Disclaimer: Since none of the HP books are rated NC-17, and the series is not just a collection of gay porn with plot on the side, it's pretty safe to say that I don't own the franchise. However, I do own the lullaby in this chapter, as well as the plot where Death is concerned, and I will happily sue the shit (or shite for those from over the pond) out of anyone who tries to steal them. That stuff is going directly into my own novella, so I will have a legal team all over anyone dumb enough to plagiarize.

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The darkness surrounding him reminded Harry of a crib mattress under the stairs, of long nights and longer days in spaces too small to breathe, and, for the first time since it was beaten out of him as a child, he cried. Harry's heart begged for any scrap of comfort, and yet it was bereft of hope. He had been too hurt by the world, so no one would ever be allowed close enough to light the dark and lonely places where he bottled up the pain inside. At least, that was what he thought before someone took him in their arms and held him. Try as he might to resist the warmth that enveloped his shivering soul, he could only fight against what he needed for so long. When Harry finally gave in and started to relax, he felt someone wipe his eyes and sing.

Don't cry little songbird,

Please don't weep,

For secrets you've never had to keep.

Don't cry little songbird,

Please don't cry,

And I'll sing you a lullaby.

As nightingales softly sigh,

My small canary,

Bid the day goodbye.

It's time for peace,

So do not fear the night,

For while the sun must sleep,

The stars glow bright.

So rest little songbird,

Close your eyes,

And dreams will paint

The moonlit skies.

Now rest little songbird,

And I'll sing,

Soft and sweet,

Of how I love you completely.

As nightingales softly sigh,

My small canary,

Bid the day goodbye.

It's time to sleep,

So do not fear the night,

For while the sun must sleep,

The stars glow bright.

When you sing,

Little songbird,

You hold the world at bay.

So beautiful and fragile

That you take my breath away.

So sing little songbird,

When morning bids you wake,

But tonight,

Let me sing for your sake.

The woman had a voice almost deep enough to be mistaken for a man, rolling over him like gentle thunder in a rain storm. As she held and rocked him like he'd only experienced as a baby, Harry opened his eyes and looked up at the woman who reminded him what it felt like to be truly loved. Her hair was a shining silver, face slightly wrinkled, in a way that made her look more wise than old, and her eyes… Her eyes had all the darkness and gravity of a black hole, but there was something so warm in her expression that told you she would be there for you, no matter what. A small smile played on her lips, but he could sense a deep sadness in her as she looked at him.

"Little master, do you know who I am?" she asked. At his look of confusion, she sighed and held him closer. "My beautiful baby boy, I have many names, but you would know me best as Death."

"Death? But you're so- so,"

"Motherly?" she asked. At his nod, she smiled a bit brighter than before. "Child, who better than a mother to put children to bed? Some run about for a long summer day, chasing the last golden rays until I swaddle them in moonlight. Some find dusk before ever knowing dawn. Some are so unruly that I must send them to bed with a mother's fury. And sadly, some come running to my arms, so that I may soothe the burns they've suffered at the hands of the sun. I am there for every babe, every child that the universe bore of stardust and good intentions will one day hold my hand as I guide them. It's true that I am as stern as I am loving, but then, all children should know that their mother's arms can be either haven or hell if they misbehave," she stated simply.

"But you called me master," Harry said, still in awe of the woman holding him as if he weighed nothing.

"And that you are, sweet one," she told him. "I love all my children, but the master of my heart can only be one babe strong enough to drive all his brothers and sisters into my embrace, and yet still be willing to give me his soul to spare them pain he knows all too well," Death continued to rock him, even as tears trailed down her cheeks, "Darling, know that I am so sorry that I failed you. Like every child dealt misfortune, I have wanted to take you away from the cruelty you were forced to endure. I- I have watched over you, felt every pain like it were my own, and often begged that you would fall into my arms, but, while I will always catch every angel that has suffered, I cannot pull them towards me anymore than they can escape what fate demands from them." As she kissed his forehead, Harry felt all the warmth that he had been denied for so long, and it made him both happy and drowsy. The gentle motion of Death's arms was lulling him to sleep, but when she noticed him start to nod off, she stopped and patted him on the cheek to keep him awake.

"Not yet dear, I need you to know what it means to have a place in my heart," Death said. When Harry forced his eyes open, she smiled at him before continuing on. "As my master, every once in a great while, you can ask me to stay my hand, or to take hold of another's soul. I cannot always agree with you, but, so long as your reasons are just, I will try to abide by your requests. However, know that the only soul that I will always be willing to let be or embrace is your own. If you truly desire to rest in my arms, I will come, but there will be a cost. Not to you... but to every soul you've given light to." His brow furrowed, and Death went on to answer the unasked question. "When a soul comes to me at the end of their day, I leave but a small shadow. However, should a soul be pushed my way before its time, every life they touched will know an even greater sorrow, and sometimes that darkness will lead others to me. I will take you if ever you truly want me to, but you must understand that the absence of your light before its time will bring many more into my arms as well."

"How could my soul make such a big difference?" Harry asked. Death's expression morphed into one of violent anger, and he would have been afraid if the arms around him were any less gentle than they were before.

"In all eternity, I have only wanted to beat a small number of my charges, but none more so than the ones that toy with the lives of others and make them doubt their own value! The day my hands reach your swine of an uncle, he will think that the hell he believes in is a playground compared to what I have planned! I will render the fat from his very bones to craft the candles that will roast his sorry hide, and he will learn quickly that my night terrors are the stuff of legends." The ice and steel in her tone could shatter the confidence of grown men, but all Harry heard was the righteous fury she displayed on his behalf. It was actually… nice, if a bit familiar. Something was clawing at the back of his sleepy mind, fighting to bring him to alertness, but even Harry couldn't stay completely awake in Death's embrace. Instead of trying to follow the niggling thought, he focused on her voice when she continued speaking.

"Harry, you perfect child, after everything you've been through, you've still maintained the thing that makes you blindingly brilliant. You would gladly trade your life and happiness for another's without a second thought, because you value the good you find in everyone, and that makes you priceless. There are too few among the world that deem others just as important as they are, but you bring out that quality in so many people. Ronald would have taken his family for granted until it was too late without you, Hermione would have never had the true friendship she needed to become the strong woman she is if you weren't there, the same goes for Neville, Sirius, Remus and Severus would have had no reason at all to go on after they lost Lily and James, and not to mention that all of England would have been taken over by many of my wayward children before the rest of the world decided to cut their loses and be done with most of the continent!" Death looked down at the precious boy in her arms and let him see the pride and love in her eyes, "You, heart of my heart, are the keystone that has held together so much good in the world. Even when you would doubt that people were worth saving, even when you knew you owed them nothing, all it would take is the thought of a single child's future being ravaged by war and you would carry a burden too heavy for shoulders much wider than yours with a sigh and determination. That is why your soul is so precious, because, for all the battering it's taken, you are still so fundamentally good that most of the people around you can't help but be the same." Death held him tighter before setting Harry down on his feet and kneeling to look him in the eyes with her hands on his shoulders. "Harry, I wish I could keep you with me, but I know you're not ready, and there are so many people waiting for you to come back. Know that I love you so much, and that you will never be alone. I will be waiting to catch you if you ever need me, but I know that there are so many people who are willing to do the same so that you won't feel the need to call on me for a very long time." Death kissed his forehead one more time before she covered his eyes and whispered in his ear.

"Sing, little songbird, for noon is far away, and dusk farther still, but daylight is upon you, and so your song has hearts to fill."

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Author's note: Well, chapter nine was a whiny little bitch and refused to write itself like this one did, so I apologize for the wait. This chapter has been written for weeks, and I've been almost dying to post it because I really do want feedback on it. Like I ranted said in the disclaimer, my version of Death is going to be a key figure in the novella I'm writing, so I'd really like to know what you guys think I should tweak. Also, I'm going to release a recording of this lullaby, which is titled Little Songbird, as soon as I can figure out Garageband (it actually works on my little brothers, as well as our two dogs). Chapter eleven is on the way, but it's being a little bitchy, so no promises on when I'll have it done, but it will have Harry waking up to the aftermath, as well as a very tough decision that he'll have to make.

P.S. =_= I know I told you people about the MPREG poll, so how come there are only two votes? I didn't want to do this, but I'm thinking that, if I have less than ten votes either way, I'm going to just go ahead and decide myself. Keep in mind that Remus really is the only thing I'm ever going to pull out of Sirius' arse, and that, in my story, the wizarding world would have come up with C-sections because of this. The deadline for this poll will be by chapter thirteen!