When Darkness Falls >>formerly Pity to Power<<

Chapter Eleven: Death's Master.

"Death?!" Hermione shrieked, disbelief laced in her voice. Tom nodded swiftly and turned to the goblin and said, "Take us to the Mort Vault." He obliged, and they took a long, eerie, dark ride through caves before they came to the oldest vault there. When they walked inside, it looked similar to a cave, with glowing crystals of many colours. In the middle, the was a pedestal with a box. Hermione examined it, reading the text on top in fancy writing. "I open only for the worthy," she read aloud. She noticed it had a handle that had odd looking runes on it, most likely to keep others out.

She turned to her father. "You open it," she said, looking at him expectantly. He blinked and looked at it, tugging at the handle but being burned slightly. He yanked his hand away with a growl, looking at it, then at the box with a scowl. He looked at Hermione and gestured to the box, urging her to try. She nodded, cautiously approaching it. She reached out, taking hold of the handle. It gave off a cool, refreshing feeling as she pulled open the box slowly.

She looked inside, and there was an envelope. Beside the envelope was a small box and above it was a thin, long box, like one to hold a wand. These were all on top of a shimmering, nearly transparent fabric. Hermione had a suspicion of what these items were, but decided to open the envelope first. She unfolded the piece of paper inside and began to read.

Welcome, I've been waiting for you to come. Yes, I am Death. No, you are not crazy. You are here because it's in your blood. You have been destined to meet me. To be my master. You, a young girl. You most likely do not believe me. You must. Being Master of Death is not determined by experience or using the Deathly Hallows like many people think. No, it is determined by blood, and I have chosen you. I chose you long before anybody knew there was such a thing as Master of Death. There are three things inside this box. Yes, you were right. They are the deathly hallows. They are all yours. The cloak, the wand, the stone. It's yours to use as you wish. Please, if you wish to meet me, simply call for me. I await your requests, as your wish is my command.

Hermione blinked. "Me? Master of Death?" Tom nodded slowly, getting over his shock. "It seems so," he said, in awe. Hermione blinked. "I'd always thought Harry would be the master of death..." she mused. Tom rolled his eyes. "As if." Hermione chuckled and slowly sat down the letter, folding it back up. She gently rubbed a hand over the cool fabric of the cloak, then picked up the smallest box. She opened it gently, running a finger over the stone softly. She picked it up, examining it before putting it back down and closing the box. She put the box back down and picked up the thinner, longer one. She opened it, looking at the elder wand with awe. She ran a finger over it also, feeling the jolt of power she received from it. She closed the box and picked up the cloak, unfolding it and draping it over her shoulders, looking to Tom. She grinned, spinning around. "How do I look?" She asked jokingly. He simply nodded, forcing a smile.

"Yes dear, it looks very natural on you," he said, getting over his shock and awe. He didn't think Hermione would also be Master of Death. He was even one of those that believed Master of Death was all about experience. Hermione chuckled, putting them all back in their places as she said, "ah, now to call Death." She felt a sudden coldness and heard a deep voice say, "You called?" Hermione jumped slightly, turning around. It seemed to be a tall, dark, cloaked figure. She couldn't see its face or make out any features really, it was how she had always pictured Death.

"So uh...This is what you look like?" She asked curiously, looking over it. "Yes," it replied, "but I can look any way you'd like." Hermione thought for a moment before saying, "Perhaps a tall man with messy black hair, dark brown eyes, and a fit figure?" He seemed to nod, obeying her and becoming exactly as she pictured. Hermione smiled. "You look great now," she said, as if giving a friend fashion advice. "C'mon, if you're gonna be hanging around from now on, I want you to look nice." She took his hand and dragged him out, apparating them outside.

She quickly walked into a clothes store, smiling as she led him to the men's. He seemed to be following along, blankly examining his surroundings. She picked out some t-shirts, a few sweaters, a couple button up dress shirts, some fancy vests, a few jackets, a hoodie or two, some tank tops, long sleeved flannel shirts, and a suit jacket. She then went to the pants section, picking out sweatpants, jeans, shorts, and some dress pants. She picked some socks, a couple pairs of shoes, a pair of boots, and a pair of dress shoes. She went to the pajama section and picked out some, also getting a fluffy robe for him. She then turned him towards the underwear section. "I'm sure you don't have many, so pick some out, I'll be waiting," she said.

He soon returned with a few packs of them as Hermione smiled. "Good, give them to me." He obeyed, and Hermione went to the cashier and dumped the large pile of clothes on the counter. The cashier slowly rang it up, eventually responding, "591 galleons." Hermione nodded, saying, "Take it from the Gaunt vault." They nodded. The cashier seemed disconnected so they didn't react to the name. They handed Hermione a few bags and blankly said, "Have a nice day." Hermione smiled and walked out, tugging Death around with her.

She then apparated them to a drink shop. "You like coffee and tea and stuff right?" She asked, looking up at Death curiously. He nodded after a moment. "Good! This place is the best, they've even got pastries and cakes and other desserts. Come on!" She tugged him in, going to the register and saying, "Two cherry danishes, one caramel latte and one raspberry tea, extra raspberry." The cashier obeyed, quickly handing her the requested objects. She smiled, dumping some galleons on the counter as she said, "Keep the change."

She walked over to a table, Death following her silently. She pushed the coffee over to him, also giving him a danish. "Try them, they're delicious. I'm sure you'll love the coffee." She sipped her tea, watching to see his reaction. He bit into the danish slowly, putting it back down and then taking a drink of the coffee. He fell silent before giving a small sound of approval. "You don't talk too much, do you?" Hermione asked curiously, grinning. He shook his head. "But I can if you'd like," he replied. She chuckled. "No, it's alright," she mused. She silently continued eating her danish, staring off into the distance happily.

She made a new friend.

I actually plan to have death go to Hogwarts with her. I think of him as like a lil bodyguard!