He was a broken man. Everyone who truly cared about him, dead. His supposed friends, no longer had any use for him now that it was all over.

All he had left was his photo album, his old school things, his money and the Deathly Hallows. Perhaps it was irony that those who survived called him the master of Death.

So in an attempt to regain something, anything of what he lost, he became an Unspeakable. His main goal was to discover where the hell the Veil of Death lead.

It was all he had to live for.

"What's this?"

He pulled out a mysterious book that wasn't there before. After four years, he had started to lose hope of finding out the truth.

The Veil of Death, as it is called by many, is often mistaken as a pathway to the land of the dead. In truth, this Veil is a gateway to another realm where magic does not rule the land.

In this realm, the powerful use what is called 'Haki'. Some have speculated that this is actually a form of Reiki, Chakra, or possibly some form of telekinesis. However, as none have found the matching gateway back to this realm, this is only speculation.

Harry felt like crying. He had found something! Then he realised there was more.

There is rumors that those who die on this side will automatically be sent to this other world via the gateway. It is possible that this is the reason why the gateway is called the Veil of Death. There is no proof that those who die on the other side come here, however.

"So it's a one way street?" said Harry. He closed the book, and considered his options.

While this was a huge step forward into his research, he didn't know what to do next. Could he take the chances that this book was telling the truth and go through? Or should he continue to stay in this boring existence, with no real reason to live at all?

No real choice there. Plus there was a chance he could change a few things. George had lost all love of pranks with his twin gone, and Teddy would soon miss his parents.

He would have to prepare though. If anyone knew what he had planned, there was a chance someone would stop him. Like Mrs. Weasly for example.

"George, I'm going to need your help," said Harry.

George gave him a glance, not really seeing him. He had lost all his luster since Fred died.

"What is it?" he asked tiredly.

"I'm planning a trip. And I want your advice."

"Go bug Hermione."

"I would, but if she knew where I was going, she would try to stop me for sure."

"Oh yeah? Where are you going?" asked George, not really listening.

"To possibly find Fred and Sirius," said Harry calmly, and he waited for George to realize what he had just said.

"That's great, I... What did you say?" George woke up and really looked at Harry.

"I'm going to find Fred and Sirius."

"Harry, listen to yourself. They're gone, remember?"

Harry handed him the book. When George got to the part about souls being sent to this other world, his eyes gained a familiar gleam. One that had been missing for three years.

"Is this for real?"

"What do we have left to lose? We can't keep going on like this. At the rate we're going, we'll be as bad as those who've been Kissed."

"No argument there. So what do you need?"

And so began the plotting. On the off chance Hermione or Ron caught wind of his plans, George was going to set off a series of pranks that would block any attempts to reach the Veil. There was little chance he would get into trouble for it with Hermione or Ron. They had become rather annoying lately since he refused to even leave bed most mornings.

This would get them off his ass for sure.

Harry was ready to embark on this journey. In his pocket was everything he would need to explore a new world. Camp materials, books on rare languages (mostly dead), translator charm, food, water, wand, several pranks, a bottomless purse that would allow him to access his account directly, and of course on the off chance this really lead to a new world, a two way mirror he could carry. It was the size of a medium hand mirror and George had the other half.

Just in case that didn't work there was a two way journal.

He waited until George set off the first prank in the Atrium. Hermione was on him in a flash.

"George Weasly, what the bloody hell do you think you're doing!"

George made a motion with his hand, and Harry ran. By the time Hermione realize what was going on, he had made it to his department. Ron was too busy upstairs. He had been trapped in a fake spiderweb lacing with a potion to make him stick to the webbing for an hour. (Needless to say he was trying very hard not to cry from fear.)

The room was empty. Harry saw the Veil. The hushed whispering was louder than usual. Like it sensed what he wanted to do. In his right pocket were all three Deathly Hallows. If this wasn't a doorway to another world, then he wanted them far from anyone's reach.

He walked up to the Veil. One deep breath later, and he plunged into the murky depths.

His eyes beheld a strange sight. A vortex of stars, watery lights and planets flashed by him. (Think Stargate and you'll get the idea.)

A voice reached out to him. And he could hear every word.

So you finally took your chance, eh? It's about time. I was about to become bored waiting.

"Who's there?"

I am Death.

Harry stared into nothing. He felt a chill go down his spine.

I am glad you brought those three items. Shall we make a deal, little one?

"What kind of deal?"

In exchange for the Hallows, I shall help you in your quest. I will even help you find the other Gate. How does that sound?

"How do I know you're really Death?"

He felt something grin.

Good boy. I knew you were a smart one. Shall I give you a demonstration?

Something white and large approached from the distance. It sounded like wings. His eyes widened.

"Hed...Hedwig?" he whispered, though he dare not hope. He had lost his ability to hope when Voldemort finally died.

A soft hoot, and she nuzzled him.

Now do you believe me? Or is another demonstration in order.

"I believe you. I never planned to use them again anyway."

Harry took out the Hallows and let them float away. Without warning the wand and stone shattered. The cloak, which had been his all along, burst into flames. He felt a little sad about losing that.

I know you loved that cloak, and relied on it's power. So in exchange for it, I shall give you the power of invisibility. You and anyone you are touching shall become invisible without fail.

Harry grinned.

And...your beloved owl shall be waiting for you on the other side. As well as a familiar face.

Harry felt himself falling again. This time he was in the sky!

Below was a large expanse of water. Aside from a small bobbing thing, which Harry really, really hoped was a ship, there was nothing. Even the clouds were missing!

He heard a cry of alarm from below. There was no way he was going to crash into the water from this height!

He reached into his bag and grabbed the first thing he hand felt. He drew it out and nearly cheered!

It was his Firebolt! The innate magic of the broom kicked in a scant two hundred feet from the water. He was barely hanging onto the broom handle.

There were cries of disbelief from the ship. Since he knew he would die from this height, he let go of the broom. He curled up into a small ball as he hit the water. The broom hovered above.

Accio Firebolt! He said mentally.

The broom flew to his hand and vanished. He stared.

Just another little trick that I gave you, in return for the Hallows. You'll learn a few more powers along the way.

So his broom was already in his pocket? That was useful to know.

Someone rowed out to meet him. It was a man with red hair and only one arm.

"You alright? You took quite a fall," he asked.

"Lucky I knew how to fly," answered Harry. Once he was on the ship, he noted with surprise the flag.

"Is that...a Jolly Roger?" said Harry when he was on the ship.

"Yup! You're looking at Red Haired Shank's Crew! We're Pirates!" said someone from behind.

"Pirates...?" Harry sounded uncertain, then realized that he had no reason to actually fear them. It seemed to be an occupation.

"You're not one of those people who hate pirates are you?" asked the red haired pirate, who Harry assumed was Shanks.

"Should I?" asked Harry in return.

Shanks grinned.

"Well there are some bad eggs out there, but not us!"

The crew roared in agreement. Harry grinned back. He could get to like this guy.

It wasn't long before he learned most of the crew's names. As he suspected, the red haired man was the captain. Of course he insisted that he call him Shanks.

Harry seemed to fit in with most of the crew.

Then they made port. Instead of going ashore, Harry volunteered to watch the ship. He hadn't explored the whole thing yet. That seemed to earn him some bonus points with the crew, since it meant that a few more could go on shore leave.

Aside from three people, Harry was completely alone on the ship.

The navigator named Addams, Beckman, the only other person who was even remotely interested in books, and the third was a mystery. Shanks had mentioned offhand about another person on the ship with flaming red hair and a dead expression, but Harry had gotten so swept up in remembering the names that he had put it aside.

Time to meet the mystery red head. He usually acted as lookout in exchange for everyone leaving him alone about his past.

And he was up there now. Harry could hear the snoring.

He climbed up carefully, and when he saw the face of the lookout, nearly fell from the mast. It was Fred!

He carefully went down to where the sail was, and decided to test the mirror.

George's face popped up. He looked like hell.

"Harry?"

"It's me. I made it through with a minor bump."

His face split open into a grin. George was starting to look like himself again.

"What's it like?"

"Pirate seems to be a common occupation, aside from their rivals the marines. I ended up falling into the bloody ocean and narrowly had my neck saved by a ship. Oh, and the captain has red hair."

George grinned wider.

"Hermione and Ron seem to have figured out what I did, and they are pissed. Fortunately they are having difficulty hexing me for it."

The lookout's voice drifted from above.

"Five more minutes George..."

George's eyes widened.

"Did I forget to mention that I found the idiot? Care to help me wake him up? Or would you rather watch?"

"Watch. As for waking him up..." George's eyes gained a familiar glint that Harry missed, "I recommend Mum's voice."

Harry had the evillest smirk on his face as he climbed back up. Once he was sure he had Molly Weasly's voice down pat, he did a perfect imitation of her screech.

"Fred Weasly! Get up this moment! We're going to be late for the train!"

Harry could hear George's laughter, but that was nothing compared to how Fred reacted.

He couldn't have shot up faster if Harry had dumped ice water on him. His eyes went wide as he stared into Harry's emerald eyes. Harry of course was laughing his ass off.

"Long time no see, Gred!" he managed.

"Harry?"

Fred heard his twins voice and saw the mirror.

"George?"

"Surprised to see me? I came looking for ya!" said Harry. He opened the mirror fully and the twins saw each other for the first time in four years.

Shanks was surprised that Harry had managed to pull off what even he had failed repeatedly. He had gotten Fred to open up. And to laugh.

"How the hell did you do it?" asked Shanks in a whine. He had taken it upon himself to get the only other red head on board to talk to him.

Harry's smirk did not bode well for him.

"I imitated his mother's shriek to wake his lazy ass up," said Harry.

"You what?"

He grinned wider. Fred had an idea of what he was about to do.

"Fred Weasly, I have told you not to set off bombs in the bathroom!"

"Oi! I never set off a bomb in the bathroom! Sent you a toilet seat when you were sick, yes, but I never blew one up!" said Fred in his defense.

"There's first time for everything, Gred," smirked Harry.

"You sent someone a toilet seat when they were sick?" asked Shanks in disbelief.

"It was confiscated before I could see it," said Harry.

Shanks started to shake, then he started laughing. It wasn't long before others were laughing too. Fred grinned.

"And you should see some of the stuff he comes up with when he's with George!"

"Who's George? You're boyfriend?" asked Shanks.

Harry cracked up at the look on Fred's face.

"HE'S MY TWIN, YOU IDIOT!"roared Fred. He took out his wand and hexed Shanks hair pink.

Harry laughed even harder.

"If you mentioned the Terror Twins, everyone knew you were talking about Fred and George," said Harry when he could breathe.

They decided to have a party for the hell of it. Since Harry had managed to get Fred to open up and actually grin, they decided to let him join the crew. Fred had already joined as the main lookout.

Fred and Harry kept watch. Between the two of them, they covered all the bases. Besides, it gave Harry an excuse to let the twins talk.

It was a week after Harry joined up that he wondered if they could add another mirror. That way George and Fred could talk all the time.

There was only one problem. He had no way to get the mirror past the veil. According to George, people had noticed he had gone missing and were looking for him.

Hermione and Ron knew George was in on it, so they pestered him every day for information. Even his mother had joined in.

He ended up falling asleep before he could find a solution.

Hello boya. Having fun?

"Death?"

I see you found the first key.

"Key?"

In order to pass freely between worlds, you must find seven people that you knew in your original world. Only then will I allow you to find the other gate.

"So if the first one is Fred..."

You have to find what you lost in order to return. Simple as that.

"Is there any way to transport items between the worlds without the gate?"

Yes. I'll give the boy the circle he needs to send what you want. It will automatically appear before you.

Harry smiled.

"Thank you."

Fred watched with baited breath as the circle appeared beneath their feet. From it came several items. He quickly copied it down to use later. He had some beer he wanted to split with George some time.

Harry had other plans for the crew's alcohol ration. Something he knew the twins would love.

"WHERE'S THE RUM?" was the general outcry. Someone had gone down to binge in peace, and found that their rum supply had mysteriously vanished.

Fred raised an eyebrow when he saw Harry trying not to laugh.

"Let me check," said Harry, offering to 'investigate' this mysterious occurrence.

Five minutes later he reappeared to a worried audience.

"There's rum. Someone must have drunk the rest of it though. There's only fifty kegs of it left."

A relieved sigh was heard. Someone wanted booze now.

"Why not have a drinking contest?" suggest Fred.

They were very close to port anyway, so the crew met this with approval. It wasn't long before they realized their mistake. Fred and Harry were drinking at a sedated pace...though Fred didn't know what Harry did with the rum.

"What did you do? Spike the rum with a potion? Cause this taste is rather familiar..." asked Fred.

Harry smirked evilly.

"That's because it isn't rum. And there's no potions involved."

It took Fred a moment to realize the implications of this. Then his eyes widened.

"You didn't..."

"George was all too willing to help. Besides, he's getting Percy drunk to celebrate his second child on the way."

"Congrats to the prat. Boy or girl?"

"Boy. His first was a little girl."

Fred sipped his drink, then waited for the show to begin. It wouldn't be long before Harry's joke took effect. Not with the way this crew drank.

"ARGH!"

Shanks watched in shock and then noted the only two who weren't bursting into flame. They were laughing too hard.

"What did you do?"

"Swapped the rum out with something stronger," snickered Harry.

"What is this stuff? My throat is burning!" said Shanks, gasping for air.

"Firewhiskey. If you drink to much you get set on fire. You'll wake up with nothing more than a really bad hangover tho'," said Fred with a grin.

The entire deck was full of drunk pirates. Several had their clothes burned off completely.

"Some people shouldn't drink firewhiskey," said Harry, shaking his head.

"Agreed. Nice prank though," said Fred, smirking.

Shanks was among those who had their clothes burned off. By the time they realized this fact, they would be near port.

George answered the mirror with a groan.

"I hate you right now."

"I never told you to drink it all at once, did I?" retorted Harry.

Fred laughed at his twin's predicament and left him to suffer in peace.