The Dealer
Prequel to "The Deal".
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.
A/N: I couldn't help myself. It is unlikely most of you will like this as much as The Deal, but I can always hope. As always, I'm very interested to receive intelligent comments and criticism. Be sure to read the omake at the end.
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The candles were lit and he had used his own blood to form the pentagram. He cast a quick healing spell and took a swallow from a vial of blood replenishing potion. This would work... it had to.
He knelt within the pentagram and lowered his eyes to the motionless figure laid out in front of him. There were bruises all over her body, sections of missing hair and bald patches where it had been torn from its roots, numerous cuts, and a hideous blue-black band around her delicate neck where it had been ruthlessly wrenched when she fought back against her attacker.
A black, quiet hatred rose up within him as he remembered the examination after he'd found her.
Numerous defensive wounds could be seen on her hands and forearms (her fingers were broken, as well as her right arm close to the wrist) and several fingernails were broken or missing from her attempt at gouging her attacker's eyes out.
He knew without a shadow of a doubt that her killer had to have taken her by surprise but she had not gone down easily. It was of little comfort. She had promised she would come back to him and he would do everything in his power to help her keep her promise.
%%%%%%%%
The candles burned low and the molten wax made strange shapes as it flowed and hardened on the candelabra. Soon, they would burn out and darkness would encroach again into the room occupied by the dead and one who had no reason to go continue living.
He had failed... God help him.
"Yoo Hoo," said a voice.
Harry started to breathe hard. It was all so clear to him now. If Hermione couldn't come back to him, then he would go to her... and he would bring the rest of the world with him.
"Harry?" the voice asked again.
Green flames began to burn about his body and emerald light bathed the room in unholy brilliance. He would DESTROY. THEM. ALL. The flames flared brighter still.
*SMACK!*
Through the haze of black, all-consuming hatred, Harry felt someone slap the back of his head. The flames extinguished and the room returned to being dimly lit. He lifted his eyes from his pain, loss, and vengeance and his mouth opened in shock at what he saw.
There before him was a young, beautiful woman. Tousled black hair reaching just below her shoulders, an odd stylized mark around one eye, a silver cross*(sic) shaped necklace, black lace-up boots, and fingerless gloves made of leather. Her black attire seemed to match her perfectly. As far as he could tell, she was amused though slightly annoyed. It stabbed at his heart as the thought made him miss Hermione even more.
She quirked a soft smile. "Done brooding?" she asked in gentle voice.
Harry focused on her smiling face with skin as white as death, hair the color of darkest midnight, and eyes of deepest ebony. In short, she looked dark and menacing... well, she would have looked dark and menacing except for two things that completely destroyed that image in Harry's mind. First, she was smiling in a way that could only be called happy and warm. Second, she was wearing a large white T-shirt with the words, 'I <3 H/Hr' emblazoned on the front. The blackness of the rest of her clothing made the white shirt stand out even more.
That she was wearing a T-shirt was very unusual in and of itself, but it was the crimson colored heart in the middle that contrasted so vividly with what should have been his normal perception of her that resulted in him somehow not feeling afraid. In fact, he felt his anger flow from his body like water. He thought again of Hermione, and his very soul seemed to ache at the absence of her, explaining the concept of rebuses, their role in the Middle Ages and how a variation of it was apparently popular among modern day mundanes. Hoping he was reading it correctly, he found himself speaking it aloud as he read, "I Heart HHr".
She seemed pleased and by the sound of her voice, she sounded slightly embarrassed. "Oh, you were looking at my shirt. I thought you might be staring out my ankh." She paused for a moment to wink at him. "Anyway, it is a nice shirt isn't it?"
Harry still didn't know what to think. She was unlike anyone he had ever met. She made him feel... numb, like a shot of Novocain to deaden the pain. "It's nice."
The woman stood up and twirled around gracefully. She stood straight and looked down at him over her shoulder. "I especially like the back artwork."
Harry looked up and saw a stylized image of a boy with messy black hair and a girl with curly brown hair riding on the back of a flying Hippogriff. He was seeing himself and Hermione when they were younger riding Buckbeak! He looked happy and so did Hermione and her hands were around his younger self's waist. Despite the numb feeling, he could have sworn his heart broke even more and tears began to leak from his eyes despite his best efforts to stop them.
"Hey now... none of that. I mean, I know it's good but it's still nothing worth crying over."
"Sorry, sorry. It's just that I remember that night. It was one of the best nights of our lives. Sirius was saved, Hermione was safe, and we kissed for the first time by the lake under the full moon light." He looked away. "And now she's..." He trailed off.
Looking sad and understanding, she knelt down right beside him and draped an arm over his shoulders. "And now she's dead," she supplied.
Harry just closed his eyes again and his expression tightened.
"She loves you very much." The woman stated matter-of-factly.
Harry whipped his head around to look at her serene face. "What?"
"The dead never really leave us, Harry. You should know that better than anyone. Your mother and father did everything and more to protect you; not those fanciful, so-called blood wards Dumbledore was so in love with. But enough about the past, you called me here for a reason. What was it, Harry?" she prompted him.
Harry's gaze had become unfocused, lost in the past as he was, but her question brought him back into the now. "I called you?" He wondered uncertainly.
"You performed a completely wrong, made up summoning ritual once; one that was created by an insane wizard who spent 67 years using it to try and summon me - unsuccessfully, I might add, and through sheer willpower, devotion, and love, you did it on your first try. If that doesn't say something about your feelings for this young lady, then I don't know what does."
"You're Death!" He said in incredulous awe.
"Ooh, capital 'D'. Very respectful, but you can just call me Dee-Dee." She enthused.
"Dee-Dee?"
"Yes?" she prompted again. She rested her chin on her gloved hand and gazed expectantly at Harry.
"I have a request to make."
Death incarnate, also known as 'Dee-Dee', nodded her head a few times to indicate he should continue.
Deep breath and then he asked, "Can you bring Hermione back to life?"
"Yes." Again, Dee-Dee nodded her head.
"..." and the silence dragged on.
Harry tried again. "Will you bring Hermione back to life?"
An amused and happy smile graced Dee-Dee's pale but lovely face and Harry wondered why he didn't feel the least bit concerned that Death seemed to be smiling at his request. "Okay." She responded in good humor.
"That's it?" He asked cautiously.
Dee-Dee tilted her head. "Did you want it to be more difficult?"
"No, no! It's fine if it's easy, I just thought it was more difficult than this to get a loved one back from Death."
Dee-Dee paused at this. "A loved one? Not the great love of your life for whom you would doom the world and sacrifice everything for?"
"I love her with all that I am, but..." And despite himself, doubts assailed him. So close to his goal, but the act of actually speaking with Death made him surprisingly candid. "I couldn't protect her, I love her and she still died. What's worse is that initially, I didn't believe her when she warned me Ron was up to something. What kind of man doesn't believe the woman he loves? If I had another chance, I would do so many things differently. As it is, I would die in her place if I could, but right now I don't think my life is worth enough to equal hers."
"Well, that just won't do."
Stricken, Harry asked, "What won't do?"
"As you are right now, bringing Hermione back to life won't change anything. With an attitude like yours, the same situation would just repeat itself and she'd be dead again in six months to a year. Keep in mind Harry, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity I'm giving you, so I don't want you to waste it."
"What do I have to do?" he asked, his resolve firming.
"I need a show of binding commitment between the two of you. Both of you need to do something to show your affection for one another AND you must demonstrate your resolve."
"A binding commitment?" he asked, clearly confused.
Eerily, Dee-Dee started to whistle while playing with an unadorned silver ring. She slid it off and on, off and on, several time. It took several repetitions of this before Harry thought he realized what she was hinting at.
Understanding was on Harry's face, but then doubt clouded over. "But, how can I--" he began, but Dee-Dee shook her finger at him. "In consideration of the good you've done, consider this an indefinite loan until you've satisfied all of my conditions."
Dee-Dee knelt down next to Hermione's cold body and ran a finger from the top of Hermione's head to the tip of her toes. As her finger passed, every mark signifying her brutal murder disappeared. When she was finished, Hermione's flesh was rosy pink and she looked just as alive and well, as the last time he had seen her before she'd... before she went away.
He felt his breath catch in his chest. Something still wasn't right, but he couldn't tell what it was. She looked exactly as he remembered her, then suddenly it hit him... she still wasn't breathing.
Harry whispered, "Hermione..."
Death moved to stand next to Harry. "Now it's your turn," she said with another wink.
Harry gazed down at Hermione's body. She looked gorgeous arrayed in front of her, but she was deathly still. He got down on his knees and took up her hand in his. She was warm and that comforted him as he took a deep breath.
A heartfelt apology came first. He tried as best as he could to express how much he missed her and how stupid he had been to disregard her warning. He promised to do better and swore he wouldn't make the same mistakes again.
Hermione took a shuddering, shallow breath.
Harry very nearly stopped breathing at the sight of her. Her body was warm and she was breathing shallow but regular breaths; however, her eyes were still closed.
Harry looked at Dee-Dee for guidance.
Death had moved to lean against the door frame. Oddly, she looked distracted and was looking off to the side while absently tapping her lips with a finger.
Once again, it took Harry several moments to realize what was being said or in this case not said.
He looked down at her rosy red lips; they looked very moist and exceedingly kissable. They parted ever so slightly and Harry could have sworn his own heart had begun to beat out of control. He struggled to retain his composure long enough to say what he needed to say. "Hermione, I've missed you more than I thought possible. I would move heaven and earth for you. I love you deeply, and I want us to be together always. Please come back to me."
Hermione's breast swelled and she breathed deeply, but her eyes still wouldn't open.
"You've never seen Sleeping Beauty, have you?" Dee-Dee said aloud.
"Umm... no... I don't think so." Harry answered cautiously.
Death looked un-amused "Ah, I thought not - something to be dealt with later. In any case, quick summary: Prince Charming awakens his Sleeping Beauty with a kiss. Now, hop to it."
Harry flushed red in the face, but his countenance grew determined. "Come back to me..." he said as he leaned forward and brought his lips to hers.
The instant his lips came in contact with Hermione's, her eyes flew wide and her arms wrapped around his head and neck. From those same parted lips darted her tongue and Harry's mouth opened to receive it. He was surprised but incredibly happy. She was back, she was here, she was... she was sucking the breath out of him!
She broke the kiss and Harry found himself gasping for breath. "Yes, I will marry you," she said as she also tried to catcher her breath.
"But I didn't propose yet!" replied Harry.
"I was could hear everything you said. You may not have said the exact words, but it was close enough and I learned a lot about reading between the lines from staying with Dee-Dee all this time."
He was shocked. Granted, he had received many shocks tonight, so by now he was almost used to them. "You were with Dee-Dee?"
Smiling, Hermione kissed his cheek. "She couldn't interfere earlier, but she made sure I didn't suffer too much. She's been a wonderful host. "
And then Dee-Dee was there. She wrapped her arms around the two and looked at each of them in turn. "Wow, you two are cute together." She looked at Harry and her ebon black eyes were twinkling but in a completely different way to Dumbledore's senility twinkle. "So, the love of your life has just come back from the dead for YOU, and she's agreed to marry you. Isn't there something you need to ask her formally?" She winked once more at him.
"Hermione, with you gone it was like a piece of me was missing. I don't ever want to be parted from you again. Will you marry me and make me the happiest man alive?" He held his breath.
"Harry..." she chided. "I already said 'yes', so there's no need to look so expectant. I came back from the dead to be with you. I mean, honestly." She kissed his nose impishly.
Harry wrapped her in the tightest hug he could muster.
Hermione returned the hug with as much gusto as she was able.
Dee-Dee cleared her throat. "Ahem, there is the little matter of you two showing your resolve to one another."
Now it was Hermione's turn to look confused. She'd heard that condition, but wasn't sure what it meant. Suddenly, she had a very, very interesting idea. She whispered it to Harry.
Harry's eyes shot up, but soon he was nodding his head and offering other suggestions.
Dee-Dee looked pleased with the two of them. Despite Hermione's nudity, she seemed perfectly happy to be cradled in her fiancé's arm while they discussed, debated, and planned.
Finally, they looked up at Death. Harry spoke first. "Dee-Dee, we owe you so much. We wasted a lot of time, but thanks to you we have another chance. I've promised Hermione that I will do right by her, listen more than once every full moon, and I've also sworn to make those responsible for Hermione's premature death pay for their crimes." He then turned to look at Hermione.
Hugging Harry tighter, Hermione continued, "We are going to get married and I've promised Harry that we will make it work, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death and even after. I've also sworn to make sure the people who made Harry's life Hell, while growing up, will pay for their crimes.
Death seemed impressed. "Very good, though that's a funny way to show your appreciation."
The two young people looked confused. Hermione spoke first, "I thought we had to show our resolve?"
Dee-Dee waved it off. "And you've done it nicely. Although, you do realize that as everyone you've mentioned doesn't follow any sort of organized religion that I'll have to handle their cases personally once you've finished with them?"
Both Hermione and Harry looked embarrassed. They hadn't considered that.
Dee-Dee just smiled at them. "Hey now, don't worry about it. It's what I do. I will say that since you've chosen to do this to show your resolve, I expect you each to carry out your oaths personally. For instance, if Hermione killed Ronald instead of you then that would be justice and not vengeance. Understand, Harry?"
Harry nodded.
Dee-Dee looked at Hermione, "The same goes for you Hermione. If Harry killed Vernon instead of you, then it isn't vengeance but justice."
Hermione nodded.
Dee-Dee clapped her hands together. "Well kids, it's been wonderful spending time with you." She hugged them both tightly and then turned and headed for the doorway. Almost absently, she called back, "I'll consider Hermione's soul on loan to the land of the living for as long as you live Harry Potter. So take care of her and, for her sake, take care of yourself. Oh, and as for the oaths you two made, I hope you both make me very busy within in the next year or two." And then she was gone.
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End (for now)
A/N: Continues on into The Deal. *Yes, Dee-Dee is a creation of Neil Gaiman and a character of DC. The picture described on the shirt is a reference to a piece of artwork by the talented Gwendy, a renowned Harmony artist. I have a mug with the same picture.
OMAKE:
Harry pulled Hermione into an almost bone-crushing hug. "Thank god!"
"Who?" queried a voice.
Both Harry and Hermione jumped in surprise and then rapidly spun to see Dee-Dee smiling crookedly at them.
"Sorry about that. I forgot one very important thing." She put her hand to her mouth and cleared her throat with a brief cough. "Ahem. If you name any of your children Albus Severus or Hugo, then all bets are off." She smiled prettily at Hermione.
Hermione, despite her recent good feelings toward Dee-Dee, inexplicably felt as if she were a small fish and Dee-Dee was a great white shark. "Noted," she squeaked.
Harry cut in. "How do you feel about flower and mythology based names?"
Dee-Dee turned the smile toward Harry. "Love them to DEATH. Why?"
Harry's eye twitched. "No reason... just checking."
Dee-Dee rubbed her hands together. "Excellent. Now that's all taken care of, I bid you both adieu."
They blinked and she was gone.