The fierce battle in the Department of Mysteries seemed to take forever. There were so many participants that it was difficult to tell which side was winning. Each of the Death Eaters put down to immobilization and stunning to take them out of the fight, were quickly revived and joined in the fight again.

The members of the Order of the Phoenix were not giving as good as they got, because several of them were sidelined by bludgeoning and cutting curses, not of which were fatal. It just left a poor amount of defenders when the battle reached its peak in the Death Chamber. Harry and his friends didn't know that was what it was called, however.

Harry and his godfather were having a hell of a time duelling Lucius Malfoy, proving that the man was not to be trifled with and that Sirius was not at his best. His years in prison showed as he lagged in casting and taunted his opponents instead, rather than sling spells and remain quiet like he used to when he was younger.

When Lucius was finally incapacitated with a rope-binding spell and disarmed, Sirius pushed Harry out of the way of a dark curse and started to duel his cousin, Bellatrix. Both of them mouthed off to each other, just because they both needed the extra time to rest and recharged their magic for the next spells they would cast.

It was during one such lull that Bellatrix was just a little bit faster to recover. She cast her spell and Harry saw the flash coming before Sirius did. He dove and pushed Sirius out of the way, just in time, and the spell hit Harry instead.

The entire battle seemed to pause as time slowed down and everyone saw, with growing horror, as Harry fell backwards into the Veil of Death. Instead of going through and coming out the other side of the arch, as his friends thought should have happened, Luna let out a blood curdling scream and Harry completely disappeared.

“Oh, no.” Remus whispered and stared at the spot Harry used to be.

Luna cried and cried and Ginny put an arm around her. Neville just looked shell shocked.

Sirius was on the floor and stared at the spot as well. He couldn't believe it. It couldn't have happened. It was a trick. A ruse. A great joke. His godson wasn't dead. He couldn't be. He came here to rescue him, not kill him.

No one seemed able to move or react for several long moments, then a cackling laugh broke the silence.

“Ha hahaha! IIII killlled Haaaarry Potterrrrr!” Bellatrix sang and did a little dance.

Just then, light seemed to pour into the doorway and Albus Dumbledore stood there. His old eyes took in the scene and his ears heard Bellatrix's song. “No.” He whispered. “It's not possible.”

Everyone watched as Dumbledore ignored the still free Death Eaters and strode down the steps towards Sirius, whom hadn't moved from where he had fallen after Harry pushed him out of the way. They exchanged a few words and Dumbledore's face fell into supreme sadness.

“Is... is that it?” Tonks asked as Remus knelt by her to help her.

“Yes, it's over.” Dumbledore said. “There's no point in fighting now.”

“WHAT?” Nearly everyone shouted together, Order members and Death Eaters alike.

“With Harry gone...” Dumbledore sighed and seemed to age fifty years. “...all hope is lost.”

“You... you can't just... give up.” Remus said, even though his heart wasn't in it. He deeply regretted not spending more time with Harry when he easily could have and also helping Molly Weasley and Dumbledore to stop Sirius and Harry spending unsupervised time together. Their argument that he could be a bad influence on Harry seemed rather stupid in retrospect.

The Death Eaters were a little stunned that none of the Order of the Phoenix were attempting to apprehend them or stop them from freeing the ones captured. They almost had their fellows freed and Bella was on her third verse of the killing Harry Potter song when Luna screamed again.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look over at her and her nearly uncontrollable sobs made even the hardest of hearts soften a little. It was when she lifted a very shaky hand and pointed at the Death Veil that they all felt an overwhelming sense of dread as it filled the room.

Like in an old fashioned horror movie, every head slowly turned to look where she pointed.

A dark figure stood there. It was covered from head to toe in tight dark grey cloth, or what looked like cloth, because it moved as they watched. It slithered like a snake over the fairly muscular body and left almost nothing to the imagination. The figure was definitely a he and Ginny and Luna blushed, even through their tears of loss over Harry.

A mostly charred stick slid out of the thing's hand as it raised his hand and pointed it at Lucius Malfoy. He knew a threat when he saw it and tried to react with a quick draw, then realized the brats had his wand and his hand held nothing. He let out half a sigh before a bolt of black energy hit his chest and he exploded into tiny bits of flesh and a huge splash of blood.

Luna didn't scream this time and cried harder.

Before the other Death Eaters could compose themselves after seeing such a horrific sight, seven more bolts had struck them and they exploded. That left four of their twelve person squad and one of them was cackling with glee.

“Finally! Someone worthy to fight with!” Bella exclaimed and threw a blasting curse at the floor in front of the dark figure and ran for it.

The figure ignored her taunt and lure tactic and walked forward as he blew up the three remaining Death Eaters. That they were prepared and had tried to block the curses didn't matter. They died anyway.

To everyone's surprise, he walked over to where Neville stood guard over Hermione with an unnamed member of the Order. The woman paled as he approached and raised her wand as she attacked, only to have her spell bounce off of the dark grey cloth and hit herself in the face with a stunning spell.

“Moron.” The figure said with a spine-tingling voice without opening any kind of mouth before he turned his head and looked at Neville. “Thanks for watching over her, Nev.”

“N-n-no problem, H-Harry.” Neville said and stepped aside. Even distorted as it was, he knew that voice after hearing it all year during the DA lessons.

The dark figure knelt beside Hermione and his wand roamed over her figure. “I should have done this curse to Dolohov and let him try to recover from it.” He said and his wand glowed bright orange on the tip as he chanted under his breath. It only took two passes for Hermione's breath to even out and her tense body slackened and relaxed.

The dark figure stood and nodded at Neville, which told the other boy to resume his post, and the figure turned and walked towards the doorway. No one was surprised when Albus Dumbledore strode over to block his path.

“Harry, my boy.” Dumbledore started to say.

A red beam came from the dark figure's wand and bounced off of Dumbledore's protective shield.

“There's no need to attack me, Harry.” Dumbledore said. “I merely want...”

“...me to die by Voldemort's hand.” Harry said and everyone gasped as the cloth covering his head slid down and revealed that his lightning bolt scar had expanded and went from his forehead, across his right eye, and down his cheek to his jawline.

Dumbledore looked surprised for a moment, then sighed. “You heard the prophecy.”

“No, the orb was broken and neither Nev nor I heard it.” Harry shook his head. “I just spent a century in Purgatory and wondered how I got there. When I eventually realized that everything in my life was your fault and you manipulating me, it gave me a whole new perspective.”

His words gave almost everyone a shock that they wouldn't recover from for quite some time, except for Luna. All she did was cry more.

Dumbledore now looked genuinely surprised. “My boy, I did what I did because...”

“You can shove Grindelwald's excuse of the Greater Good up your ass, old man.” Harry said and snatched the Elder Wand from his hand before Dumbledore could twitch it towards him. It shot out midnight black sparks and he chuckled. “Oh, that's what she meant.”

Dumbledore stood there with his mouth hung open as his wand was absorbed by the flowing dark grey cloth and disappeared. The charred stick in Harry's hand grew five knots into the wood and he smiled.

“Excuse me.” Harry said and the cloth flowed up over his head. “I have to go pay Bellatrix a visit.”

Before Dumbledore could say anything in response, Harry waved his new wand at him and the old man was flung across the room and landed in a heap near where Remus and Tonks were. No one tried to stop him as he left the room through the door. He flicked his wand at it to create a door wedge under it and kept it open as he walked across the white room of doors. The exit door opened for him without him verbally asking for it.

“Thank you.” Harry said in his eerie voice and the door shut behind him.

*

Bellatrix would never admit that she was scared. No one had ever come out of the Veil of Death before, assuming that the person hadn't just apparated there. The exploding bodies of her compatriots told her that whomever it was, really had come back from death somehow. She rode the elevator up to the Ministry of Magic's atrium and then she wasn't sure what she should do.

It had been her job to lure Potter into an ambush for her Lord and she was supposed to goad the boy into using darker spells after killing the only magical family he had left. It hadn't worked that way and she was having second thoughts about informing her Lord about her actually killing Harry Potter by sending him through the Veil, especially since someone had come back out of it.

The other elevator activated and that made her decision for her. She pressed the dark mark on her arm as she walked across the Atrium and sent the signal for the Dark Lord to appear. When she reached the agreed spot, the elevator opened and the dark figure stepped out. Alone. That did not give her any confidence and she hoped her Lord showed up quickly.

Voldemort appeared in a swirl of a portkey and came to rest beside where Bellatrix stood. Before he could ask her what had happened, she exploded with a splash of flesh and blood that covered his right side from head to foot. He was so surprised by this that he never saw the immobilization spell or the rope making spell, only it was somehow magical chains and the ends slammed into the floor and held him with a blue glow.

“You won't get away with this.” Voldemort said. “I am Lord Voldemort and...”

“You are Lord Nothing and you will stay right there until Ministry witnesses appear to confirm that you've returned.” The dark figure said.

Voldemort watched as the figure cast several spells that shattered all of the windows and glass in the Atrium and then he blew up the Atrium's fountain. The blasting curse was gigantic and pieces of the metal figures flew across the large open space and embedded into the walls, through doors and offices, and into the high ceiling.

“That was impressive, whoever you are.” Voldemort said, even though his voice lacked the emotions those words should have conveyed. “If you joined me...”

“...I would take over within a week and you would be superfluous.” The dark figure said. “The damage alarms should bring all of the people your sycophants bribed to stay away within a few minutes.”

Voldemort was surprised by his words and realized he was right. Everyone would contact the higher ups when they were notified their spaces had been violated, especially in the Aurors, and they would have to appear to check thing out. Bribed or not, late at night or not, they would have to appear.

He struggled and tried to apparate, used his portkey to no effect, and tried wandless magic to open the chains or weaken them. Nothing worked.

“If you're wondering how to open the chains, they use an emotional trigger.” The figure said.

Voldemort used his anger, his hate, his annoyance, and several other emotions and the blue glow only grew stronger.

The dark figure laughed. “Having trouble figuring out which emotions to use?”

Voldemort growled at him and kept struggling as he used combinations of emotions. As he tried to free himself, quite fruitlessly, several of the giant fireplaces in the Atrium that were used for travel lit up. His struggle stopped when the dark figure's clothing flowed away from his hands and head and changed into a normal shirt and pants, which revealed the figure's identity.

“HARRY POTTER!” Voldemort yelled and that just so happened to grab the attention of all of the new arrivals.

Several screams and shouts of disbelief came from them, especially from the Minister of Magic.

“He... he... HE'S BACK!” Cornelius Fudge exclaimed and pointed to Voldemort.

“Yes, he is.” Harry said. “I also caught him.”

Everyone turned to stare at him, most with shock on their faces.

“So, how stupid do you feel now after a year of slandering me in the paper and calling me a nutter?” Harry asked and most of them looked guilty.

“Harry, my boy.” Fudge said with his most jovial voice and grinned at him. “It was all a misunderstanding! Now that we have you-know-who in custody, we can...”

“What do you mean that YOU have him in custody?” Harry asked and glared at him.

“He's right here and secured in the Ministry's Atrium, Harry! We automatically assume custody of him.” Fudge said, smugly. He knew he could twist the public into believing that the Ministry had captured the villain and Harry would only be mentioned as a footnote, if at all.

“Really?” Harry asked and turned to look at the others around Fudge. “Is that how you all feel? I suffer all year being tortured by the Minister's Undersecretary and do all the work to capture Voldemort, and you all get the credit?”

More than half of them turned to look at Fudge and he still had the smug look on his face. They let out sighs and looked back at Harry. The rest wouldn't even meet his eyes.

“Very well.” Harry said and used his much more powerful wand to tap the permanent wound on the back of his hand as a gigantic pulse of magic flowed out from him and formed a wave that flowed out and out from him. “Let those that deserve it, forever be branded and wear this on their forehead.”

All of the people present, Voldemort included, yelled in pain as the words 'I must not tell lies' burst out through the skin on their foreheads, as if they had used a blood quill for as long as Harry had.

“Lies of omission count.” Harry said as they all touched their foreheads and felt the blood and damage.

“What did you do?!?” Fudge asked, angrily.

Harry held up his hand and showed him. “Anyone who lied has this on their forehead for lying.”

Several of them let out cries of disbelief and a few cursed at him.

“It wouldn't apply if you weren't liars or were a part of spreading them.” Harry said. “You also won't be stealing Voldemort's capture from me.” He said and waved his wand at the chains. The blue glow faded and Voldemort's struggles finally worked and they snapped, freeing him.

“NO!” A bunch of voices cried out, which included Albus Dumbledore, members of the Order, the Minister, a few of his flunkies, and two of his friends. The rest just stared as Voldemort used his portkey and disappeared.

“H-Harry.” Hermione whispered and he walked over to her. Neville supported her and she looked both exhausted and upset. “Why... why did you...”

“I already fulfilled the prophecy. I vanquished the Dark Lord. It says nothing about actually killing him or saving the wizarding world.”

Dumbledore caught his breath. “You said you didn't hear it!”

“I didn't hear the whole thing, just what Snape did. Prophecies are too general and generic to have specifics like that.” Harry said and walked over to Luna. “I'm sorry my trip hurt you.”

Luna's silent tears kept flowing. “It still is.”

“I know.” Harry said and leaned down to give her a gentle kiss on the lips.

“Hey!” Ginny exclaimed.

“Selene sends all her love.” Harry said and Luna let out a sob. “You make her proud every day.”

Luna grabbed onto him and hugged him tightly.

“It's okay, now. It's okay.” Harry said and hugged her back. “It was never your fault. Never.”

Luna cried and cried. No one else knew what to do until Fudge let out an odd sound, almost like a growl.

“Aurors! Arrest Harry Potter!” Fudge shouted. “He let you-know-who escape! I want him sent to Azkaban and...”

Harry didn't let Luna go as his wand hand turned and a black bolt hit Fudge and he exploded in a spray of blood and gore. Screams and yells filled the Atrium and a lot of them tried to flee back through the fireplaces. The Aurors on the other hand, had an order from their previous minister and also witnessed his murder. Four of the six were dead a second later and the last two joined the throng trying to flee.

“The ministry is never going to let you get away with this.” Kingsley said and raised his wand. A shaky Tonks also raised her wand, even with Remus trying to stop her.

“Let me? I'm going to kill everyone that wronged me.” Harry said and let Luna go.

“H-Harry.” Luna said between sobs.

“I know.” Harry said and bent down to give her a real kiss. “That was from me, because if things had been different, we could have had a great time together, even as just friends.”

Luna let out another sob and nodded.

Harry turned to look at Kingsley. “Go ahead, Shacklebolt. You were one of my jailers for two years and you made sure the muggles that abused and starved me had plenty of chances to do their jobs.”

Gasps came from the others and they all stepped back. If Kingsley didn't have black skin, it would have paled at Harry's declaration. He hadn't checked to see what was going on in the house and just ensured that he couldn't leave. He lowered his wand and looked sad.

“Feeling bad about intentionally being ignorant won't save you for long.” Harry said and the man flinched. “Let the rest of the Order of the Phoenix know that they have a few days to get their wills and things in order before I come for them.”

“Harry, you... you can't mean that.” Ron said and he didn't try to wipe off his bloody forehead.

Harry looked at him and his gaze almost looked through him. “You have two weeks, just because I was stupid to accept you back as a friend during fourth year and you didn't apologize.”

Ron's face paled and he felt faint.

“The worst part is that after I took you back, you didn't even go to the people you lied to and told them what you said about me were lies.” Harry said and several of his friends made surprised sounds. “That told me exactly what kind of friend you are and you will be paying for it.”

“Harry! You can't!” Hermione gasped. “You're not... a... killer.”

Harry smiled at her and it was a genuine one, because he could tell she just realized that he was, ever since first year. “It's okay, Hermione. When you turned in my Firebolt in third year, I know it was because you were concerned about protecting me from the notorious murderer Sirius Black.”

“Harry, I... I'm sorry.” Hermione said and her heart fluttered when he walked over to her and lightly touched her cheek.

“You were right and it was from him. That's why I forgave you.” Harry said and stepped close.

“H-H-Harry.” Hermione said with a shaky voice and blushed.

“You can say no.” Harry whispered as he slowly moved his face close to hers.

Hermione stayed silent and then her entire world changed as Harry kissed her passionately. The others stared as she flung her arms around him and made out with him for several moments. The brief snogging session came to an end and Hermione's face was bright red and she looked both dazed and satisfied. After another moment, she looked extremely sad.

Harry stepped back from her and nodded to Neville, glanced at Ginny and saw her shocked face. He didn't comment and looked at Remus. “I'll find you if you run.”

“Harry!” Sirius gasped.

“What? You know he's going to run away as soon as you and Tonks are dead, just like he ran away after my parents were killed.” Harry said, to everyone's shock.

“You... are going to... m-m-me, too?” Sirius asked, his voice shaky.

“Yes.” Harry said and his clothing changed and flowed up and over to cover him completely. “You knew what it was like for me at the Dursleys and did nothing about it, just like the others.”

“I argued with Dumbledore about...”

“Is he your master, dog?” Harry's voice growled and everyone flinched. “You are a grown man and you let them cage you and then let them cage me. We both hated it and you still let it happen. Argue? Fight? You should have ignored your instructions to abandon me and rescued me like I rescued you. You didn't.”

Sirius opened his mouth to argue and closed it as he nodded. He knew he had no argument besides Dumbledore told him so and that was no excuse at all.

“You can't turn dark, Harry.” Dumbledore said and pulled out another wand. “I won't allow it.”

“Turn dark?” Harry asked and the dark grey cloth over his face formed a smile. “I am the Arbiter of Balance! I am the Ultimate Truth!” He walked backwards to stand twenty feet away as several spells from Albus and Kingsley bounced off of him and hit the floor and walls with little explosions. “I am the Chosen One.”

There was an enormous crack of thunder and the main wall of the Ministry Building split apart as Harry somehow apparated out of the Atrium and destroyed all of the wards that protected the place.

“We need to get out of here!” Tonks shouted and no one argued as the place started falling apart. They rushed to the floo and dove through the flames as the walls and ceiling started crumbling and pieces of concrete smashed into the floor.

*

After Albus ensured the children were returned to their dorms and the adults were reassured that he would do everything he could to stop Harry, he entered his office. He sat down behind his desk and wondered why it was so quiet. When he turned to look at his phoenix named Fawkes, he stared at the sleeping chick nestled in the ashes.

It was not a burning day for his old friend and he wondered what happened to him, then the sound of twisting metal made him turn to look at the other side of his office. The little bips and bobs he had to monitor Harry were a twisted and charred mess, including the one that monitored the wards over Privet Drive.

Albus couldn't stop the almost keening sound he let out and dropped his head into his hands. He had thought that Harry's few days would apply to everyone and he hadn't thought about the muggles at all. They must have been Harry's first target and there was no point in rushing out to try and protect them. If Harry hadn't killed them himself, then Voldemort would have to get back at the boy.

*

Grindelwald didn't jump when someone apparated right into his cell. The loud crack of thunder meant that the wards around the old prison had been destroyed and he almost smiled. He didn't, because he somehow knew that the dark figure was not there to free him.

“You have escaped death long enough.” The figure said. “Arianna sends her regards.”

Grindelwald nodded and closed his eyes for the last time.

*

The Dementors at Azkaban didn't know what hit them. They screamed and tried to flee as a patronus in the shape of a Hungarian Horntail flew around the prison and devoured each and every one of them.

*

At breakfast the next morning, Ron, Neville, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna stared as Harry Potter walked into the Great Hall as if he didn't have a care in the world. Albus rose from his seat and had his wand in his hand, which startled the other professors and most of the student population. Harry ignored their reactions and walked over to his normal seat and sat down across from Hermione.

“Harry, what are you doing here?” Dumbledore asked.

“Hm? Oh, I'm having breakfast while I wait for the Daily Prophet.” Harry said and dished up a healthy amount of food for himself. “I heard there was going to be a surprising article in it.”

The other students looked at them quizzically, not knowing what was going on. They could easily see how nervous Harry's friends were and the teachers looked just as confused.

Of course, Draco and his two bodyguards couldn't pass up the opportunity this presented to make fun of Harry for collapsing in the History of Magic exam the day before. It was just unfortunate for the ponce that no one noticed he was closing in on Harry until it was much too late.

“Hey, scarhead.” Draco said and noticed the difference. “Make that scarface.”

Harry chuckled and kept eating.

“I'm talking to you, scarface!” Draco almost shouted.

“No, really?” Harry asked. “I thought there was a huge peacock strutting around and squawking.”

Draco's face flushed red. “Wait until my father...”

“...is dead.” Harry interrupted and turned his head to look at him. “I killed him at the Ministry last night.”

Complete silence fell at his words and everyone that hadn't been there looked surprised, especially Snape. He hadn't heard from any other Death Eaters or from the Dark Lord last night and now realized why and that he should have checked in.

“That's why I'm waiting for the paper. I doubt they'll mention him after everything else that happened last night, though.” Harry said and went back to eating as he used his wand under the table. “Why don't you stand there silently and wait for it?”

Draco opened his mouth several times and seemed to be saying something, only nothing came out. When he tried to move to get his wand, he couldn't. His two bookends didn't move or tried to help him, either.

A few minutes later, owls aplenty flew into the Great Hall and delivered their burdens, most of which were newspapers, since it was close to the end of the school year and parents wouldn't be sending anything important to their children besides letters stating that they looked forward to seeing them soon.

Minerva McGonagall took Albus Dumbledore's copy from the delivery owl and paid it, then unrolled it to gasp and stare at the headline. Near identical gasps came from all around the hall and everyone talked at the same time about the main article.

-

Harry Potter Kills Minister of Magic! By Rita Skeeter

In a shocking event at the Ministry last night, the supposed savior of the wizarding world and new Dark Lord, Harry Potter slaughtered Minister Cornelius Fudge in front of dozens of witnesses. After casting a dark curse that caused his own wound to appear on all of the witnesses faces, he proclaimed that the minister wouldn't be getting away with slandering him and used a black curse to explode him.

-

“Ha! I knew they wouldn't mention me killing twelve Death Eaters and capturing Voldemort.” Harry said and tossed the paper at a still immobilized Draco. “I'm surprised they didn't say I let the moron go so they couldn't shaft me again and claim that they captured him instead.”

The talking from the other students and the teachers was loud at his proclamation.

“They really didn't mention anything like that.” Hermione said and looked up from the paper at Harry. “I can't believe I'm going to say this.” She said and sighed. “What's your Dark Lord name going to be?”

“From now on, I'm Mr. Hearsay Jetport!” Harry shouted and then laughed.

Hermione let out a groan and rubbed her face.

“I think I prefer Rajah Troy Tempers.” Luna said from the Ravenclaw table.

“I wanted to go with that, then realized I didn't want to insult Parvati and Padma.” Harry said and both girls looked surprised. “Just because I've openly accepted how everyone views me and I'm going to kill a bunch of people, that doesn't mean I need to be an ass about it.”

That kind of made them feel better about it.

“You really did kill the minister?” Parvati asked.

“He tried to have me arrested for letting Voldemort go after ignoring the fact I caught him in the first place.” Harry said with a shrug. “Since possession is nine tenths of the law and he was in the Ministry Atrium like the minister pointed out to me, I realized that I didn't have a legal leg to stand on to capture him and let Voldemort go.”

There were a lot of groans that matched Hermione's, mainly because the Minister himself allowed the Dark Lord to escape and got himself killed.

“They are going to hunt you down like the dog you are.” Draco said and seemed surprised that his voice worked.

“That's my godfather and I'll be dealing with him tomorrow.” Harry said and stood up. “I came here today for you, your friends, and the junior Death Eaters under Snape's protection.”

“Potter!” Snape spat and started to come over.

“Hold on for a moment.” Harry said and held up his hand. Then dropped a finger, another, and smiled. “Here it comes.”

Everyone froze as a wave of magic slammed into Hogwarts and then went through it and into the Great Hall. Hundreds of screams of pain came from a lot of people, especially the Slytherins, as their foreheads burst open and the words 'I must not tell lies' appeared on their foreheads.

A lot of people were openly crying as they used their sleeves and napkins to stem the blood and a few more screams came from the girls that had access to mirrors and saw what happened. The best part was that Pomona Sprout, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, and the other teachers also had the words appear on their foreheads.

“Everyone who has ever wronged me or told lies about me and didn't apologize, has to wear that forever.” Harry said with a smile.

Nearly everyone in the entire school was branded, including most of the Hufflepuffs.

Harry turned around in a circle and looked at them as his eyes met those of everyone in the DA. “I sent out a desperate call for help and only those who cared enough actually showed up. I helped you and trained you all year and you all ignored me when I needed you most.”

They all looked guilty and ducked their heads.

“It doesn't matter now.” Harry said and turned to look at Snape. “I'm only leaving you alive so that you can go tell Voldemort that I'm killing all of his followers to leave him as alone as he always thought he was.”

Snape drew his wand and everyone was shocked when his right arm fell off. There was no blood or anything. The man snarled and bend to pick up his wand with his left hand.

“By the way, I lied.” Harry said and a black bolt hit the man's head and Snape exploded.

That set everyone off and they started screaming and panicking. The doors to the Great Hall slammed shut and locked, which shouldn't have been possible without the headmaster's permission, and Harry's clothing changed and he was covered in dark grey cloth.

“Harry, you need to stop this!” Dumbledore shouted and fired a spell at him. It bounced off and hit Colin Creevey. The young man's chest blew out and he fell to the floor, his heart shredded.

“Look at that, Albus. You killed another innocent soul, just like Arianna.” Harry taunted him and Dumbledore gasped and his wand dropped to the table in front of him.

“Harry, you can't.” Hermione pleaded with him and tears came to her eyes. “Please, don't.”

“I'm sorry that you have to see this.” Harry said and exploded Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. “Don't worry, though. When I'm done cleaning up, I'm going back through the Veil.”

Hermione caught her breath and she trembled as what he said registered.

“It was the price I had to pay for being allowed to come back.” Harry said as the cloth opened up enough to show her his face. “Just so you know, kissing you gave my patronus the power to destroy the Dementors.”

Hermione's mouth dropped open and she stared at him.

“I just wish I had the guts to kiss you before.” Harry said and the cloth covered his face. “Perhaps things would have been different with your love in my life.”

Hermione closed her eyes as the carnage continued and she didn't open them until long after the constant screaming from Harry's victims had reduced to only soft sobs and whispered crying from the survivors. Her own tears didn't stop for a long, long time.

*

Remus actually did try to run. He also tried to take Sirius and Tonks with him. Sirius refused, because he accepted that Harry was right. He had abandoned him when he was a baby and spent twelve years in prison for it. When he did it again after they were able to rekindle their relationship, he had also broken his promise that they would live together.

Tonks just looked defeated and admitted that if Harry could capture Voldemort that easily, there was nowhere they could go to escape him. She went with him with the statement that she wanted them to die together. It unnerved Remus enough that he used some of his contacts in the local werewolves to help hide them and cover their tracks.

At the end of the two weeks and they received the news that all of the other members of the Order of the Phoenix were dead, including all of the Weasleys except Ginny, The shadows parted in their hideout and a dark grey figure stepped out.

“How did you find us?” Remus asked as the wand levelled at his face. “We did everything we could to hide and cover our tracks.”

The cloth moved and made a smile appear on the face. “I tracked your cowardly soul.”

Remus didn't look surprised and tried one last tactic to make Harry feel guilty. “Go ahead, Harry. Kill your surrogate uncle in cold blood.”

The cloth moved to show him laughing. “All right, Uncle Vernon. Say hello to the real Vernon when you see him.”

Both Tonks and Remus gasped and then Remus exploded.

“Oh, Merlin.” Tonks whispered and wiped the blood off of her face. “At least... it's quick.”

“It is.” Harry said and stepped back into the shadows. “See you next week.”

“WHAT?!?” Tonks yelled and stared at the fading figure.

“You ran with him and wanted to die together.” Harry said and chuckled. “I can't let any of you die happy. It's against the rules.”

Tonks was too shocked by his words and couldn't cry as he disappeared.

*

Albus looked at the reports of the ruin of the wizarding world. A majority of the pureblood families had been slaughtered, the Ministry of Magic was wrecked, the Daily Prophet was blown up and all of their employees killed. Even Rita Skeeter was half transformed into a water beetle and had been pinned to the front of the ruined building.

He looked at the notice from Gringotts and sighed, because all of the people that Harry had killed were claimed as defeating enemies and all assets were seized and dumped into Harry's vault. The worst part was he had somehow made Hermione Granger the sole owner of everything Harry claimed and handed her all of the legal and economic power in magical Britain.

“I've come for you.” The dark figure said as he stepped into the headmaster's office.

Albus didn't question how the boy had entered the school and his office without him knowing and without permission. The look on his face gave it away, though.

The cloth covering the head moved into a smile. “I have the Founder's permission.”

Albus nodded. “Harry, I... I have something to tell you.”

“I don't care.” Harry said.

“It's important. You can't kill Voldemort until...”

“Who said I was going to kill him?” Harry asked and Albus looked shocked.

“But... Harry, you...”

“I'm not doing anything that you want me to do, Albus. That's not how balance works.”

“You said you were the Chosen One.” Albus said.

“Yes, I am.” Harry said. “Just not by you, fate, or prophecy. When I passed through the Death Veil, everything changed.”

Albus sighed and put his wand on his desk. “Go ahead, Harry. Kill an old man that's going to die soon anyway.”

Harry chuckled. “You haven't learned anything at all, have you? Your false conclusions cloud your decisions and you make more and more mistakes all the time.”

Albus turned his head to look at a painting on the wall and saw a man enter.

“They're all dead.” An unnamed headmaster said and collapsed into his painted chair.

Albus shook his head and looked at Harry. “The school will have to close because of your thirst for vengeance against the remaining teachers.”

“No, it has to close because of all your interference since you became headmaster. Culling subjects to give students unnecessary spare time and curtailing discipline just enough to allow constant conflict to grow between the houses. You intentionally forced people that dislike each other to interact daily and let the rot you instilled into their minds to fester and grow to the point that even mentioning Slytherin causes people to instantly hate.”

Albus was too stunned by the words to respond.

“That's right. You are at fault. Your schemes and plots have ruined wizardkind for generations.” Harry said as the shadows grew and started to cover everything. “A new, brighter, and more intelligent person is going to take over and show the world what it means to be a person of magic.”

“Miss Granger is going to destroy what's left.” Albus argued and didn't fight the shadows. Fawkes let out a squawk and landed on Dumbledore's shoulder. He tried to flame away with his passenger and burst into flames and became a chick again.

“I know she will.” Harry said and laughed at his surprised look. “She's going to tear everything down, learn all its secrets, and build it back up in her own way.”

“It's never going to work.” Albus said as the shadows grew up over his lap.

“Not the first time, no.” Harry said. “She's a person and people make mistakes. She will learn and she will fix it. The second time will usher in a golden age of magic the likes that no one has ever seen before.”

Albus sighed as the shadows flowed over his shoulders and covered baby Fawkes. “I'm glad I won't be here to see it.”

“Don't worry, Albus. Both you and Voldemort will have a front row seat to see it all firsthand.” Harry said and laughed at the shocked look on his face.

*

Hermione had tears in her eyes and trusted Aurors around her as the shadows moved and then formed into a dark grey figure. “Hello, Harry.”

“Hello, Hermione.” Harry said in a normal voice as the cloth shifted and became the same clothes he had when he first entered the veil over a year ago.

“Are you really done?” Hermione asked. “As the current head of government, I need to know...”

“I only stayed around this long to make sure you would remain uncontested.” Harry said and she nodded. “I've removed all of the undesirable elements, instilled fear into everyone else, and you will forever be known as the woman that saved the world from me.”

“H-Harry, I... I... don't want you to go.” Hermione said and cried.

“I know.” Harry said and held a hand out to her. She took it and lunged forward and hugged him tightly. “The problem with that is that I really am leaving because of you.”

Hermione cried and held him tightly for several moments before she started kissing his neck. She moved up to his cheek and then their lips met and they made out for several minutes. They broke the kiss and Hermione had a determined look on her face.

“Show them, Hermione. Show them what it really means to be magical.” Harry said and walked backwards.

“Harry, the veil is on the other side of...” Hermione stopped talking, because they had somehow crossed the room while they were kissing and were right in front of the veil.

“I offer you the ultimate gift, Hermione. Most people promise it and no one ever really accomplishes it. Until now.” Harry said and took one more step backwards. He stopped halfway inside the veil and smiled at her and made a huge sweeping gesture with his hand. “I give you... the world.”

Hermione wiped her eyes as the veil claimed her Harry. “I accept.” She said and took a deep breath before she let it out. “All right. That's enough sentimentality. I have work to do.”

The Aurors around her formed up and she walked out of the Death Room and rode the elevator up to the ground floor. She stepped out and let her eyes roam over the rebuilt and refurbished Ministry For Magic.

The restored fountain in the middle of the floor was the best testament to the new regime, because it was a bronze recreation of an epic battle between good and evil, right and wrong, and it was a reminder to never do it again. It depicted Albus Dumbledore and Voldemort casting destructive spells at each other.

Hermione nodded to it and walked to another elevator. She acknowledged each and every person that greeted her, the first ever Minister For Magic, and she went to her office to get back to work. She really did have a lot of work to do to fix things to be perfect. Harry had given her the world and she would do everything she could to make it a reality.

For the rest of time, no one would ever hear the silent screams of the transfigured men as they slowly went insane.