not accepted the deal. Now you can see me for what I am, rather than some preconceived "if I die, I would die happy if…" kind of things. Honestly, some of the shit these Humans come up with. I do not appreciate being a chick with boobs that stick out a foot or more from my chest you know." Death rolled their eyes… or at least Harry thought Death was rolling their eyes. It was hard to tell when said eyes were solid black. "Honestly, some people."

Harry stared at Death for a moment, stunned at the sudden easy going and open speaking attitude that Death now displayed towards him. It appeared that accepting the deal had caused the Immortal to open up to him.

"Surprised?" Death chuckled. "You are the first person I can really be myself around, you know. So I will take advantage of it, just fair warning." The dark being bounced their head from side to side. "And your Mates, when you retrieve them and you three are done living out what will be your quote, unquote, next life." Death smiled and seemed honestly happy about the fact that s/he would soon have company.

People the being can show its true self to.

'Heh, I know how that feels.' Harry thought ruefully, he really had been lucky to get to know Draco so he had someone he could just be "Harry" around for once.

Amazing how one didn't realize how lucky they were to have something until it was gone.

'But not for long.' No, Draco wouldn't be lost to him. Death had offered Harry a chance to get his Mate back, and he wasn't going to squander this boon.

He really had to thank Death, maybe even get them a present. 'But would I be getting a present for a male or female?' The thought occurred to Harry and he couldn't help himself. He really wanted to ask, and since Death seemed rather amiable towards him he might as well.

"With all due respect, I have to wonder… are you a boy or a girl?" Harry really couldn't help it, he was unable tell one way or another and it was driving him up a wall.

"Both, yet neither. Again, it depends on what the Human feels more comfortable with."

"But what about when you can be yourself, like now?"

"Truthfully?" Death inquired with a quirked eyebrow.

Harry snorted. "No, I'm asking so you can give me an elaborate lie." He rolled his eyes playfully. "Yes, truthfully." Harry chuckled and Death joined in the younger male's mirth.

"I prefer to think of myself as a male, but I am whatever I need to be." Death smiled.

"So in a way you're my dad and Magic is my mum?" Harry asked and tried to feign innocence, but failed miserably.

"Thousands of comedians out of work and I had to choose their ring leader as my Child." Death sighed as if Harry was going to be such a great burden to put up with.

"At least I'm not a whiny ponce or a sociopath homicidal maniac." Harry shrugged as he stood up from where he had been sitting in the dirt.

"No helping the first one, but your so called maniac was actually created. Splitting one's soul will do that to a person." Death made it sound like he was making the commented offhandedly, but Harry noticed it for what it was.

Death was arming him with knowledge that will help him save his Soul Mate.

"So… What are these powers or whatever you'll be gifting me and mine with to show that I'm blessed by the God of Death?"

"Heh. You've already accepted the deal, so I'm going to let it be a surprise… or tell you later, whichever comes first." Death laughed happily and Harry couldn't bring himself to be upset about the development.

The ability to save his people was more than worth a surprise or two. Besides, seeing the Grim Reaper so happy made him smile. Harry had the feeling that the older "male" didn't have much to feel elated about very often so the teen was willing to give the man a break and allow him to have a little fun.

"Very well, shall we get things rolling then? Or is there anything you can think of to tell me before hand?" Harry inquired as he looked at Death expectantly.

"I am unable to affect time, or Human lives, directly. You and your Mates, however, can. Just keep that in mind, okay?" Death commented nonchalantly as he took a nice looking silver bag out of his robes.

Harry stared at the bag, mesmerized. It looked like molten silver in the form of a bag. The bag was really gorgeous and Harry had to wonder what it could possibly contain.

"Look, I'm magic!" Death exclaimed as he threw the sparkling contents of the bag on Harry.

Before Harry could respond, the teen's world went black.

A/N: And from here things are going to start getting interesting… What does Death do to help Harry save the future? Will Harry really think it's worth it? Guess you'll just have to wait and see! lol