Hi! This is my first ever Harry Potter fanfiction! This is my attempt at Reptilia28's "Don't Fear the Reaper" challenge. The rules are as follows:

Storyline:

*Harry is killed at 17 during the fight with Voldemort. He's sent to his Death's office (explained later) and finds out that this isn't the first time that this has happened.

*Harry's Death (who can have a human name) is mad at his arrival. Apparently, people dying before their time is a black mark on the various Deaths' records, and Harry is getting perilously close to getting this particular one fired.

*When Harry asks what was supposed to have happened, Death goes off on a rant saying how he was supposed to have killed Voldemort, found his soul mate ("Some Granger girl…") and lived to be a centennial age. But since Harry keeps getting into life-threatening situations for one reason or another, he keeps dying before that happens. Harry is surprised about the soul mate part.

*Death gives Harry a paper to sign that allows him to retain his memories (the previous times, he wasn't given this option for some reason). Harry is deposited to a previous time of the writer's choosing.

*Eventually, Harry gets it right. He kills Voldemort, gets the girl, and lives to a ripe old age of whatever. And Death doesn't get fired.

Requirements:

*Harry must have died at least three times before this one

*The memory keeping contract must be included

*Death must refer to Hermione as "some Granger girl" when Harry's soul mate turns up in his rant

*Obviously, must be H/Hr

*Have fun

Optional:

*Dumbledore's manipulations can be a factor in Harry's premature demises

This story will obviously be a HarryxHermione story. I have never liked Ron or Ginny, so they will not be depicted favorably in this story. I've also come to dislike Dumbledore, so he won't be talked about kindly, either. Other pairings that will be making appearances are NevillexLuna, RemusxTonks, SiriusxEmily (an OC), DracoxSelena (another OC), FredxKatie, and GeorgexAngelina. Dobby and Winky may end up together as well, though I'm not sure as of this author's note. Also, this story will be a slight crossover with Black Butler. One of the characters from Black Butler will be a main character in this story, at least one will make a minor appearance, and a few others will be mentioned. Okay, onto the legal stuff…

I own this story, Emily Tarleton, and Selena Menzel. William Spears, the Undertaker, Grelle Sutcliff, Ciel Phantomhive, and Sebastian Michaelis copyright to Yana Toboso. All other characters copyright to J. K. Rowling. The challenge rules I'm following copyright to Reptilia28. Onward to the story!

Chapter 1- Come On, Harry (Don't Fear the Reaper)

Harry James Potter was very confused. He was currently sitting in a black chair inside a white waiting room of sorts with no idea as to where exactly he was or how he came to be there. The last memory Harry had was of confronting Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest.

"Harry Potter," a bored female voice called.

Harry looked up at the glass window he hadn't noticed before and answered, "Yes, ma'am?"

"Come with me, please," the voice said.

Harry stood and walked to the door next to the window, where he got a good look at the voice's owner. The female was a little on the short side with thick blonde hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt and white dress shirt.

"This way," she directed in the same bored tone.

The walk was silent for a few minutes before Harry asked, "Um, Miss…?"

"Mischa," she supplied.

"Mischa, where am I, and how did I get here?"

"That's not for me to tell," she answered as they arrived at a large oak door. "This is our stop." She opened the door and stuck her head inside.

"Mr. Potter is here to see you," she informed the room's occupant.

"WHAT?!" a male voice yelled before sighing resignedly. "Send him in, Mischa."

The blonde turned to Harry. "Go inside and everything will be explained."

"O-okay…" Harry answered, still confused.

He stepped inside and turned to thank Mischa, but she was gone. Shrugging, Harry turned around to get a look at the new room and its inhabitant. The room itself was a very tidy office space with a large number of filing cabinets. One strange detail that Harry noted was a long black tree trimmer that was leaning up against the filing cabinet closest to the room's owner. This man was tall with sleek black hair, yellow-green eyes framed by brown glasses, and a neat and (no doubt) expensive suit. The man had an expression of irritation on his face.

"Mr. Potter, would you please tell me why you stand in my office yet AGAIN?" the man inquired.

"Um, what? I'm sorry, but I've never seen you before, sir. I have no idea where I am or how I got here."

The man sighed and pinched his nose. "Of course, you wouldn't remember, would you? You've always had to give up your memories of your visits here, numerous though they may be." The man sighed again before gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat, Mr. Potter."

More confused than before, Harry obeyed and sat down.

The man sat down in his own chair and pinched the bridge of his nose once more. "I suppose I should introduce myself…again. I am William Spears, a senior level Grim Reaper and your personal Reaper."

"Grim Reaper?! Am I dead?" Harry asked, shocked.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, indeed you are. This is actually your sixth time being dead. Had you retained your memories of your several visits to my office, I'd have to think that your goal is to get me fired."

"Six times?! How could I be dead six times?! Wait, you can get fired?"

"Six times. The first two were at the hands of your aunt and uncle. The first time was after the snake incident at the zoo with your cousin; your uncle made good on his promise of not feeding you for a week and you starved. The second time was your first summer back from Hogwarts, when your aunt cracked your skull with a frying pan for you teasing your cousin about using magic. The third time you made eye contact with the Basilisk before Fawkes blinded it. The fourth time your gillyweed wore off and you drowned in the Black Lake during the Triwizard Tournament. The fifth time you were overdosed on Amortentia by Miss Weasley, and this last time you were murdered by Voldemort. By the way, did you really think that you could take an Avada Kedavra straight on to destroy the Horcrux in your scar without killing yourself? Rather stupid if you ask me. As far as getting fired, yes, Grim Reapers can be fired. Anytime a soul in a Reaper's care dies before it is supposed to, it is a black mark against the Reaper. Once a Reaper reaches seven black marks, they are fired. Normally, once a soul dies, they are moved on to Judgment and that's it. However, certain souls have a big or important destiny tied to them, and in those cases, the soul is returned to its body, fully healed, and the memories of all the souls associated with it are modified. In case you couldn't guess, you fall into the latter category. In the case of special souls like yours, you are only allowed to be revived seven times, and each revive counts as a black mark. Now, your destiny is great indeed, Mr. Potter, but I do not refer to that crock of horse feces that Trelawney told Dumbledore. No, I'm talking about your true destiny. You are destined to end the terror that is Tom Marvolo Riddle, but you are also destined to marry your soulmate, some Granger girl, and have a family before dying of natural causes at the age of 212. But, unfortunately for both of us, you have thus far failed." The Reaper stopped here, massaging his forehead a few times before taking a bottle of Excedrin from his desk and popping a few.

Harry gaped at William, jaw dropped. "M-my soulmate is Hermione?"

William tsked and shook his head irritably. "I gave you all that information and all you managed to retain was that Hermione Granger is your soulmate?"

"I heard everything else too," Harry reassured hastily. "It's just, if Hermione is my soulmate, then why did I fall in love with Ginny, and she with Ron? Wait, you said that one of my deaths was from an overdose of Amortentia?"

"Your so-called love for Ginevra Weasley is nothing more than the result of Amortentia, and yes, she was too hasty in her first attempt to administer the potion and accidentally overdosed you. Your soulmate's feelings for Ronald are also due to Amortentia. I must say, however, that you made yourself and, by extension, Hermione as well, a sitting duck for the two youngest Weasleys because you allowed yourself to be influenced and controlled by Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Seriously, who needs three middle names? Anyway…as I said, you're on your last chance, Mr. Potter. If you screw up again, you're dead for good and off to Purgatory for an indefinite amount of time, and I shall never get a decent job again for allowing Harry Potter to fail."

William was silent then, and Harry began to gather his thoughts.

"Mr. Spears, you said that Dumbledore influenced and controlled me?"

"Yes I did. Albus Dumbledore has his own idea of what the Greater Good is and, as a result, believes that only he knows what is best for anyone and everyone. I mentioned it earlier, you may recall, but the so-called prophecy that he heard from Trelawney is absolutely fake. While it is your destiny to defeat Voldemort, the prophecy is nonsense. It ends up being a self-fulfilling prophecy because Voldemort believed it to be true and acted on it, and Dumbledore believes it true and has molded you after it. He knew that your godfather was innocent yet did nothing to help him, he knew that your aunt and uncle were abusive and did nothing to help, and he has definitely known about Voldemort's Horcruxes since your second year after you presented him with Tom Riddle's diary. There are other and more efficient ways of destroying Horcruxes; you don't have to destroy the container. Certainly, he could have thought of a way to rid you of that Horcrux without killing you? I heartily agree with Severus Snape; Dumbledore was raising you like a pig for the slaughter. While Dumbledore himself is not evil, his beliefs and his stubbornness allow him to do evil things without ever acknowledging how much damage he's doing."

Harry tried very hard to dispute what William was telling him, but it soon became apparent to him that there was nothing he could say. The Reaper was absolutely right.

"I'm sorry to have to dump all of this on you and then rush you, but we must move on now," said William.

Harry nodded in understanding. "So in summary, don't trust Dumbledore, Ron and Ginny are potioning me and Hermione, the prophecy's a lie, and I have to kill Voldemort and marry Hermione?"

"More or less."

"I have no problem severing ties with Ginny, but I can't just drop Ron like this."

"Even knowing what he did to your soulmate?" William questioned, eyebrow raised.

"I think that I can change him. But, I'd have a better opportunity to do so had I known all of this earlier. Hey, how am I supposed to do anything different if you're just gonna wipe my memory when I leave?"

William offered him a half-smile. "Well, since this is your last shot, we can make some exceptions. For example, you may choose from a range of times to return. I can't allow you to return to when you were an infant. Too much can happen then that can also keep you from your destiny. I can send you back as far as the beginning of your first year at Hogwarts. Also, I will have to speak to the boss about it, but I wish to send you back with your memories intact this time. After all, it doesn't do much good for me to tell you all of this just to send you back with no memory of having been told, especially since you're on your last reset. What do you say, Harry?"

There was no hesitation on the young wizard's part. "Of course! Yes, I'll go back and fix all of this! Hmm...I would like to go back to the beginning of my third year. That way, I can save Sirius and get him cleared. I want to try and stop Pettigrew this time, too. Yes, I think the beginning of third year would be best," Harry decided.

William nodded his head. "Very well. Let me-"he was cut off by a figure with long red hair storming into the office. Harry couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.

"Will! That horrid little brat had the nerve to set his dog on me when I went to visit my Bassie!" the figure shrieked. While the voice was high-pitched, there was no denying that the redhead was, in fact, male. William groaned in resigned irritation.

"Grelle, I am in the middle of something very, very important. I don't have time to listen to your complaining about the Earl Phantomhive and his disgusting butler."

Harry raised his eyebrows in confusion. Seeing his client's look, William sighed yet again before explaining, "This pathetic creature is Grelle Sutcliff; he is, most unfortunately, one of my fellow Reapers. He has more than a slight obsession with one Sebastian Michaelis, butler to Earl Ciel Phantomhive. Why he tries, I don't know. Earl Phantomhive does not welcome him and Michaelis has no interest in Grelle, except perhaps in killing him."

Harry was silent as he processed the information he was given. "That's…peculiar."

"Indeed," William agreed. He then turned to address Grelle again. "If I must be near you, then make yourself useful and go tell Undertaker that I must speak with him immediately."

The flamboyant Reaper pouted before agreeing and leaving the office.

"Oh yes, there was something else, I almost forgot. May I see your glasses, please?" William asked.

"Sure," said Harry as he handed them over, curious as to what the Reaper might need them for. To his surprise, William popped the lenses out of the glasses! "Hey! What're you doing?!"

"Helping you," the Reaper answered tersely as he opened another drawer on his desk and pulled out two new lenses, which he popped into Harry's glasses and handed back to him. "Those new lenses will help you detect if there are potions in your food or drink. No one will be able to tell except you. If there are love potions of any sort in your food, the lenses will cause your vision to go pink. If there are compulsion or controlling potions, they will cause your vision to go blue."

"Thank you," Harry responded gratefully.

Just then, Grelle returned with another Reaper, this one dressed in a long, baggy black robe and a saggy, ragged black hat. His hair was long, shaggy, and grey, and his eyes were hidden from sight. Harry was slightly creeped out by the Reaper's long fingernails and smile, and when the man giggled, Harry was even more creeped out.

"Hehe! Hello William, hello Harry Potter. William, Grelle says you needed to see me about something?"

"Yes, sir. By the way, Harry, this is Undertaker, our boss. Sir, I am sending Harry back to his third year to try and do it right this time, but I want to send him back with his memories intact. It does little good to tell him about what he needs to know while he's here and then wipe his memories and expect him to get it right."

Undertaker placed a long finger against his chin in thought.

"You make a valid point, my dear William. Very well, then." Undertaker snapped his fingers, and a scroll came flying into his hand. He opened the scroll and read it over before giggling. "Yes, this is the one. Young Harry, if you will sign this scroll, please. It is a contract saying you understand what William has discussed with you and that you promise not to reveal anything that you've learned here to anyone once you return. There may be special circumstances that arise that will allow you to, but not just yet. William will be able to communicate with you once you return, and he will tell you when such circumstances occur. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes, Undertaker."

"Go ahead and sign, then."

Harry took the proffered quill and quickly signed his name.

"Good luck, Harry Potter," said Undertaker.

"I'll be in touch soon, Harry. Take care," said William.

"How will I-"

Before Harry could finish his question, his vision went black and he had the sensation of falling.