Kisaragi Hibon never once afraid to do what she wanted to. Even when she often misled by her own intuition, misinterpreted things, and often oblivious to things. By all means she wasn't a notable person nor having a set stone future from support she had. She was average at best and had the most niche stuff as her special interests.
But special interests wasn't the topic for today.
Hibon didn't know what had actually happened in short amount of time. Though she was aware how much her clumsiness would get her seriously injure someday and it wasn't a surprise if she got something to herself.
She couldn't understand why everything had to be so loud. The world always been so loud despite her attempt to drown most of the noise with her headphone. But today was particularly extremely loud and Hibon really wanted to yell at everyone on sight to just fucking shut up. She was having her time laying down comfortably, damn it. The sky was unnaturally bright with no cloud in sight and the wind was surprisingly welcome today. Usually it was—
Huh, wait a minute. Laying down?
Now that was new. She was sure she had been walking before whatever this happening. And that was the thing. She couldn't remember it why she was doing that.
A sound of someone clearing their throat had Hibon glanced toward the general direction of the sound. For some odd reason she didn't feel surprised to see a black hooded figure entirely covering up their face looming over her. It didn't take genius to guess who was it. Though, her mind refused to acknowledge it first.
"Hello there. Do you mind if you tell me what is going on with me?" she asked in her monotonous voice, gaining an amused—at least it did sounded like one—huff from the figure.
"Why, you certainly quite peculiar one." they said with a united of countless type of voice. That instantly sent a chill to her.
She decided to dislike how her body reacted to the voice. It was unsettling. Oh she knew it would despite her attempt to not acknowledge it. The chill she felt wasn't to her spine only. She felt something in her shook, cold suddenly spread in her body as she could only stare at the deity.
Hibon finally had her gaze went to the sky once more after so much mental force to have herself comply what her mind wanted. "Is this it then, Shinigami-sama?" she spoke in whisper. "I supposed having a life for twenty three years isn't so bad."
"It is, indeed, my child." the deity responded. Why they had such amusement in their voice, she didn't know.
Her life wasn't particularly bad nor good. She wasn't too religious but still practicing however she could. She had fulfilled half of her dreams, pursued knowledge she loved, made her parents proud despite their disappointment for having a child like her. She had no attachement to people, nothing more than as acquaintance at best. Ah, her funeral would be empty beside her family.
Shinigami-sama knelt down, their hand hovered above her torso. Ah right, it must be disrespectful of her to lay down like this in front of them.
"Nonsense, child. I merely enjoying a different reaction of mortals to me." the deity suddenly spoke. "It is quite a good changing scenery to not have departing souls feel so afraid of me."
Hibon only had her brows furrowed slightly upon it. It must be something to do with reading her thoughts.
Shinigami-sama must have done something to her as suddenly the world became silent. Too silent that the constant ringing in her ears seemed to have a blast. But that was the thing, she didn't hear the ringing now.
She felt like floating. Everything became lighter and ease as if the unknown burden on her shoulders had been lifted, no longer feeling shallow and muddy.
Hibon looked around, there was a river next to her. The stream of clean water was steady and calming. The stones at the bottom could be seen clearly. Across the river was a vast greenery scene. Flowers blooming beautifully as trees filled with their fruits, ready to harvest.
It felt like a call somehow, looking at the scenery in front of her. Low whispers sounded so alluring came from behind her, asking her and encouraging her to come. To step into the river and cross it.
Because across the river would be the right place for her—
"Interesting reaction." a different voice echoed. A voice with too many overlapped with different people's voice. Who was that?
She turned her head over her shoulder, there was a black hooded figure. They were so contrast sight to the welcoming hill filled with life. She felt like she had seen them.
The low whispers in the back slowly turned into incoherent voices until it disappeared completely. Hibon's eyes widened at the realisation. She quickly stepping back away from the river, preferably closer to Shinigami-sama.
"Visual can be deceiving, my child." the deity said, waving the hood covered hand to the river and the beautiful hill in front of them. Sky darkened immediately, the river was no longer clean water but blood. Thick stream of blood that had nauseating smell. The flowery patches turned into blackened, dry ground. The trees were no longer had thick leaves, leaving only naked branches with rotten meat replacing the fruits.
The woman gasped lightly, covering her mouth with her hand in horror. The welcoming and lively atmosphere of nature became something she never thought it could happen.
"Wh-what... Are those?"
Shinigami-sama grasped her shoulder. A cold touch despite not feeling a real hand on her. "That, is a place where mortals succumb into ayakashi's seductive whispers. Offering the beauty and peace while keep nothing on their side. Many mortals fall for it, desperate enough and don't know better that they are only serve to be ayakashi's feast."
"Normally, I watch and do nothing to save them. But you, dear child," the deity added. "Izanagi-kamisama has interest on you, more specifically for the blood you carry in yourself."
Hibon looked up to them. Not even this close proximity allow her to see what was under the hood. It was complete darkness, devoid from anything and seemingly suck every light that came in touch.
"But why? I'm merely average human that doesn't have interesting life. A mundane and ordinary life like everybody does."
The embroidery of death laughed lightly. She felt cold from the sound of it. A freezing sensation slowly creeping up from her fingertips.
"Your ancestors have been closer to deities more than average people. Practices they had done in the past brought them to deities attentions, mainly Izanagi-kamisama, for they cherished Life more than any mortals could." Shinigami-sama explained. "And you, despite not doing the practices as much as your ancestors do, you have Izanagi-kamisama's touch in your soul."
Now wasn't that interesting. She only, what, draw runes and apply them to her daily life and pray to the shrine near her parents house the way she had done it since she was a child as frequent as possible. She did know her visit to shrine was three times than average people in a year. She had received weird looks when she was in school from her peers, as if she was some kind of fanatics. She didn't even differentiate her pray, she done it to every deity she knew.
It was surprising that she was counted as religious despite doing the very bare minimum—well the runes part was just herself to be honest— in the eyes of Izanagi-kamisama himself.
"Then, what is that mean?" Hibon asked.
"Your ancestors had been granted a second life with their first life memories intact." Shinigami-sama then motioned her to look at the other side of the horrific scene. "Or they could chose to live in Yomi along with other souls."
The sight in front of her was different from two sight earlier. It was a grand place, she could hear there was bustling noises just like in the living world, but instead of humans there were only glowing yellow-ish orbs and faint shadow of humanoid shape.
Hibon could see how she would live among the departed souls. The same ever mundane and boring life just like the first one. Deep inside, she craved something in her life to make it interesting and stimulating for her constant bored mind. On the other hand, mundane life was familiar. She didn't need to be in strange and new environment.
But something sparked in her very soul. The impulsive side of her instantly overcome her usual strictly repetitive side. There were only two options. One where she knew the system on how to live in and the other she would never guess what was await.
Hibon looked up to Shinigami-sama, eyes glinted with determination.
"So let me get this straight." Harry finally said, after Death explained everything to him and to be honest those information are hard to digest without recount. "I'm from the last line of Ignotus Peverell who possessed the Cloak of Invisibility you gave him. Because of that, I owned the Cloak. Throughout my life I collected the other two of Deathly Hollows so now I'm... The Master of Death?"
The deity blinked slowly with amused small smile—he beginning to feel Death was always amused of him. They hadn't stop that small smile since they talk!—and nodded.
"But why me? I mean, Dumbledore had the three Hollows at some point."
"Legend stories often misleading. While the title is 'Master of Death' and mortals interpreted it as literal, the actual meaning of it is simply for someone who has been touch by death and the deity chose the person to be marked."
He made a face at the explanation. Marking someone sounded like Voldemort's doings. He didn't like it one bit.
Harry glanced at them who was leaning their back against the bench, crossing their legs while looking at the station.
"Though, Hollows I made are simply toys. The three brothers were quite amusing mortals so I gave them what they wanted in return of entertained me for short amount of time." the deity calmly continued. "And the whole Master of Death situation merely a part of that entertainment."
Harry thought it was rather selfish and didn't make any sense. How many people suffered over three the so called legendary items? How many people succumbed into their greed, destruction followed them and all of them were just entertainment?
The boy quickly stopped the train of thoughts, reminding himself that his mind was exposed to the deity and left no secret to hide.
Death on the other hand chuckled. "A deity like me do need some form of refreshment from my task. Especially my own, departing souls are happening in many worlds all at once in every seconds."
"Then why are you here?" Harry scrunched his face, couldn't help but asked.
"I am one of the small fraction of conscious myself. I have to separate myself in order to keep an eye in everywhere."
That wasn't exactly helpful. Either way it should explained some. Or not. He didn't know why they kept talking in circles like this. Harry shook his head, refocused to deal with current situation.
Death told him other than being the last Peverell line, meaning he was being watched by the deity themselves throughout his entire life, Harry had suffered so many times without him knowing it the source. He had scoffed at that, because who else made his life a living hell if it wasn't Voldemort? That noseless snake face was the source of every suffer and pain not just himself but others too. Too many people in Wizarding world had died and had been through things they didn't deserve in the first place in the both wars. All Harry wanted was a simple mundane life without any fame in his name. He was tired over things happened outside of his grasp, unable to change it.
Then Death offered him two options, to join with other departed souls in the afterlife or go back in the living world and make difference. Oh Harry was sure of the second option was definitely turn back time to somewhere. Join the afterlife sounded relaxing in his opinion. He could finally meet his parents and there was Sirius too. He had missed his godfather so badly and their farewell wasn't proper one. Hell, he didn't even had the chance to do it. But his friends. He still had his friends on the living world and they didn't even have the proper goodbye. Death's offer was rather difficult to choose, for he was torn between to choose his family or friends. The family he never got the chance to know or the friends, his family of choice he knew for the last seven years who had filled his life with colours and fun, outshone the dark of his childhood and reality he had to face.
Death watched how Harry's face showed his inner turmoil. They had heard everything what was going on in his mind. Nothing would be hidden in the face of deities and magic is useless against him. In the end, Harry Potter looked at them with determined look. His friend did say he had 'saving-people thing' and looks like his parents had to wait little longer before the family of three united once more.
"Remember, child. I will always be watching you and you can call me when you need." the deity stood up and grasped Harry's shoulder.
Upon the contact, the cool sensation washed over like dementors nearby. The sharp cold that could stab bones, rattling them and shook his very soul. Harry's vision darkened immediately, his feet staggered as he lost his footing. Death's mouth moved, telling him something but he couldn't hear but muffled sound of their thousands overlapped voice. Then he felt like falling, consumed by the darkness.
Harry felt something was on top of his body. Heavy but made him warm. He couldn't move much, something was blocking his way to stretch his limbs so he tried to wiggle his way. He opened his eyes but quickly squinted when a light came to his eyes directly. He couldn't see anything other than the light far above him and a door. The sky was dark as far as he could tell.
Why was he outside in the middle of the night?
A high yelped startled him. He quickly turned his head to the source and saw a baby next to him. A baby that looked like not old enough to be two or three years old and he couldn't see the full face because there was a hand on— oh, he moved it from the baby's face real quick. Now, hold on a minute. That hand wasn't big and it felt like his.
He glanced to his hand, a baby small hand sized. A confused gurgle came out from his mouth, which surprised him for making that noise. He kept staring at his small, chubby hand, making a repetitive movement of clench and unclench his fist.
Did Death seriously sent him back to the past as in he was a baby?? He was expecting he would wake up at thirteen or eleven. Not a whole baby that just gotten his parents died like few hours ago. More importantly, who was the baby next to him?!
In one universe the Potters had a boy who framed as the "boy-who-lived", Lily Potter sacrificed herself and a huge blast happened from a contact of Killing curse hit her in order to save her child and created a strong blood magic containing the small piece of Voldemort and kept Harry alive.
But in this branch of time, Lily Potter had two children, twins who had both of their parents' gene in equal amount. She had gone through scrolls after scrolls, books after books, deep neck into research on finding out how to get targets off her children's back. She put many protection in the twins' room, runes all over the corner and remained hidden until it activated when the time comes. So by the time Voldemort came barged in and killed her, it wasn't for simply "a mother's sacrifice". The Dark Lord in desperate time forgot that a mere oath even if he didn't have any intention to keep it, Magic recognised it as one. After all, he didn't only asked her to step back three times but also broke it.
Hibon could only see darkness, she couldn't feel anything nor even moving her limbs. She felt like floating in nothingness and this had happened for at least few minutes after she said she accept to be reincarnate. Shinigami-sama had assured her the world she would reborn was familiar in a way. Maybe the deity had sense her needs to be in familiar environment, for that she was grateful.
Then millions of colours came through her vision, rushing past her and filled her sight with something she never imagined she had the chance to watch. Countless stars and galaxies were right in front of her. She could hear everything and nothing. It was too much to digest for a mere mortal herself, she was aware of her limitation. She thanked Shinigami-sama and Izanagi-kamisama to allow her to see this.
Hibon felt a pull behind her, dragging her gently. The scene around her changed, filled with a blurry and new things to watch. She couldn't make it other than hearing murmur coming from a woman voice. In the blurry vision, she could only make it a long shape of strikingly red colour. When she turned to the side she saw something next to her and once again she couldn't make the actual thing she was seeing.
This painfully difficult vision lasted for a while and she could do nothing but to watch. When her sight became slightly sharper and clearer, it was then she guessed that she was watching a baby memories. Presumably a baby she was in the second life.
Turned out she had a twin and most likely a boy. His green eyes was something she loved to see everytime she caught the sight of him and that made every adult in the room cooed every time baby-Hibon cupped her twin's face and just stare to his eyes for the longest time. Weirdly enough her twin never seem to be bothered nor making sound of protest and done the same to her.
At some point she came across a mirror when her mother in this life carried her. She was surprised to see her old appearance was there. She had thought she would get both of her parents' genetics the same of her twin had. Well, technically she had. The hair mixed of her parents, untamed black hair but if sun hit there was a hint of red. She couldn't be sure about her face since she still couldn't see clearly of her parents' faces, but one thing that had her so stuck unable to look away was her eyes. Her eyes were the same colour of her previous life. The ever same bright red from the lack of pigmentation in the irises.
The eyes that haunted her with the terrified look of her previous parents, the very eyes that had her life miserable despite her growing likeness and acceptance to her condition.
She didn't know what had happened after staring at the mirror to her own reflection for so long that her new mother worriedly tried to call her. She didn't know how long she was crying either from happiness she still had the same eyes she love and hate or from the grief of her suffering in her previous life. It was until her twin's chubby hands reached to her face, and bright emerald gaze met hers. She stopped crying immediately upon the touch. Something soothing had calmed her down, the warmth blooming in her chest and the bubbly urge to smile and laugh along with her twin.
The adults in the room were astonished upon the scene whilst the babies were oblivious. They suspecting it was because they were twins, seemingly sensing each other's emotions and capable to sooth each other in a way that wasn't supposed to possible. The babies were unaware of the faint of glowing thin gold swirling lazily around them. Their parents were thunderstruck but also proud of them, being able to protect each other in such early age.
A black dog came into Hibon's sight, barking happily and nuzzled its snout to her hair and her twin's. Her twin shouted 'Pafoo' with broken speech, assuming it was the dog's name though she wouldn't take that accountability for the actual name. And she had to rechecked reality she knew when she saw the dog transformed into a man with wild hair and silver eyes, the same man who often played with the twins every time he visited. She heard 'Siri' from her father's voice and the newly transform man responded, so she figured it was his name.
There was also another man staying behind everyone, but she could guess he was happy watching her and her twin. The same man she often wanted to get to know, but every time she approached him, this uncertain and full of doubt man always politely declined her baby attempt asking him to join and play with her. Whenever it happened her parents and Siri often tried to encourage 'Moony' to just accept her invitation.
The memories were ingrained to her mind in blurry vision of a baby. At some point she heard her name or at least her name in this life, was 'Harriet' as far as she could hear and her twin was 'Harry'. It made sense, both names had the same meaning and they were twins. Something in her first life mind itching at the information. The name Harry and green eyes were familiar to her. Something she knew all along but couldn't recall until some time when she didn't think about it.
And that time was that night. When she was doing her nightly ritual—wiggling her small feet while staring at the blurry ceiling in a crib next to her twin who was still sitting and babbling incoherently, talking to her in a way. She heard a loud thump from downstairs and her mother shouted. There was loud, hurry steps to the twins' room and their mother came inside in panic but also hardened gaze, filled with readiness in her eyes.
The woman went into the twin's wardrobe, pointing it with long stick and muttered lowly. She also done it to every corner of the room, the crib the twins were staying, the walls, even ceiling and windows. When she finished muttering that Hibon couldn't make it, a faint glow of gold came into life in those places. What surprised the incarnated baby was some of the faint glow were painfully familiar runes of protection she always did in her first life. The kanji strokes that were carefully written, the strong intent she could feel either it was from her previous life knowledge or instinct of her second life. Beside the kanji there were other runes written from different languages, serving the same and amplifying the work along with the kanji. She could only identify the kanji meaning, 'Purify' (浄), 'Life' (生), 'Soul' (魂), and 'Protect' (守).
Then it went so fast and once more, familiar to her. A man in dark robe she was sure wasn't her father nor Siri and Moony, pointed similar long stick—wand, the whisper in the back of her mind—aimed at her mother while haughtily talked about sparing her life if she trade it with her children's. The man seemed so arrogantly and convinced he would get his way. When a green light struck their mother, a disturbing high pitched scream echoed and at the same time the faint glowing runes sprang into bright, filling her vision with gold colour. She felt a low rumble from around her and a familiar whisper of a low voice overlapped with thousands.
"Sleep, dear children. I will not allow you to suffer the same way." was the last thing she heard before both twins fell into slumber.
Harry huffed as far as a baby could after listening to Death's explanation in his head and showed the memories of himself before his future conscious was back to the past. He had a twin now, a girl named Harriet. To be honest he always wanted to know how it feels to have a sibling, to have a family. Based on the memories that were rushed and settled in his mind, this Harriet was quiet and apparently loved to stare at his eyes.
And wasn't that alarming when he saw she had bright crimson eyes. Despite Death's assurance it was a birth condition like people who are albino, he couldn't help but skeptical. The other person he knew who had red eyes were Voldemort, which got Harry internally panicked when he watched the memories. But as far as he could see, she seemed to not have 'evilness' in the way she acted nor intention.
Though it did sent another alarm every time the girl cupped his face and stared to his eyes directly for a long time. Not just once or twice but multiple occasion and very persistent. What surprised him even more was his own reaction without the interference of his adult mind.
He watched that particular time when she had been crying non stop, not in such wailing annoying baby cry but stared into something that wasn't in front of her while big fat tears streaming down to her chubby face. Her eyes had been empty and devoid, as if she was grieving. Which was impossible for her. The way his baby self gurgling into incoherent assurance, grounding her and refocusing her attention. He could feel a pulse of magic came from inside of him being transferred to her by his chubby fingertips touching her wet cheeks. He felt the urge to calm her down from his baby self when he watched the memory. Which he done it eventually.
He wanted to cry when he saw Sirius and Remus with his parents in the memories, though blurry at best but still he was grateful to be able to see them again. He also felt sad whenever Remus refused to hold either of the twins or play with them. Harry knew it must be the man afraid of Moony going to hurt them. Though it was still funny to watch his twin stubbornly approached the werewolf as if thinking the same thing as Harry.
He was devastated when that eventful night of Halloween came. He watched helplessly of their mother begged to Voldemort to spare her children and the surprisingly still adult version of Tom Riddle not a snake face Voldemort asked Lily to step aside three times. He had watched this from Snape's memories of course and Harry couldn't help but noticed many differences. The faint glowing runes he couldn't identify everywhere in the room, a shadow in one of the corner seemingly darker than the rest without any of them noticing. When the Killing curse struck Lily and Voldemort vanquished, the ever annoying lightnight bolt scar on his forehead was created by a small wood in contact not because of some 'blood magic protection'. It was then he realised the shadow was Death, asked him and Harriet to sleep while the deity handled the rest.
When Harry's vision returned to current time and reality, Death's voice in his mind had assured that the twin was small gift for him. A gift and difference to disrupt the flow. He didn't understand the last part and decided to think about it later. The deity also informed him that his scar was a mere scar from splintered wood not a horcrux residing. That was a very good news indeed. He had no intention to relive the same life and had parasite in his mind and soul.
After that brief explanation, he felt somewhat relief. At the very least he wasn't alone to fix everything he could and now he could feel to have a sibling. He never admitted to anyone else that he was jealous of Ron having siblings so many.
A gurgling murmur from his side made him snapped out of his thoughts. His sight was met by the faint glowing crimson eyes, making him almost yelp in surprise if it wasn't the constant reminder in his mind that they weren't belong to Voldemort but his new twin.
They stared at each other for a moment before Hibon decided to sit up in their shared basket. There was a scar on his head that made her felt for sure what kind of world she was reincarnated. Shinigami-sama was right, it did familiar to her even if it took her rather long time to realise.
It felt weird to face her new reality being a twin of the famous character from the children book series. The idea of reincarnate into supposedly fictional world was already bizzare in the first place, let alone having blood related to the known character. But with the familiarity she knew of this world, she could safely say she would have easier navigation living in this world.
Hibon pointed her chubby finger to his scar. "Ouchy?" she asked. She rarely heard her own voice in this second life, due to her upbringing being quiet one and generally nonverbal for most of the time.
She was afraid that the scar would have a horcrux residing just like what she knew. She didn't want to deal with the living hell in that book and she intended to make him have the best life instead of stupid controlled pawn.
She watched her twin reached out to his forehead, patting the general location of the scar. There wasn't dried blood could be seen but the wound was still rimmed red. Then someone must have cleaned it when they were sleep. Harry made a low pained noise when his finger touched directly to the still open wound. His eyes immediately glistened by gathering tears. Hibon patted his leg, the nearest part of him to her. Maybe it was instinctual or maybe it was them being twins because she felt like wanting to cry too.
The twins sniffing quietly while staring at each other, both trying so hard not to cry because they knew it would trigger the other to cry as well.
The sun slowly risen from the east as the sky turning into purple-ish colour. The dusk had came and the cold of the first November seemingly being ignored by the fifteen months old twins. Eventually they both miraculously stopped when they heard the familiar and unfamiliar shriek after a sound of a door being opened. The two of them looked up and saw the familiar horse-like face of Petunia Dursley.
The first few months of living as baby were hard. They both internally swallowed the shame and embarrassment of the diaper changing. Hibon was silent most of the time just like how she always acted, making Petunia even more avoiding the girl as if she was a devil reincarnated not only because of her red eyes. Harry on the other hand was struggling not to burst out every time he saw their aunt treated his twin the way he was used to. The murmur name calling, the false rumours Petunia she spread to the neighbourhood, the badly treatments. It felt all too familiar and triggering in a way.
Yet, every time Harry was being treated badly the same way he experienced in his first past, Hibon calmed him down by unconsciously sending him a warm pulse of magic whenever she held his hand, grounding him in a way.
The expected list of chores started when they were three years old. It started easily by weeding out the garden and the front lawn. Both of them learned not to 'talk back' and just say whatever they wanted the twins to respond. Though, Hibon mostly already silent so it wasn't that hard for her to control her emotion.
She was familiar with abuse, so intimately in fact in her first life. It wasn't the same physical abuse like Harry had gone through in the story nor currently they were experiencing. False rumours and name calling were old friends of her due to her eyes and it seemed in this life was no better. She knew abuse was something should not be happen in every children and it was wrong in the first place. But she couldn't help but felt relief at the familiar cycle. She was an expert of ignoring and dissociating, she was a master of keeping her head down. That was why she made a life mission to keep Harry's head down despite his stubborn self.
In the heat summer of August, few days after their birthday, they were doing their chores in the garden in the back of the house. Harry grumbling under his breath while trying to pull a stubborn weed off the freshly cut grass patches while Harriet was silently watering the flower beds. When the weed finally off the ground, the impact of pulling it too much force, he rolled back gaining attention from his twin.
"Okay?" she asked quietly. He could hear the hoarse in her voice from the lack of use of her vocal cord.
Harry got up quickly and nodded, putting away the weed in his hand before moving on to another one. "'M fine, Iet." he internally bemoaned of having regression on his speech. He couldn't pronounce the R correctly with toddler tongue.
His twin evidently accepting his words and continued her work. He was about to pull another weed when he heard hisses. He looked around to find the source of it and saw the tail of an adder snake behind the flower pot Harriet was watering.
"Iet!" he shouted in warning, causing her to jumped in surprised, letting go of the hose. His twin looked up at him in protest for surprising her.
A laugh mixed with hisses got their attention back to the adder. Harriet quickly stepping closer to him, grabbing his arm and pull him to walk backward slowly. But they stopped in their tracks when they heard the snake talked.
"Funny two leggers hatchlings. This is why you never mess with me!"
And wasn't that alarming to know that his parseltongue ability wasn't because of Tom Riddle's horcrux in his scar. He quickly spamming—calling, Death in his mind. A surge of coldness in the back of his head was the sign that the deity heard his call.
You said you handled the horcrux! Harry panickedly shouted in his mind. Then he heard the low amused chuckle from them.
Why, yes I did. I kept my words, child.
Then why I can understand parseltongue?! He stressed the words as he glanced to Harriet while pulling her behind him just in case the snake try to attack them.
Death gave him a mental shrug, your ability isn't from the horcrux as your headmaster assumed. You will find it out when the time is right. With that, the coldness in his head slowly dissolved. Harry cursed internally. The deity wasn't helping in the slightest.
A tug in his shirt averted his gaze from the snake for a brief moment to his twin. She had a frown on her face.
"S'nake talk?" it was easy to tell what he was asking despite the failed pronounce of S. He nodded and began to walk backwards again with her.
"S'nake bad." he replied with the same struggle to pronounce the letter.
The snake seemingly lost interest in the twins, muttering hisses before it left the two of them staring the flower pot for a moment. Few minutes had passed or at least it felt like one when Petunia gave a shriek to them for not finishing their chores. Harry quickly went to the weed he wanted to pull while Harriet went picking up the hose. The twins were about to continue their chores when angry barking dog and another shrieking Petunia had their attention.
Harry looked to the source of barking sound. His eyes widened as his heartbeat raced faster. This was impossible to be believed and he couldn't be sure if it was real or not. Next to him, Harriet gasped and that was the only thing that confirmed it wasn't just a dream or illusion.
"Padfoot!" he rushed to the grim in bubbly laugh, opening his arms and launched himself to his dogfather.