Birth (029)
Title: Birth
Author: sa-kun
Fandom: Harry Potter, Supernatural
Characters/Pairings: Harry, Death
Rating: PG
Word Count: 827
Prompt #1: 029, birth.
Prompt(er) #2: Harry and Death being foodies together, by fateofshadow.
Summary: In which Death drops by for a cup of tea.
Disclaimer: I do not own.
Author's Notes/Warnings: Spoilers up to book 7 (HP), spoilers for season 4 & 5 (S05E08) of SPN. Part of my crossover series: start here. Masterpost is here.
"You don't remember, of course, but we've met several times by now."
Harry paused with his hand over the kettle. He hadn't felt a disturbance in the air the way he usually did when someone used magic - or something else - to suddenly appear in his house. There was just a sense of nothingness, instead. It was uncanny, and sent shivers down Harry's spine.
Death sat comfortably in one of the chairs around the kitchen table, both eyebrows raised. "I mean when you were a baby, of course. And when I took the guise of your late headmaster."
"Tea?" Harry asked, because he wasn't sure what else to say. What else he could say.
"Oh, yes, don't mind if I do."
So Harry quietly poured the steaming water into mugs, then opened the cupboard that held all his teas.
"Vanilla, if you don't mind. A dash of honey."
"Crumpets?"
"Lovely, thank you."
Harry sat down at the table after setting it and serving them both. He didn't say anything, and neither did Death - holy freaking cock, Death was sitting at his kitchen table drinking tea!
"This is the birth of a new era," Death said at some point after having eaten his crumpet. Harry was still working his way through his.
"Oh?"
"Mmmm. You are unique. I've never before seen one like you. I must say, I quite like it."
Harry sat a little straighter, small frown furrowing his brow. "So, you know who I am? What I am?"
Death raised an eyebrow. "Quite."
"Oh."
"Master of Death," he drawled through a longsuffering sight. "Though, to be frank, I had hoped you would be older."
"I'll grow and learn," Harry replied. "I'll be older when I'm ready."
"Yes, I dare say you will be." Death took a sip of his tea, then put his mug back down on the table. "Tell me, has that esteemed archangel of yours taught you how to shift realms?"
Harry shook his head. "What do you mean?"
"You guide the souls of the dead, boy. But you can't see me, or my reapers, can you?"
"I've never seen you before, so, no. What do your reapers look like?"
"What you need them to look like."
Harry nodded. "Makes sense."
"I thought so. Now." Death grabbed his cane and stood up. "Pay attention," he said, and clapped his hands.
For a second that seemed to last a lifetime, Harry couldn't breathe. Then he could, except the world was wrong. "It's like I'm looking through the Veil," he managed to say through a throat that was too thick and narrow at the same time.
Death nodded. "Not an altogether incorrect allegory. This is as if you had stepped through it, though I wouldn't advise you to try that. It gets ever so messy."
Harry nodded. When he walked over to the window to look outside, he saw a woman in a suit who smiled and waved at him before disappearing. "Was that one of your reapers?"
"Yes. You need to know how to shift into this realm, Master of Death. You've done well enough without this ability until this point, but from here and onwards, I should like you to do it like this instead. It's less messy, you understand. Certainly a lot less eye-catching, and under the radar of those who might be watching."
Death placed his hand in the centre of Harry's chest and pushed.
It was worse coming back. Way worse. It was like he'd been dead and now he wasn't. Breathing, living, seeing, hearing, his heart starting to pump all at once. It was like being born all over again, except this time you already knew how easy and painless it was to live because you'd already done it before. Harry fell to the floor in shock, then decided to just stay there. He could do this, so long as he was just lying here, down on the floor. Death crouched down next to him.
"It's because part of you is still human. You'll get used to it. You can replicate the process, I trust?"
"Oh, yeah," Harry panted. "I've never felt anything like that before. Easy as pie. Promise."
"You're a smart lad. I like that about you."
It only took a short struggle, but then Harry was sitting up instead of lying flat on the floor. He wet his lips. "So, I was hoping… Do you know why they call me Master of Death? I mean, death is absolute, y'know? How can one person be the master of it? It's not you they mean, right?"
"I know, yes. And, no."
Harry's shoulders slumped a little. "That's the tone that's usually followed up by silence or the hated: but I won't tell."
"Smart boy." Death smiled. "I will see you again. Thank you for the tea. Oh. If I commission you, will you bake me some more of those absolutely scrumptious crumpets?"
Harry laughed. "Sure. Come by anytime. They're free."
Sequel: Death
Author: sa-kun
Fandom: Harry Potter, Supernatural
Characters/Pairings: Harry, Death
Rating: PG
Word Count: 827
Prompt #1: 029, birth.
Prompt(er) #2: Harry and Death being foodies together, by fateofshadow.
Summary: In which Death drops by for a cup of tea.
Disclaimer: I do not own.
Author's Notes/Warnings: Spoilers up to book 7 (HP), spoilers for season 4 & 5 (S05E08) of SPN. Part of my crossover series: start here. Masterpost is here.
"You don't remember, of course, but we've met several times by now."
Harry paused with his hand over the kettle. He hadn't felt a disturbance in the air the way he usually did when someone used magic - or something else - to suddenly appear in his house. There was just a sense of nothingness, instead. It was uncanny, and sent shivers down Harry's spine.
Death sat comfortably in one of the chairs around the kitchen table, both eyebrows raised. "I mean when you were a baby, of course. And when I took the guise of your late headmaster."
"Tea?" Harry asked, because he wasn't sure what else to say. What else he could say.
"Oh, yes, don't mind if I do."
So Harry quietly poured the steaming water into mugs, then opened the cupboard that held all his teas.
"Vanilla, if you don't mind. A dash of honey."
"Crumpets?"
"Lovely, thank you."
Harry sat down at the table after setting it and serving them both. He didn't say anything, and neither did Death - holy freaking cock, Death was sitting at his kitchen table drinking tea!
"This is the birth of a new era," Death said at some point after having eaten his crumpet. Harry was still working his way through his.
"Oh?"
"Mmmm. You are unique. I've never before seen one like you. I must say, I quite like it."
Harry sat a little straighter, small frown furrowing his brow. "So, you know who I am? What I am?"
Death raised an eyebrow. "Quite."
"Oh."
"Master of Death," he drawled through a longsuffering sight. "Though, to be frank, I had hoped you would be older."
"I'll grow and learn," Harry replied. "I'll be older when I'm ready."
"Yes, I dare say you will be." Death took a sip of his tea, then put his mug back down on the table. "Tell me, has that esteemed archangel of yours taught you how to shift realms?"
Harry shook his head. "What do you mean?"
"You guide the souls of the dead, boy. But you can't see me, or my reapers, can you?"
"I've never seen you before, so, no. What do your reapers look like?"
"What you need them to look like."
Harry nodded. "Makes sense."
"I thought so. Now." Death grabbed his cane and stood up. "Pay attention," he said, and clapped his hands.
For a second that seemed to last a lifetime, Harry couldn't breathe. Then he could, except the world was wrong. "It's like I'm looking through the Veil," he managed to say through a throat that was too thick and narrow at the same time.
Death nodded. "Not an altogether incorrect allegory. This is as if you had stepped through it, though I wouldn't advise you to try that. It gets ever so messy."
Harry nodded. When he walked over to the window to look outside, he saw a woman in a suit who smiled and waved at him before disappearing. "Was that one of your reapers?"
"Yes. You need to know how to shift into this realm, Master of Death. You've done well enough without this ability until this point, but from here and onwards, I should like you to do it like this instead. It's less messy, you understand. Certainly a lot less eye-catching, and under the radar of those who might be watching."
Death placed his hand in the centre of Harry's chest and pushed.
It was worse coming back. Way worse. It was like he'd been dead and now he wasn't. Breathing, living, seeing, hearing, his heart starting to pump all at once. It was like being born all over again, except this time you already knew how easy and painless it was to live because you'd already done it before. Harry fell to the floor in shock, then decided to just stay there. He could do this, so long as he was just lying here, down on the floor. Death crouched down next to him.
"It's because part of you is still human. You'll get used to it. You can replicate the process, I trust?"
"Oh, yeah," Harry panted. "I've never felt anything like that before. Easy as pie. Promise."
"You're a smart lad. I like that about you."
It only took a short struggle, but then Harry was sitting up instead of lying flat on the floor. He wet his lips. "So, I was hoping… Do you know why they call me Master of Death? I mean, death is absolute, y'know? How can one person be the master of it? It's not you they mean, right?"
"I know, yes. And, no."
Harry's shoulders slumped a little. "That's the tone that's usually followed up by silence or the hated: but I won't tell."
"Smart boy." Death smiled. "I will see you again. Thank you for the tea. Oh. If I commission you, will you bake me some more of those absolutely scrumptious crumpets?"
Harry laughed. "Sure. Come by anytime. They're free."
Sequel: Death