The first thing he had to do was find where all the prominent Death Eaters were. Azkaban held some of the worst but breaking in to kill them would require a lot of preparation. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time for that. He also couldn't make too many waves just yet. Going after the Death Eaters that weren't as public was the best course of action.
"I need a wand." Harry muttered.
"You have a wand, boss." Death chimed in.
Harry looked up to see her lounging on his bed nearby. She was showing up a lot more recently. He wasn't sure if it was a good sign, but he didn't mind the company.
"I can't use this wand." Harry twirled his wand along his fingers.
"Not that one." Death shook her head. "This one."
With a flourish she produced the Elder Wand. Harry looked from it to her. He shrugged.
"That works." Harry took it, feeling the sudden rush of bone-deep chill that came with its power. "Thanks."
"No problem." Death winked at him.
"I don't mind the company, but what are you doing here?" Harry placed his wand in his new chest.
"You're about to put some numbers on the board." Death didn't seem offended. "It saves me a trip being close to you."
Harry crossed the room to stand next to her. He held out a hand, reaching out to touch her. There was a slight tingle where his fingers were supposed to make contact, but there wasn't any touching.
"Stop it, that tickles." She slapped at his hands, sending more tingles where her hands passed through his arm.
"I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't hurt you if things get crazy." Harry shook the tingles from his hand as he pulled back.
"Aw, thanks boss." Death smiled brightly at him. "So, who are we going after first?"
"I'm going to pick off the ones that won't be missed first." Harry tapped his chin. "Macnair, would be a good place to start. He's the easiest to find as well. Avery, I think he works at the Ministry. Selwyn, I'm going to make him suffer, just have to find him. Yaxley would be a bit high profile, but he needs to be taken out before he can cause too much damage in the DMLE." He paused. "Greyback too. Just need to be careful not to get bit. Though being a werewolf would be kind of cool."
"Maybe next time." Death said.
"What?" Harry looked to her.
"Nothing." She shrugged. "Go on."
Harry scrunched up his brow, studying her. After a moment he continued. "The Carrow's, they shouldn't bring too much attention. The Nott's too. Crabbe and Goyle should be easy to find."
"That's nine known Death Eaters." Death added. "People will notice."
"Can't be helped." Harry shrugged. "The ones in Azkaban are another matter."
"Really?" Death slipped off the bed and began to explore is room. "They're all in one place, locked in cells. That's like shooting fish in a barrel."
"Not sure how I'd get in, avoid the dementors, and get out without being caught." Harry replied.
"Why?" Death asked. "Just pop in, zap them, and pop out."
"There are wards." Harry shook his head.
"Oh, right." Death practically skipped over to his side. "I didn't give you the full rundown." She wrapped her hands around his arm. This time he actually felt her touch. "You are kind of dead, which is why mental magic won't work on you anymore. More than that, you're kind of death too."
"Kind of death?" Harry tilted his head to the side. "That… what?"
"The Master of Death thing." She rolled her eyes. "Not so much a master, more like a co-worker. Basically, anytime you die you have the option to go back and try again. You're not immortal, you can still die, but once you're bored with that, you can join the ranks of Death."
"Anyone who collects the Hallows can do that?" Harry asked.
"Nope." Death wiggled closer to him. "This is nice. I haven't been able to touch someone in so long." She slipped her arm across his shoulder. "In the dimensions where the Hallows exist there is only one set. Whoever collects all three, or however many there are, it changes, holds them. The items return to Death once the carrier joins the ranks."
"Wow." Harry stumbled over to the bed. "That's… that's a lot to take in."
Death helped him settle. "Yeah. We try to spread the knowledge out. Otherwise, it's overwhelming."
Harry took a couple of long, deep breaths. He focused on his surrounding, trying to ground himself. He could feel the bed he was sitting on, hear Dobby cursing at Mario, smell the slight lemon scent of the cleaner, and see the ceiling above him.
"Okay." Harry sat back up. "Good to know. What does that have to do with wards?"
"They can't hold you." Death shrugged. "Didn't you think altering the wards around the house was a little too easy? They were set by Dumbledore, a guy who knows what he's doing, and you sliced through them like a hot nice through butter."
"You mean I could just apparate into Hogwarts if I wanted?" Harry asked.
"Hogwarts. Azkaban. The girls locker-room." Death counted off the options.
Harry laughed. "Thanks, I needed that."
"Happy to help." She smiled at him. "You ready to bust some heads?"
"Yeah." Harry nodded. "I think I am. How do I do this then? I've never been to Azkaban how it is now. It changed a lot once it was rebuilt."
"Think of a person rather than a place." Death suggested. "Got one?"
"I've got the perfect one." Harry smiled at her.
Without a sound he disappeared. A moment later he appeared in a grimy cell. The smell of salt water was overpowered by body odor and other things that he didn't want to think about. A woman covered near the bars spun to stare at him.
"Bellatrix." His voice came out flat, completely void of emotion.
"Who are you?" The woman pressed her back against the bars.
Her eyes darted around the cell. Seemingly finding something, she began to shimmy toward her right. Harry let the full force of his magic loose. Bellatrix stared at him in wonder.
"I don't think we've met." She whispered.
Harry shook his head. He stalked across the cell toward her. She tried to push herself away from him, only realizing what she was doing when the bars started to grind into her spine. There were many things Bellatrix had seen but never experienced before. Peace had always eluded her. Love, actual love, not the twisted version her family or even the Dark Lord gave her was something she could hardly comprehend. Fear though, she had plenty of experience with. Bellatrix reveled in fear. There was a glorious warmth that spread through her when she saw that pure, primal emotion staring back at her.
This, though, this was fear like she had never known.
"Not in this life." Harry came to a stop. He held out the Elder Wand, pointing it directly between her eyes. "I don't get the appeal."
"What?" Her voice had a shiver to it.
"This." He waved his free hand between them. "Seeing you so scared, holding all this power over you. I don't understand why you like it so much."
"I'm not scared." Bellatrix screamed.
"That's where you're wrong." The wand disappeared from his hand. "You're terrified. I get that now. You've always been terrified. Poor, broken Bellatrix. Just needs someone to protect her. A great, powerful wizard to keep the fear away." He sighed and shook his head. "How utterly consumed were you once you found out your Dark Lord was gone?"
"You know nothing." She screeched.
The rage boiling inside her spurred her into action. She raced across her cell, ripping the bone-shiv from the piled straw that was her bed. Bellatrix turned, ready to pounce on the intruder only to find him standing directly in front of her.
She was launched off her feet. An unseen force slammed her against the wall. Her vision blurred. The figure in front of her seemed to split into a trio.
"I'm sure in some other life you found that powerful wizard." Harry pointed a finger at her. "Someone to love you, maybe someone that could heal you." He snapped his fingers, sending a blade of pure magic toward her. "But this isn't that story."
Her head dropped to the ground. Harry let the body fall. He turned to see a dementor standing outside the cell. It stared hungrily at where the corpse had fallen.
"Attracted by the fear?" Harry asked.
It turned its attention to him. Frost spread across the floor of the cell, directly toward where he stood. Harry flicked his hand, summoning the Elder Wand as he did.
"Serenitas Ferrum." He spoke.
The spell bisected the dementor. Harry looked down at the wand.
"You certainly pack a punch." He chuckled.
A sense of warmth spread from the wand up his arm.
"Ready to get to work?"
Another rush of warmth. An hour later the population of Death Eaters and Dementors at Azkaban had been drastically reduced. Harry retraced his steps, making sure to transfigure the dementor corpses into something manageable. He would need to take them to Gringotts before they changed back.
"Feel better?" Death asked.
"This wasn't about feeling better." Harry brushed a bit of frost that had accumulated on his sleeve. "I can't deny revenge played a part, but this was pest control." He scanned the empty cells. "Did I make too much of a mess?"
"I've seen worse." Death laughed. "Wizards keep death clean, for the most part. It's the Muggles that come up with the nasty stuff."
"I need a shower." Harry sighed. "What time is it?"
"No clue." Death shrugged.
"Tempus." Harry held up his wand. "Oh, shit."
It was eleven-thirty at night. Petunia was going to be worried sick.