prologue

Death is never something you truly expect.

After all, she had been running away from the prospect her whole life because of a megalomaniac and an insane and senile Headmaster. She thought she was finally safe, that she could rest and fall in love and live a fulfilling life before meeting her own demise at 150-ish years old.

But never, ever, had she thought she would be so blatantly betrayed by her own damn best friends - her family. She had trusted them, loved them, forgave them, sheltered them...She sacrificed herself for them.

Oh, she had been aware of their jealousy ; Ron was so focused on her money and fame meanwhile Hermione kept throwing her scathing glares anytime she proved her innate and uncanny facility towards magic.

Oh, she had loved and she had lost.

Persephone had died once already and had been greeted by Dumbledore - an old sot she had learned to loathe after finally understanding everything he had been planning for her. He had raised her to die, to distance herself from others by hiding her abuse and by becoming the easiest fooled wix in the century after believing his benevolence and his grandfatherly persona. So, of course, this time, she had hoped she would meet her parents - she had never had a proper discussion with any of them since 9 times out of 10, she was in imminent danger.

But of course, she had to meet a complete different entity this time.

She had collected the Hallows, even though she hadn't even been trying for something of the sort. It seemed ironic that the only person who had always shied away from glory had achieved something most grown wizards had pledged their entire existence to find. Whereas she, Persephone Potter, had just stumbled upon them on her quest to destroy Voldemort.

"Huh, you were not supposed to be in my realm for a couple centuries at least," frowned a dark figure, obviously distressed by the news.

The redhead turned around and glared at the intruder - he had weaseled his way into her misery while she was mourning herself, which, yes, that could be weird for others but she had been thrust upon dangerous and deadly situations her whole life, being acutely aware that she might not survive them.

Really, it had been just sheer dumb luck as McGonagall would say.

"Your realm ?," asked Percy even though she had an inkling of who was standing in front of her. She rolled her eyes when he puffed his chest, obviously eager for praise - which she frankly couldn't understand. "Let me guess, you're Death and you're not happy that I mastered you or something and you want revenge ?," she asked him, used to being threatened.

He looked at her, mouth gaping before laughing at her words. She bristled - she could bear the disgusted looks and bigoted assholes, after all, she had gone to school or duelled most of them. But most of them had known how dangerous she could be after having fled from their beloved Tom too many times to count, even managing to hurt him once or twice before.

"None of this," he said, looking at her in awe. "You're here, which is not ideal since there must always be a Peverell left alive for Magic's Balance, which yes, they kind of damned their own world," he snorted, apparently giddy that her death had somehow caused destruction. "Don't worry, we'll make them pay."

He pecked her on the cheek, not even noticing her dazed glare and her lack of understanding of the situation. "What?," she exclaimed, hoping that would bring him out of his stupor, but nothing. He even jumped from his desk, showing his eagerness to help and gave her a folder named 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 "𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐘 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐈𝐄". He even looked amused by the title which he proclaimed she would understand in a few years and to keep her eyes open for anything written by G.R.R.Martin. "I am dead," she retorted. "How am I supposed to wait for anything if I am dead?"

"Oh yes, you have to excuse me for...this," he said, gesturing towards his body to signify he was currently talking about his state of quasi-euphoria. "They think that I was stupid enough to give three brothers objects that could enslave me?," he snorted once again. "No, I just knew they were your ancestors and you had to come from their line - and even though the Hallows were powerful...they were just a harmless prank."

At that moment, Persephone almost saw herself slapping him and choking him. The mere idea that people had died throughout the centuries because they were seeking power which was not even theirs. Well, she just didn't have anyone present to blame for her situation and he acted like the bane of her existence; it seemed only fair to elevate him to that status.

"I am sending you back," he dead-panned. She had been planning to laugh with him at the prospect, but he seemed sincere, which she obviously didn't appreciate.

« Wait !, » she screamed. Everything was going so fast but there was only one stagnant thought : Hadrian. He had not been as burdened as her since he hadn't been marked by Voldemort but he had stood by her through thick and thin. His death...that had almost killed her. She could never forget the bond's severing, the gut wrenching feeling that life wasn't worth it anymore. She had been ready to give up right then and there : people called her a Hero but they couldn't imagine how much of it was just her drive and determination to protect her twin. And even that, she hadn't been able to. Seeing his body after coming back from the dead and having a revelation about Dumbledore's sins had been the last straw.

« What about...my twin ?, » she inquired, trying to be as polite as ever. The entity had been eager to get her out of the way - but if she could bring him back with her...

Death looked at her pointedly, sizing her up. Instinctively, she straightened - no need to be underestimated by her designated super powered guardian angel (or ghost, she didn't even know anymore). « I'll see what I can do. »

Before she could say anything else, she opened her eyes in the middle of a ritual ceremony in Gringotts. She would recognize anywhere ; that was the exact same place she had been when she had needed to get rid of the glamours and the compulsions being put on her by Dumbledore.

« Welcome Lady Persephone Peverell, we've been expecting you, » said a Goblin - being polite and warm to her for the first time. She looked around to understand and met the mischievous gaze of a certain entity.

« What year is it ?, » she asked, already tired about the expectations put on her - but determined to get her twin back and stop Voldemort before he could even rise to power in the same manner as before. In her opinion, Dumbledore should have dealt with him as soon as he knew that he had opened the Chamber of Secrets, but he was so eager to offer second chances and believe in people's redemption that he had only let down his followers and the family who had trusted him. Even more so, he was aware of his blood status and of how much the information would have turned his cronies against him - but he had kept the secret and only fortified his ambition.

Still, even though she frantically looked around the ritual room, she couldn't find her other half. Losing him still felt like losing a limb, but the prospect of seeing him again had slowly mended her broken heart. "What am I doing here ?," she asked again, her eyes flashing red. If Goblins from her time had been afraid of her - they had at least known what she was. Now, they were feeling for the first time the Scarlet Witch's presence within their territory accompanied by Death, which would have been enough to kill a wizard three times over.

The one responsible for her presence here smiled and looked haughtily at the bankers. She felt an urge to protect them but remembered they were strong and resilient enough to take care of their own pride - even though she was aware that the deity could be frightening. "Want to meet your grandfather from this reality?," he asked, looking flustered for some reason. She raised an eyebrow, already dreading the answer and his identity. Just from the atmosphere in the room, she understood that he hadn't saddled her with an easy ancestor. "Who might that be?,"

"Gellert Grindelwald," he said, smiling at me - like he didn't just tell me that I was the Peverell Heiress while being related to the single mad-man who had hunted her family and their heirlooms. But...she could see a benefit in meeting him. People had always been frightened of Voldemort, mostly because of his madness and his total disregard for magical blood if tainted (see, the irony?). Meanwhile, Grindelwald had been a war general who had meticulously rose to power and if not for his dalliance with Dumbledore, he might have succeeded.

What better than a Dark Lord to get rid of another?