"Who wants to speak to us?" Hermione asked confusedly.
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"More to the point," Harry interrupted, "who knows that we are here?"
However, before the castle could answer his question or they could suppose on the identity of the two, the air around them turned frosty and a light fog curling around their ankles. They all shivered at the atmospheric change, but froze upon hearing a new voice.
"We do." A cold, chilling voice replied.
All five of the magical students span around at once to face the voice, their eyes meeting a figure wearing a pitch black hooded cloak and silhouetted entirely in shadow. The natural light in the room seemed to be drawn towards the entity, before being devoured and overwhelmed by the dark. The figure meanwhile, appeared to be pleased at their fear.
Discover moreGet Comedy TicketsStudy AnatomyCalm StressBrowse ReferenceFind Therapists"Are you unable to speak?" The male voice questioned, with barely a hint of amusement perceptible in his voice.
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The blackness pulsated and shifted around the figure like the swirls and eddies of the sea. The five students in the Room of Requirement stared at the newcomer in shock, unable to keep the fear at the crushing blackness from their expressions. It took a moment for any of them to reply to the cold voice.
"W-who are you?" Susan asked the figure, a twinge of fear perceptible in her voice.
"My true name is beyond your comprehension, Mortal," the hooded man replied, "but you may call me by the name your people have seen fit to bestow me – I am Death, master of all…"
The man identified as Death had his rather impressive speech cut off as all of a sudden, just like someone had flicked a light switch, the darkness vanished and the light returned. The clouds of fog faded into nothingness and the temperature returned to normal. As the room lit up and the fog disappeared, a second person walked out from behind Death.
Discover moreStory writing promptsFan art commissionsWriting contest entriesBook review servicesCrossover story ideas"Must you do that every time you talk to a mortal, Death?" Amanda asked exasperatedly, holding her forehead in her hands. "These rubbish effects of yours are getting really old, you know. The rest of us don't even bother anymore. The whole dark, malevolent being thing is a bit sixteenth century…"
Harry and Hermione, while initially frightened by this turn of events, smiled happily upon seeing their immortal friend, the Goddess of Love, Amanda. Any disconcertion over the appearance of Death was banished by her presence. Death meanwhile, sighed in annoyance and scowled at her words.
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"My effects are not old!" He snapped angrily. "And yes I must Amanda," he groused, "I have a reputation to keep, you know. I am Death! I am supposed to have a sort of mystique. It's expected! What mortal would take me seriously if I turned up in jeans and a shirt with a goofy smile on my face like you and told them I was Death?" A look of outrage grew across her pretty face and she swatted Death firmly on the shoulder.
Discover moreCreative writing coursesOnline writing communityFan fiction merchandiseAuthor collaboration toolsDigital book publishing"My smile is not goofy!" She huffed, deeply insulted. "And anyway, you don't need to scare every mortal you meet out of their wits, you know! I mean, look at them!" She pointed at the three trembling students gathered behind Harry and Hermione. "They look terrified!" Death nodded in satisfaction.
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"Which they fully expect to be when they meet Death," the black garbed immortal replied smugly, "it's part of the experience!" Amanda rolled her eyes and he sighed in utter exasperation. "Sometimes I don't know why I bother. How am I supposed to keep up my well-crafted image when you and the other immortals constantly sabotage my efforts, I ask you!" Amanda rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the five magicals.
"Ignore him," she said, eliciting a growl from the immortal, "he's just being ornery." The bubbly immortal beamed upon seeing Harry and Hermione. "Hey Harry, Hermione," they returned her greeting with a smile, "how're my favourite soul-bound couple?"
As the last three words passed Amanda's lips a deep, feminine gasp erupted from Susan and she stared at Harry and Hermione in delight. Quick as a flash, the overwhelmed and excited witch darted forward and rugby tackled the duo and held them in a tight hug.
"SOUL-BOUND?!" Susan squealed animatedly, forgetting her previous fear and latching onto those two words. She proceeded to squeeze the two of them even tighter. "Oh my God, that's AMAZING!"
Absolutely nonplussed by the energetic response of the second female in their group to the term, Draco and Neville shared a confused look, as if silently debating whether the witch had snapped, or if it was just the standard 'girls are just weird like that' reaction.
"Soul-bound?" Draco whispered to Neville questioningly, who shrugged his ignorance in response.
Harry and Hermione awkwardly patted Susan on the back as she proceeded to squeeze them to death in excitement. The duo looked over the top of the hugging witch to the bubbly goddess, throwing her a half-hearted glare, though it had no real sting behind it. Said immortal blushed slightly and placed a hand over her mouth.
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Discover moreRead BestsellersBooksAnime merchandiseComic book subscriptionsShop Kids' Books"Whoops," Amanda giggled amusedly, "sorry about that! I thought you would have told them about it already!" Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes in reply as they tried to extricate themselves from the vice-grip of Susan.
"We were about to," Harry defended, finally managing to break away from Susan's super-hug, "we were just, you know, getting the important stuff out of the way first." Hermione spun around to face Harry, throwing him a mock glare.
"And being bonded to me isn't important?" Hermione demanded playfully. Harry's eyes widened and he shook his head emphatically.
"N-n-no, t-that's not what I-I meant," he protested in a panic, before seeing Hermione smirk at his worry. He huffed at her, which made her laugh. "That's not kind, you know…" He pouted at her laughter, giving her a look like a kicked puppy. Hermione cooed in response to his adorable look and pressed a loving kiss on his lips.
As ever, Amanda giggled in response to the playful banter and the love they showed each other. The Goddess of Love adored feeling the strong, affectionate emotions between the couple and never got tired of seeing them together. Death meanwhile, watched everything silently from beneath his dark hood, choosing not to comment on any of it at all.
"I'm so happy for you!" Susan gushed excitedly. "My auntie used to read me fairy stories about couples so deeply in love, they would be given a gift by the Goddess of Love – a bond so strong, not even death could break it!"
"Not stories Susan dear," Amanda chirruped happily, "complete fact!" Susan turned to stare at Amanda with wide eyes.
"Guys," Harry began, smiling at his friend's incredulous faces, "allow me to introduce you to the Goddess of Love, who gave us our second chance – Amanda."
Discover moreRead Sci-Fi BooksWatch Sci-Fi FilmsBook Comedy ShowsWatch TV ComediesGet Comedy Tickets"Nice to meet all of you," Amanda said with a smile. She might have said more had Death not taken this moment to sigh in annoyance and interrupt.
"May we skip the pleasantries?" He questioned coolly, his face showing impatience. "We did not come here to chat and gossip like a gaggle of old ladies." Amanda's face snapped to Death's and she threw him a dangerous look.
"Death," she said warningly. Death merely rolled his eyes.
"You know I'm right," he accused, "you let yourself get distracted too easily Amanda."
While the two immortals bickered amongst themselves, Harry threw a slightly concerned look to Hermione, the cause of which she picked up on instantly. Why were the immortals here? The timing was rather suspect especially since they had just told their friends about their being from the future. Amanda had said that it was against the rules while they were in Kings Cross. Were they here to punish them for breaking the rules?
Discover moreStudy AnatomyanxietyCalm StressBrowse ReferenceFind TherapistsAs the argument between the two ended, Amanda's exasperation with the moody Death faded and she turned back to her favourite couple, only for a look of surprise and worry to grow across her face. Harry and Hermione had equal looks of fear and anxiety on their faces.
"Why do you look at each other with such concern?" Amanda questioned apprehensively.
"Well," Hermione said hesitantly, "you haven't told us why you are here…" she paused, "and we are wondering that…since you did tell us not to tell anyone about us coming back from the future…"
"…or about the immortals…" Harry chipped in helpfully.
"…that your being here might be because of that." Hermione finished. Amanda blinked in response, letting their explanation sink in, before bursting into laughter.
"Oh, I see!" She remarked with a giggle. "Well, that's not really something to worry about, is it? What, did you think I'd smite you or something if you did?" Harry and Hermione chuckled as their anxiety lifted.
"No, we thought you might restrict our memories though," Harry replied, "after all, you did tell us not to." Amanda shook her head.
"I most certainly did not," she disagreed, "what I said was that you shouldn't tell people you didn't trust, lest they think you had gone insane and were having a delusion of being from the future, or that they did believe you and wanted to control your knowledge." She laughed at the look of shock on their faces. "I didn't want to see the two of you travel back to the past just to get committed, or worse, get your memories wiped!" The two nodded in understanding.
"Oh!" Hermione said in relief. "So, if that's not why you're here, then what brought you to us tonight?"
"Well actually, there are two things we wanted to talk to you about, if that's alright?"
"And it better be," Death muttered under his breath. Amanda glared at him.
"Death," she warned again, before returning to her train of thought, "now where was I?"
Just before Amanda managed to fully regain her train of thought, Neville glanced over at Draco and Susan and, seeing that they too thought that the three of them were perhaps intruding, voiced their collective concerns.
"Er," Neville began uncertainly, "do you want the three of us to go? Is it a private discussion or something?" Amanda blinked in surprise before shaking her head.
"Oh no! No, no, no!" She said emphatically. "You are very welcome to stay! If the three of you are going to be helping Harry and Hermione achieve their aims then you should stay here!" She looked over at the duo, who nodded with a smile. Smiling back, she turned back to the three of them. "Now then, what was I…" she paused in thought.
"Oh, for goodness sake," Death exclaimed with a sigh, "you have the short term memory of a fish, Amanda. You know why we're here: to talk to them about the changes." He said pointedly, the Goddess of Love giving him a filthy look in return.
"Thank you," Amanda snapped, "but I would have gotten there myself! Right, well if Death is done insulting me," she muttered, before turning back to Harry and Hermione and refocusing on the matter at hand. "Right you two, we have a bit of a problem." The goddess of love said tentatively.
"What problem?" Harry questioned curiously. Amanda went to reply, but Death cut her off.
"This world has changed," Death intoned forebodingly, "more than it should!"
The room fell silent. Harry and Hermione shared an anxious and confusion filled glance at the short statement from Death. Wasn't the world meant to change? Wasn't that why they had come back? Had they done something wrong? Were their actions at fault? Realising the futility of speculating without enough information, Hermione looked at Amanda and spoke.
"What do you mean it's changed?" Hermione asked, voicing hers and Harry's concerns.
"Harry, Hermione," Amanda began hesitantly, "we allowed you to retain your memories of your first life in order to make it easier for you to correct the mistakes and manipulations of others." The duo nodding in understanding. "What Death means is that your memories cannot be relied upon entirely anymore."
"I…still don't quite understand," Harry said slowly.
"Harry," Death began, "for some reason, this timeline and this universe have become…" he paused, trying to find the right word, "unstable." Amanda nodded in agreement.
"When we brought the two of you into the past, the universe changed. It is no longer following the same pattern of events. Established events which could not have been influenced by any changes you have made have altered. For some reason, the current timeline is reforming along different lines that the future you came from." Death nodded.
"Tell me, have the two of you noticed anything…unusual," Death asked, "something that has changed from your first life with seemingly no influence on your part?"
Harry and Hermione looked at each other, holding a silent conversation as they sifted through their first year back in the past for anything that matched Death's criteria. After a moment of thought, they replied in the positive.
"Yeah," Harry said, nodding in agreement, "we have noticed some changes from the first time around." Hermione nodded too.
"Sirius has already broken out of Azkaban two years early for starters," Hermione said, trying to think of other major changes, "but I suppose that could be down to our influence." Harry's eyes widened with a thought.
"Actually, not more than a few hours ago Lady Hogwarts mentioned that there is another thief attempting to steal the Philosopher's Stone! He wasn't there at all in the original timeline!" Amanda nodded in thought.
"I think Sirius Black escaping early was more a response from the publication of articles about your…time with the Dursleys, Harry." She said, a dark look crossing her face when she thought about one of her favourite magicals being mistreated.
"But that thief that the castle warned you about," Death continued for Amanda as she was brooding, "he sounds exactly like an example of what we're talking about! This timeline should only change in reaction to any modifications you make; it should not change on its own. What do you know about it?"
"Very little," Hermione replied, "other than the fact the thief is male. Lady Hogwarts told us that he is cloaked under a great many enchantments that occlude him from sight, even from her interior wards." Harry nodded.
"She knows he is there and what he is after, but that is it." Harry finished. "But I still don't understand why the timeline become unstable? Are you sure it wasn't us?"
"We're certain Harry," Amanda replied, "your actions are not to blame. The moment we brought you into the past this world became unstable. We have only brought this to your attention now because we thought we could correct the instability ourselves." She paused for a moment. "We could not."
"Is this instability dangerous?" Hermione questioned.
"Potentially," Death replied, "it essentially means that your fore knowledge is obsolete. The unstable timeline will unfold along different lines unpredictably. Any change made could have any number of consequences we cannot predict." Harry's eyes widened.
"So what should we do?" Harry demanded.
"You must carry on with your mission Harry," Death replied.
"But how can we?" Hermione questioned. "If any change we make will change things unpredictably, then shouldn't we try to keep things the same as much as possible?" Harry nodded in agreement. Before the two immortals could reply, a voice from behind them answered the question.
"It would make no difference," Draco said suddenly, reminding the group of the three other students in the room, "if what they are saying is true, the world is already changing regardless of your actions." Neville nodded.
"That's right," he agreed, "if you don't act, before long this world will become too different and the advantage you gained by coming back in time will be lost."
"So by that logic," Susan continued, "if the world at this point is not too dissimilar to the original timeline, then you should take advantage of it and use as much of your knowledge as possible before it becomes completely useless." Harry and Hermione turned to look at their friends in pride, feeling vindicated in their choice of who to trust. Amanda beamed at the three also, nodding in agreement with their assessment.
"Exactly right!" Amanda chirped happily, before turning to Harry and Hermione. "You can't stop your mission now because of this. If anything, you need to finish as much as you can before your knowledge becomes useless." Death nodded.
"Like getting those horcruxes," he muttered, scowling angrily at the items that gave Tom Riddle his 'immortality, "I want Riddle." Death snarled.
"Calm yourself," Amanda said soothingly, "you've already gotten two fragments." A twisted smile grew across Death's face.
"Yes," he hissed maliciously, "I have had a lot of fun…playing with those pieces." He smiled at Harry and Hermione. "Thank you." The two shivered slightly at the hatred and perverse delight in his voice, but smiled weakly in reply.
"That's ok," Harry replied with a nervous chuckle, "we should have a few more fragments sent to you before the year is out." His eyes lit up and he grinned.
"Excellent." Death replied, satisfied. Harry and Hermione sighed in relief, before returning to the matter at hand.
"So, were you just letting us know about the unstable timeline," Hermione asked, "or did you tell us so we could do something to fix it?" Amanda and Death shared a look, before she replied to Hermione.
"At this moment in time," Amanda replied, "there is nothing any of you can do about it. That may change in the future, but not at present. We told you about it so you would be prepared for any of the changes that will surely come." They nodded in understanding.
"Right," Harry replied. A brief silence descended over the group, before he continued. "So, what was the other thing you wanted to talk to us about?" Amanda stared at him, nonplussed, the penny not quite dropping.
"What other thing?" She asked confusedly.
"Good God woman!" Death exclaimed once more, staring at her incredulously. "Your memory cannot be that bad! What was the other reason we came here tonight?" Amanda scowled and pulled a tongue at him. He rolled his eyes in reply. "Very mature." He shook his head and turned back to Harry and Hermione. "Now, the second thing we wanted to talk about was your accidental magic." Amanda let out a noise of realisation, remembering the matter.
"Oh yes," she exclaimed in remembrance, "that's right, we wanted to ask you about your…unusual displays of magic, Harry." Harry frowned in reply.
"What do you mean?" He questioned confusedly. "What magic?"
"She means the lightning show that you did in the girl's bathroom and during your duel with the youngest male Weasley." Death explained bluntly. Harry's eyes widened in understanding.
"Oh yes, I know what you mean," Harry said in realisation, "does the fact you're asking me mean that you don't know what it was?" Amanda blinked in surprise.
"Yes, it does," she replied, "and I take it you don't either." He shook his head. "Well, to tell you the truth Harry, when we first saw it, it raised alarm bells for us. I don't mean to worry you Harry, but your display of magic was not normal." Harry nodded slowly.
"Well," he said cautiously, "I knew it wasn't…normal," he paused, "but I thought it was another of the gifts you had given to me when we came back." Amanda shook her head.
"I certainly didn't give you that gift," she said.
"Neither did I," agreed Death. Hermione frowned in reply.
"If it wasn't either of you," she said, "then is it possible that it is just a magical ability Harry already had? Maybe he is just magically gifted." Harry blushed in response to her words, while Amanda grimaced slightly.
"Hermione, the abilities Harry displayed are not naturally occurring." Amanda explained to her. "I'm not saying Harry isn't gifted, because you are Harry," she smiled at him, before returning to her train of thought, "but those abilities could have only been gotten from one of us immortal beings." She gestured to her and Death.
"Agreed," Death said simply.
"Then who gave Harry that power?" Draco asked.
Before anyone could answer the question posed by Draco, a voice, seemingly from nowhere, began to laugh manically, echoing off the walls in the Room of Requirement eerily. The seven individuals in the chamber looked around disconcertedly, feeling a sense of unease from the sinister laughter. As the cackles faded, the voice began to speak.
"Oh, I could tell you that," the disembodied voice said from the darkened corners of the chamber, "it was a gift from me!"
Holding out his hand, Death closed his eyes and called forth an archetypal scythe which formed into his closed grip, brandishing it as he assumed a defensive position, looking around the shadowy areas of the room. Amanda meanwhile lit fireballs in her hands, ready to strike whatever had spoken if it was a threat. The five magicals, meanwhile, drew their wands, though it was unlikely they would be of much use against this new enemy.
"Show yourself!" Death demanded. The initial reply from the voice, however, consisted only of laughter.
"Oh, you're always so serious, Death," the immature voice giggled from the shadows surrounding them, "you should lighten up a bit…" the voice hummed and hawed for a moment, before it released a sound of triumphant realisation, "how about we start with your robes, hmm?"
Before any of them could identify the voice or formulate a reply, the distinct sound of snapped fingers echoed in the chamber, teamed with a flash which completely encompassed the grim immortal. As the light faded and those present in the chamber blinked the sunspots from their eyes, they had to stifle sniggers as they looked at Death.
His black, hooded, menacing robes from before had been turned bright bubble-gum pink.
The immortal stared down at his change in attire, aghast at the gaudy apparel. The voice, meanwhile, cackled in pure hilarity and glee. Death looked around the chamber to identify the voice, before his eyes shot to Amanda, who had released a quiet snort in her laughter.
"Not one word…" he ground out angrily.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the voice tut'd, "you're still so angryDeath…clearly your new robes haven't done any good!" Another laugh. "I'll have to try harder!"
Suddenly, without warning, another bright flash filled the chamber and a male figure appeared in the centre of the room. Hovering cross-legged in mid-air, the new arrival grinned manically at the furious expression that was rapidly growing across Death's face.
"Mania," Death snarled, glaring out from beneath his now pink hood.
"Oh no," Amanda groaned, clasping her face in her hands.
The figure, newly identified as Mania, simply laughed dementedly, his face splitting grin never diminishing.
Unlike Amanda or Death, who looked relatively normal, able to pass as mortals for the most part, Mania was their complete antithesis. His hair consisted of a mussed, technicoloured mop that constantly cycled through multiple colours like a kaleidoscope. The immortal's clothing, meanwhile, was comprised of many different pieces of fabric from different items of clothing, all in garish, clashing colours. The most recurring of these was the colour purple.
"Aww," cooed Mania, "what's the matter Amy? You don't look that happy to see your ol' pal Mania…" Amanda growled in annoyance, the reaction from the normally bubbly and pleasant immortal, shocking Harry and Hermione.
"I haven't forgiven you for what you did to me last time, Mania," she said, annoyed, "and DON'T CALL ME AMY!" Mania merely laughed in reply, before vanishing.
"Mania?" Neville repeated uncertainly, thinking the immortal had left. However, his question was heard by the newcomer, which drew his attention.
Reappearing with a bright flash, the immortal gasped excitedly, before disappearing once more and re-emerging right next to Harry, Hermione, Neville, Draco and Susan, causing them all to jump back in shock and surprise.
"Mortals!" He cried in utter delight, before disappearing once more and appearing next to Susan. "Oh, I do love mortals!" He paused for a moment. "Or do I? Ooh, it's always so hard to remember." Mania paused to think for a moment. Vanishing again, he appeared next to Hermione. "No, no, I do love mortals! Ah, they're always so much fun, so exciting! They invented cheese, you know…CHEESE!" Mania whooped happily. "I do love cheese! It's to die for!" With a delusional cackle, he vanished once more. However, he did not reappear.
"Who was he?" Harry asked Amanda, extremely disturbed by the antics of the newly appeared immortal. Before she could reply, Mania reappeared, right next to Harry.
"You can call me Ann Marie, if you like!" The immortal replied with a laugh. "But only if you're partial to being flayed alive and having an angry immortal skip rope with your entrails." The fact his demented grin never faded made the five mortals shiver. "If not…then call me Mania…or Max if you really want me to like you!"
The five magicals stared at him for a moment, before Susan replied.
"Er…hi Max," she said uncertainly. Mania gasped once more, before disappearing and re-emerging right in front of her.
"SHE CALLED ME MAX!" He cheered elatedly, before taking her hands and twirling her around the chamber. "You're my new best friend!" He declared happily.
"Oh…yay…" Susan said weakly, dizzy from the constant spinning.
"Enough!" Death commanded. "Mania, release the mortal at once!"
"Oh poo," he groused, still twirling, "you always spoil my fun." He grinned. "Ok, I'll let her go!" With that, he vanished, releasing Susan mid-twirl.
The witch, no longer having the immortal to sustain her twirl, span off uncontrollably, crashing into Neville. This had the consequence of throwing them both to the ground, Susan lying atop the dazed Neville. As they blinked away the cobwebs and realized their position, Susan turned bright red and stood up, apologizing to a similarly blushing Neville.
Mania…or Max continued to laugh raucously.
"Poor choice of words, there, Death!" He guffawed, before turning to Harry. "And to answer your question Harry-boy, I am Mania, the God of Madness, Chaos, Pranking, and Cheese, when it takes my fancy!" He grinned widely and bowed. "Charmed!"
"Mania, what are you doing here?" Amanda demanded in a no nonsense tone. Mania laughed manically in reply.
"Weeeeeell," Max began, extending the vowel, "you wanted to know who gave Harry such awesome powers," he grinned, "and I wanted to take my bow!" He gave them an all another exaggerated bow, his head nearly reaching the floor.
"What?" Death growled. "You gave Harry that power? Why?" Max giggled.
"Well why not?" Max asked. "I saw what you were doing for these mortals and I thought, hey, that looks like fun!" He laughed loudly, leaving the ground and hovering slightly in the air. "I haven't interfered with the world of mortals since I gave ol' Barnabus the idea to open that Troll ballet school!" The immortal huffed slightly. "I was never given an ounce of credit for my role in that! The nerve!"
"What gifts did you give Harry, Mania?" Amanda asked worriedly, ignoring the ramblings of the Mad God. "Please tell me you didn't give him the…gift of madness…" Harry paled.
"G-gift of madness?" Harry repeated weakly. Mania ignored the faint mortal, choosing instead to act petulant in response to the sarcasm behind Amanda's word 'gift'.
"It is so a gift!" Max snapped childishly. "Lots of people enjoy having it, you know! They all tell me so in their crazy, unintelligible babbling!" Mania pouted. "But noooo, I didn't give him my very awesome gift of madness…" he replied, before grinning at Susan, "but if you want it Susan, you only have to ask, oh, best friend of mine…" a brief moment of panic flashed past her eyes and her face paled.
"Er," Susan hesitated, unsure what to say, "thanks for the offer…Max…" the immortal beamed in response to her using his new name, "but I'm just…so busy at the minute, I-I wouldn't be able to devote all my time to…to mad things…" he nodded sympathetically.
"Oh, my dear Susan, I understand completely," he replied happily, "there are so many boringly sane things you need to do in this mortal realm and they interfere with one's efforts to be crazy, don't they?" Mania grinned. "Well, when you find the time to let your mad side out for a little while, give me a shout! I'm always up for a party!" With a loud whoop, he vanished once more, reappearing across the room, next to Amanda.
"Anyhoo," he continued, "I didn't give Harry my super-awesome-mega-cool gift of madness, Amanda," Mania grumbled, "apparently some people don't appreciate it like others." He winked at Susan. "So, instead, I gave him the gift of Chaos!" He grinned proudly.
"The gift of Chaos?" Hermione repeated confusedly.
"Wow, the echo in this room is incredible," Max gasped in amazement, looking around the chamber in wonder, "it genuinely sounds like someone is repeating me!" Hermione grumbled in reply, crossing her arms huffily.
"What does the gift do?" Susan asked, since Hermione wasn't speaking for the time being.
"Oh, well, since you asked o' buddy of mine," he began with a grin, "it could turn him into a butterfly when there is a hurricane on the other side of the world…or is that turn him into a hurricane when a butterfly flaps its wings on one side of the world?" Mania paused for a moment to think. "Hmm, which was it…" Harry's mind stalled, unable to comprehend the ramblings of the Mad God.
"I'm going to turn into a butterfly?" He asked warily, his head spinning. Mania scoffed derisively in reply.
"Of course not!" He said. "Who said that? Turn into a butterfly?! What utter nonsense!" He grinned at Harry. "You might just have the makings of madness in you, Harry-boy!" Said wizard paled once more, not finding comfort in Max's words.
"What does your gift do then Mania?" Amanda snapped in annoyance.
"Ah," he said, grinning proudly, "but that's the beauty of chaos! It could do anything or it could do nothing! Whenever Harry is happy, or sad, or angry, his magic could react in any number of ways! If someone insults him, they could be turned into a ferret! If someone tries to hurt him, they could be teleported to the moon!" Max laughed. "Literally anything could happen!" Upon hearing this, Death grabbed ahold of Mania and held him by the scruff of his shirt.
"You idiot," he snarled, "do you realize that you could have put him in danger?!" Max scoffed in reply, before vanishing from Death's grip and reappearing on the other side of the room.
"Oh don't be such a drama queen, Death," he snapped, "the chaos gift can't harm him! It wouldn't be much of a gift if it did, would it?" Max grinned again. "I think you'll find that my gift saved his life in the girl's toilets and helped him win the duel against that Weasley boy!" His eyes flashed in remembrance and he smiled at Harry. "Oh, nice work by the way, I watched the whole duel! That spell you crafted was a cool finish!" He shook his head and returned to his train of thought. "Anyway, yes, he'll be fine. The chaos gift does tend to work better in situations that are more dangerous, but it will protect him and his friends…in a completely random way every time!" He grinned manically.
"Chaos?" Amanda muttered to herself in thought, before a realization hit her. "I sincerely hope, for your sake Mania, that you are not responsible for the chaos that has damaged the timeline?" Death's eyes widened and he fixed an angry look at Mania. However, a look of anger had grown across Mania's usually grinning face, shocking them.
"I am not to blame for the flaw in the timeline." He retorted coldly. "This chaos is not of my making, nor do I know what is to blame. I do not want the mortal timeline to be unstable any more than you do." Amanda grimaced apologetically. "You should bear in mind that chaos is by its very nature chaotic, meaning it cannot be predicted and may not necessarily have a cause."
"I'm sorry Mania," she apologized, "I made an assumption and jumped to an incorrect conclusion." Quick as a flash, his face had brightened and the insane grin had returned.
"It's quite alright Amy," Mania replied with a cheeky grin, making her scowl in response to the hated nickname, "I am the master of chaos after all!"
"And cheese!" Susan reminded with a smile. Mania grinned madly at her and winked.
"When it takes my fancy!" He continued smugly. Death rolled his eyes exasperatedly.
"Yes, well," Death sighed, "if you're done encouraging him, Miss Bones," she blushed, "let's get back on track." He turned back to Mania. "Is that all the gifts you gave Harry?" He questioned the mad-god.
"Yup!" He replied cheerily. "Like I said, I wanted to give him the gift of madness too but I'd thought I'd ask first this time!" He vanished and reappeared next to Harry. "So, what about it Harry-boy? You want my gift, don't you?" Before he could reply, Mania continued. "Of course you do!" Harry's eyes widened and he began to complain, but was cut off once more by Mania. "No, no, no, Harry-boy, I insist! It's the least I can do!"
"MANIA!" Amanda yelled, summoning the immortal to her and holding his shoulders. "No, gift, of, madness! UNDERSTAND?!" Mania jutted out his bottom lip petulantly, before nodding sadly.
"Fine." He replied quietly, sniffing theatrically. "No one ever appreciates the things Mania does for them. No one. Not Amanda, not Death…not even…not even Harry-boy."
Mania sniffed again very loudly, before summoning a handkerchief from nowhere and blowing his nose noisily. Slowly, the immortal walked over to an empty corner away from the group, sobbing quietly. The other two immortals rolled their eyes at this display but Susan nudged Harry firmly in the ribs.
"Ow!" He grumbled, turning to Susan. "What?"
"Thank him!" She hissed in reply. Harry looked at her confused.
"What?" He repeated nonplussed.
"Thank, him," she said, punctuating each word with a whack, "for, your, other, gift!"
"Ow! Ow! OW! Ok, ok," he relented under her abuse, before turning to the sobbing immortal across the room, "er, Mania? I, er…well, thank you for your gift of Chaos. Now that I know that those magic outbursts were part of your gift, it looks like it will be genuinely useful. But, er," he paused, "if you don't mind, I think I'll pass on the, er, gift of…of Madness though, if that's ok," a loud wail came from Mania, "thank you anyway!"
Before Harry could even blink, the waterworks and the handkerchief were gone and Mania was grinning madly once more. With a bright flash, Mania reappeared next to Harry where he grabbed his hand and began to shake it rigorously.
"That's ok Harry-boy," Mania said genially, shaking the wizard violently with the handshaking, "I'm just glad you appreciated the Chaos gift! If you hadn't I might have…might have…" he paused, trying to think of something, "…gone ABSOLUTELY NUTSand brutally killed everyone in this room!"
With that said he released Harry's hand and vanished, leaving the five mortals to once again shiver at the declaration made by the utterly insane immortal. He soon reappeared, however, hovering in the middle of the room again, this time upside down. Mania grinned at everyone and clapped his hands.
"So, now that's dealt with," he began, rubbing his hands together, "what should we do-…why is everyone the wrong way up?" Mania asked confusedly. Finally having had enough of the irritating immortal, Death sighed and banged his scythe, righting the upside down Mania.
"Would you kindly leave you damned pest?!" Death growled angrily.
"Harrumph!" Mania huffed, insulted. "Well then, if you're going to be like that…perhaps its best I take my leave. A good day to you sir, I SAID GOOD DAY!"
And with that, he vanished.
Death looked around for a moment, checking to make sure the insane immortal had actually vanished for good, before sighing tiredly and rubbing his temples.
"Mania always gives me a headache," Death groused in annoyance. Amanda nodded understandingly.
"I know how you feel," the female immortal replied. Susan shrugged.
"Hey," Susan protested, defending the Mad God, "I thought he was ok…"
Whatever replies the other two immortals were going to come up with were interrupted as the annoyingly familiar bright flash filled the room and Mania reappeared, standing next to Susan. Running to her, he grabbed the witch in a hug and spun her around him.
"Wow Susan!" Max cried happily. "You are like my…my most awesome friend…ever! No one's ever stood up for me before, especially not to Death!" Leaving a loose, he grinned at her elatedly, as the dizzy Susan recovered once more from being spun around by Max.
"Leave, Mania!" Death growled angrily. Mania stuck a tongue out at him in reply, before turning back to Susan.
"You ever need anything, oh pal of mine, just give ol' Max a shout," he said, with a manic grin, "I'll be there in a flash!" He turned to Harry. "The same goes for you two as well, Harry and Hermione!" Mania said. "Ta, ta!"
With another flash, Mania vanished once more. However, as they waited for him to reappear, he remained gone.
"At last," Death said, relieved.
A brief moment of silence graced the space as if they were all taking a moment to recover after being subjected to the mind-bending experience of the God of Madness, which really wouldn't have been a stretch of the imagination. Mania was certainly…an acquired taste, Harry thought to himself.
"Well now," Hermione said after a minute or so, "that was…eventful."
"Agreed," Harry said with a smile, "but at least he was able to answer your question about what turned out to be my new Gift of Chaos, Amanda." Amanda nodded happily. "So, is that everything you wanted to speak to us about?"
"Yes indeed!" Amanda replied cheerfully. "Now, I believe that you were about to leave before we arrived?" They all nodded. "Well then, Death and I will take our leave then! We'll try and make sure that Mania doesn't bother you too much." Death nodded.
"Yes, emphasis on 'try'," he muttered, "Mania isn't one to follow instructions. Oh, additionally, please keep us informed about any other big changes that occur. We want to try and keep track of these fluctuations the moment they happen." Harry and Hermione nodded.
"We will." Hermione replied.
The two immortals nodded, satisfied with their reply. Before the two of them left, Amanda gave the five of them a cheery wave and Death rolled his eyes and let out a tired sigh at her immaturity. With a bright flash, the two immortals vanished, leaving the five of them alone once more in the Room of Requirement. Letting out a deep whooshing sigh, Harry turned to Hermione, Neville, Susan and Draco and smiled.
"Well, a lot has happened tonight, hasn't it?" He said with a chuckle.
"I'll say," Neville replied, before glancing at the clock which remained where it had materialised at twelve, "bloody hell, it's half one!" Hermione nodded.
"And we've got classes tomorrow as well!" She exclaimed. "We should get back to the common room."
"How're we going to get back without getting caught?" Susan asked. "It's well past curfew now." Before Harry or Hermione could reply to her, two doors materialised next to each other in the room, one labelled Gryffindor and one labelled Slytherin.
"Well," Harry replied amusedly, "that makes things a bit easier, doesn't it?" They all shared a laugh, before they walked to the doors.
The four Gryffindors said goodnight to Draco as he left the group to go through the Slytherin door, before heading through their own door. As the girls peeled off to their dormitory, Neville and Harry climbed the stairs to theirs tiredly, collapsing on their beds and falling asleep, still fully dressed. As Morpheus claimed Harry's mind, he frowned slightly as the words of Death echoed in his thoughts.
'This world has changed, more than it should…'