AN: This… I don't know where it came from. My brain forced my fingers to start typing, and this was the result. Technically, this is my first foray into the One Piece world and I can only hope that I do it justice… with plenty of boy love ;)

Summary: He really doesn't know what possessed him. Falling into an alternate reality came as a shock, but now he was being hounded by pirates of all things. Sure, he stopped an execution, but does that straw-hat brat really have to keep following him around? Not to mention the man he saved keeps trying to molest him...

Pairing(s): Ace/Harry/Luffy

Warnings: if you haven't guessed, this is going to be yaoi, but not just any yaoi – a threesome! Ace/Harry/Luffy. If you do not like this, simply click the back button. Also, I happen to use a lot of swear words when I write. Violence in general is also a must.

This is rated T for now, but will be moved up to M for later chapters. I hope you enjoy ;)

1

(Of Veils and Death)

It is a very well-known fact that magic works in mysterious ways. Definitely in ways that nobody would expect, and Harry's situation would most definitely attest to that. He honestly did know how he ended up in this position. Hell, he was trying to figure out if it was a good thing or not, and currently he was leaning more towards not.

He had to wonder whether the gods were out to get him. Sure, he's pissed off a lot of omnipotent beings in the past, but surely not to the point where they'd go so far as to do this? Of all things?

Alternate realities? Hermione had told him plenty of theories that she and the other Unspeakables had come up with in the Department of Mysteries, but it wasn't as if he had actually listened to them. A lot. Well he got the gist at least. The world that they live in was merely one among many others – both alike, and… not so alike.

So that just leaves him with a question – how in the name of Merlin did he end up in one?

Least of all, why was he now the hostage of a group of dirty, sick looking men who claimed to be pirates?

Oh right. Now I remember. I agreed to help some dead guy and got pushed here without so much as a 'by your leave'.

As he stared up from where he was slumped and tied up on the dirty deck of a ship, looking into the eyes of the supposed 'captain', he wondered whether it was worth it to spell the ropes off of him, knock everyone unconscious, and escape before even more attention was drawn to him.

Those thoughts were pushed from his mind when a panicked shout distracted everyone, and suddenly, an even bigger ship was looming over them.

A very, very big ship.

Well fuck. Harry thought as the pirates around him took up arms, completely forgetting about him. I don't know if this is a blessing… or a really bad turn of events.

~Two hours earlier~

Harry was trying very hard not to be angry.

Sure, he'd given the Minister of Magic permission to call upon him whenever he needed help, but the timing could have been a lot better. It wasn't often he actually got a break from work, and as soon as he'd settled down in front of the fire, a bottle of firewiskey in one hand and a rare book on ancient Egyptian glyphs in the other, the cheery orange flame turned green with the sign of a floo call.

The minister's voice, usually a calm, deep baritone, was coloured with panic.

So Harry realised that yes, it was a desperate situation, but by Morgana, the timing! He had been itching to read that book – given to him as a gift from Bill Weasley – for months now!

And Kingsley just had to be calling him about some ruckus in the Department of Mysteries that was getting out of control, and the Unspeakables were being overwhelmed. Overwhelmed? How on earth could they be getting overwhelmed when they had both Hermione and Luna in their employment?

He didn't question though, because Minister Kingsley's voice really did sound desperate, so he promised to be on his way as quickly as possible. When he arrived not a few moments later, inside the Minister's office, he found the wizard looking rather shaky, and immediately made his way down the DoM. The corridors were full of rushing people, and the wizard realised quickly that there was an evacuation taking place.

Evacuating the Ministry of Magic? Damn, it really did look like a cause for alarm.

He met with Hermione halfway down.

"Oh Harry, Kingsley called you? Dammit, I told him not to bother you and that we had it under control!"

Harry listened to her in a bemused silence. She looked stressed out and frazzled, and while it was an amusing sight – it was rare that Hermione used harsh language – he knew that by the way Kingsley had been acting, and by the way Hermione was acting, things were definitely not under control.

"Hermione," he stopped her from storming past. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing much," She fretted. "You really should just go home and enjoy your day off."

Harry didn't budge, just stared at her with intense green eyes. For a moment, Hermione resisted stubbornly and refused to look him directly in the eyes. They were being jostled by panicked ministry workers as they got ready to evacuate, but no one paid any attention to them. Finally, she broke, and looked him in the eyes.

Harry was taken aback by the fear he saw in her brown orbs. The last time he'd seen her this afraid was back when they were seventeen and hunting down Voldemort's hocruxes.

"The Veil is acting up." She said it coldly, as if she was trying to show as little emotion as possible. "It's already sucked up several of the other Unspeakables. The Minister ordered an execution as a worst case scenario, and well… you see everyone evacuating."

Harry frowned. That really was some troublesome news. "What about Luna?"

Hermione took in a shuddering breath. "She saw it coming a moment too late. It'd already sucked up several wizards before we noticed, and she managed to evict everyone else from the Death Chamber before it could get anyone else. She's still down there, trying to put it into a sort of stasis. But I don't know how well it's going…" She trailed off, tears building in her eyes, before they suddenly hardened. She glared at him, and before Harry could react, punched him in the chest. "Dammit Harry James Potter! You weren't supposed to be here! I clearly told Kingsley NOT to call you! Ugh, when I get my hands on him-"

"Hermione!" Harry cut her off. He grabbed her arms, vaguely registering that he was still wearing gloves and thankful that he remembered to put them on, and shook her gently to stop her angry tirade. "Why wasn't I supposed to be told?"

Hermione bit her lip. "Luna said that if you came, bad things would happen. Kingsley must have called you because of your being… you-know-what, and your expertise in sealing. While I admit that your sealing runes may come in handy in this situation, Luna said that if you went down into the Death Chamber, something bad would happen. You of all people know that we should listen to her predictions, so – Harry Potter don't you dare!"

The wizard had turned on his heeled boots; his black robes billowing around him in reminisce of his former potions master, and made his way down the hall in the direction of the Department of Mysteries. He heard Hermione shout after him, but was pulled away in the torrent of ministry officials.

Harry had a bad feeling. Hermione's warning had reached him, but he wasn't going to listen to her. Luna was still down there, and like hell he was just going to leave her there and not try to help. Hermione was right about the fact that his seals may come in handy – if the Veil was indeed going haywire, then maybe he'd be able to Seal it into a frozen state or something before it did any more damage.

And he was intimately familiar with the Death Chamber after all. Being Master of Death had its perks some times, and he had found himself visiting that chamber numerous times in the past. He was pretty sure the Veil liked him, so maybe it would listen to him.

Or something. Harry had his doubts.

He got into the empty golden elevator.

~o~

The Department of Mysteries was deserted.

With a grimace, Harry started to make his way through the entrance chamber towards the door he knew would lead to the death chamber. He checked his pockets, feeling his shrunken trunk – kept there out of habit due to the unpredictable nature of his job. That done, he stopped before the door to the death chamber and pressed his hand against it.

It didn't open.

Frowning, Harry could detect the faint pulses of foreign magic keeping it closed. It took him a moment to recognise the traces belonged to Luna, and he had to admire her determination to keep everything locked in. Or out.

He tried sending a tendril of his magic through, hoping that it recognised something familiar and would follow his intentions of allowing him access. It didn't work however, and with a firm shove, Luna's magic pushed his out.

"Well then." Harry said to himself. "We're going to do this the hard way."

Though his wand was holstered to his right wrist, he didn't go for it. Deftly, he removed the thin black glove of his right hand and placed the palm flat against the door.

He didn't look at the limb, but even still he could see the silver lines that crisscrossed across the skin. Such an ugly sight, he thought absently. Grimacing, he activated the seal on his hand and said in a clear voice, "Open."

There was a shudder, and in an instant Luna's magic was overwhelmed. The door swung open with an ominous creak, and with a bracing breath, Harry entered.

It was empty, and the Veil was glowing with a bright white light. For a moment Harry found himself mesmerised by the sight. He heard the enticing whispers calling out to him, beckoning for him to come closer, but Harry knew better. He pressed his lips together in a thin line and replaced his glove, putting the runes out of sight, and slowly made his way down the steps.

"You shouldn't have come."

Luna's voice startled him, and Harry berated himself for not noticing her when he first entered. She was standing right in front of the veil, her back to Harry, staring at it. He noticed the way he voice held a deep sadness, and Harry wondered what she saw. Luna's predictions were few and far between, but they always turned out right. Maybe she'd seen him die?

But that was ridiculous. Harry couldn't die; he was the master of death. Whatever the Veil would do – Oh. Oh dear. Now he got it. The Veil was an embodiment of death. He was the master of death. Maybe his time had finally come?

Surprisingly, it didn't instil fear into his heart. He remember, all those years ago when he was willing to sacrifice himself for his loved ones. He'd done it with little thought.

Well. He'd done it once. He could do it again, if it meant his friend's safety.

Harry had done a lot of bad things in the past. His job wasn't exactly the cleanest one, and even though he enjoyed it for the most part, he knew that he was no longer the embodiment of Light that everyone thought he was. Things had changed. He'd grown up from the terrified eleven year old boy who knew nothing of wizards and magic –even death, despite his living conditions at the time.

He's killed. He's stolen. From bad people and good people. To be honest, he was getting rather tired too.

Harry was powerful. Probably the most powerful man alive to date and that power was a heavy burden. He wouldn't needlessly throw his life away, but if his time had come… he wouldn't fight.

"Am I going to die?" Harry asked. He made his way towards the silent, blonde woman who stared at the veil with wide silvery eyes. Those eyes – all knowledgeable – penetrated him to the core.

"I don't know." She said.

That stumped him. "You… don't know."

She nodded in confirmation before turning back to look at the veil. "It wants you. That's all I know. I had hoped you would not come, but I knew you would. What happens now I know not."

"But you know everything." It came out weakly. Knowing that he was going to die would have put him at ease, but not knowing only left room for a whole fuck load of uncertainties and theories. Harry didn't like not knowing things. In his line of work it got people killed.

"Not this." Luna murmured. "You will go. I cannot stop you." She turned to him once again and smiled. "It is your destiny."

And Harry really hated words like fate and destiny. But if Luna said so… He asked, "Will I come back?"

Her smile turned mischievous. "I don't know."

Liar, Harry thought. That would answer everything, wouldn't it? He sighed and shook his head, turning to the Veil. He could hear the voices more clearly, all of them whispering for him to come to them, to join them. Now that he was this close he could fell a tugging in his chest, pulling him forwards.

Who was he to deny the whims of a greater power?

"I guess this is it then." He stated. Luna hummed in agreement. "Look after my house, ok? Tell Hermione I'm sorry."

"I may not need to." She said. Confused, Harry turned to her questioningly, but she still held that mysterious smile. "Go on Harry. Your destiny awaits."

The wizard snorted. "Yeah. Destiny. I'm not dancing to the whims of another prophecy am I?"

She didn't answer, and he realised she had turned her back and was walking away.

Harry shook his head in exasperation. Luna never changes.

He walked up the stone steps until he stood before the archway. The veil moved in an empty breeze, the whispers blending together into an almost white noise. Harry grimaced. Being this close to a source of great power was causing the seals all over his body to act up, and the burning sensation was becoming quite uncomfortable. He spared a brief thought about what was going to happen, wondered vaguely about what Luna had said, and whether or not this was just one big mistake.

But hey, he was Harry Potter. He was known for fucking shit up constantly.

Hermione would have called him an idiot, and would again point out that he had a 'saving-people' complex. But was he really saving anyone by doing this?

Or maybe… he'd simply gotten bored. He had friends. He was well respected. His job was steady, if not a bit sinister. Maybe it was the lack of adventure?

Maybe he just needed to get laid.

Laughing softly, and before he could think twice, Harry closed his eyes and walked into the Veil.

In the empty chamber, Luna's voice echoed.

"Life and Death work in mysterious ways. Much in a similar way to magic. Isn't that right, Roger? Your son's time hasn't come. Not yet, at least."

~o~

There was no pain. The whispering had stopped. And for the second time in his life, Harry found himself in the empty station of King's Cross. Well, the one associated with Death at least, only this time there was no old man with sparkling blue eyes to greet him.

Instead, there was man with a rather amazing moustache, and a wild, fierce grin. He was tall, broad shouldered and looked to be well built. For a moment, Harry felt a pang of familiarity – there was just something about this man that reminded him of Sirius. He shook the feeling away and eyed the man warily.

"If you're death, I expected you to be more… old and skeletal looking."

The man blinked for a moment, before his grin widened and he threw back his head and laughed. "No kid, I'm not death, although you are here because of 'em."

Harry resisted the urge to point out that he was far from being a kid, but decided better because pissing of an unknown entity may result in bad things happening. Besides, the man looked to be agreeable, and he had to be here for a reason. Blinking at the still chuckling man, Harry asked, "Then who are you? And why was I called here?"

The man's smile really did look feral. "My name is Gol D. Roger, and you are here because Death owes me a favour. He sent you to complete this favour."

Harry felt a tad bit of irritation. "Don't I have a choice in that?"

The man hummed. He seemed to radiate amusement. "No, not really. I was assured that you would be more than willing though, if you would just hear me out."

The wizard sighed. Yeah, my title may be Master of Death, but if anything, I'm nothing more than a pet. Or a slave. Whatever is appropriate at the time. "Yeah, sure, shoot."

"You're aware of there being other worlds similar to your own, correct?" Harry nodded. "Well, this station can lead to any which one, so long as you have the appropriate guide. Basically, I need your help."

"I gathered that. What do you need me to do?" Patience never had been Harry's strong point, and he berated himself inwardly.

The man only chuckled. "My son's gotten himself into a might bit of trouble… I need you to fix things. It's not his time to die, not yet at least, and I was told that you have a knack for these sort of things."

Oh yes. The saving people thing. "You could say that."

Roger's grin dimmed a bit. "Ace is a good boy. But there are forces at work that mere mortal men have no chance of fighting against. That's why I need you there. Protect him for me. I had an old… friend doing the best he can, but he's only human."

"Hey, I'm plenty human." Harry defended himself, if not a bit weakly.

Roger laughed, "I'm sure you are! Now, I was told you're pretty resourceful, so I'm sure you'll be able to get by in the Grand Line easily by yourself. Time for you to get going kid!"

"Wait, that's all you're telling me?" Harry cried out in shock as the ground beneath his feet seemed to fall away. "Dammit, I need more to work with than that!"

He was falling, and Roger's laugh rang in his ears. It was a warm one, and he heard him say, "Find Ace. Portgas D. Ace."

The voice faded, and Harry was still falling. He felt like he was falling for ages – images flashed by his eyes in a blur of colour, sounds, scents and flavours rushed through him, all becoming indistinguishable as time passed. Finally, everything cleared, and he was surrounded by blue.

Surrounded by blue…

He was still falling.

Harry didn't have time to even consider pulling out his shrunken trunk and try to get his Firebolt out. He was falling much too quickly, coming up to meet what he realised was water. But wait, no, not water, there was something below him… a boat?

When he landed, it was surprisingly softer then he had expected. He managed to use his magic to slow his fall as best as he could, but the end result was still painful. Harry could remember the last time he'd fallen from a great height, and he had ended up breaking a lot of bones. He was only thankful that it didn't turn out like that this time.

Harry blinked dizzily and sat up from the soft thing he'd fallen on. The only sound to be heard was that of the waves crashing against the sides of the boat, and Harry looked around him in confusion.

There were a dozen or so men staring at him in shock.

Harry blinked. "Um… Hi?"

Silence, and then one of the men spluttered out in indignation, "That guy squashed our captain!"

Harry blinked again. "Huh?" He scrambled unsteadily to his feet, and looked down at the thing he landed on. The man was sprawled out and twitching, clearly unconscious. "So I did. Uh, sorry?"

And that's how Harry found himself in the position he was currently in. The men – pirate crew – had taken him by surprise, and tackled him to the ground, tying him up in the process. The captain woke up and started ranting about sneak attacks and failing and some other crap along those lines, but Harry didn't pay much attention.

When the other ship came into view, and the pirates started running around, screaming about 'marines', Harry decided simply: do the job, protect this 'Portgas D. Ace', then go home.

Lovely how things are never that simple.