It had been a week since Harry Potter had defeated Lord Voldemort in a spectacular battle in the grounds of Hogwarts. The Boy Who Lived ended up not killing the dark wizard who had chased him all of his life after he had killed the Potters. However, Harry should have been happy that he finally took down Voldemort but inside, he was facing inner turmoil with his morals as he thought of Voldemort in Azkaban.
The Dark Wizard was powerless after Harry and the members of the Golden Trio had destroyed his Horcruxes throughout the years. After Potter rid him of the Elder Wand and was powerless, the Aurors who happened to be on the ground had reprimanded him. The Wizengamot had quickly decided that Lord Voldemort was a very large danger to Wizarding Society and that he was to be put into Azkaban to never be released. After all, Lord Voldemort was alone and done for as he sat in Azkaban until he would die.
Meanwhile, Harry was praised for saving the Wizarding World from utter destruction by Voldemort and the Death Eaters but received backlash from those who demanded him that Voldemort was to be killed on the same day that he saved the world. The Golden Trio were offered to return to Hogwarts to complete their last year but only Hermione took the offer to actually finish her last year. Ron skived off, relishing his fame for his involvement with Harry which the Potter boy quickly cut ties since Harry wanted to be the Harry that he always wanted to be all his life. Hermione, on the other hand, was a supportive friend and stuck with him when he received backlash from the World over how he chose not to kill the Dark wizard who wanted to finish him.
Harry felt that he was never going to move on from the painful period in his life unless he was going to forgive a certain wizard. He knew that his parents would be proud of him for forgiving the wizard that ended his parents' lives and made it his mission to finish Harry as well.
One day, Harry took it upon himself and decided to do the impossible. He was going to Azkaban to forgive Lord Voldemort. Potter got up from the table at Hermione's house which alarmed Hermione and it led the witch to ask Harry where he was going.
"Harry, where are you going?" Hermione asked nosily as Harry looked at his watch, impatient and wanting to get going to the Ministry to Floo to Azkaban.
"I'm going to Azkaban." Harry admitted apprehensively but still impatient to leave the house.
"What?" Hermione's hair went slightly bushy as she nagged her best friend. "Why?"
Harry smiled a little before looking back at Hermione who was confused to why Harry was going to Azkaban on his free will.
"I'm going to see Voldemort." Harry said in a calm manner which was a Potter trait that Harry had gotten from his father James. He watched on at Hermione who shrieked with shock as Harry told her who he was going to visit at Azkaban.
"WHAT?! NO! VOLDEMORT WANTED TO KILL YOU AND YOU'RE SEEING HIM!" Hermione shouted with worry that tinged her feminine voice. Harry smirked as he expected Hermione to react like this as per usual.
"Look, I know I shouldn't be seeing him but I just can't move on unless I see him. I need to forgive him, Hermione." Harry said softly which Hermione saw his despair on his face but ended up giving him a consoling hug.
"If you need to do this, go and do it. I'm not going to stop you, Harry." Hermione said quietly as she gave Harry a smile which he had appreciated. He was so lucky to have such a supportive friend who never judged him and his decisions unlike a certain member of the Weasley family. Hermione then gave Harry another hug before he Apparated to the Ministry.
When Harry arrived at the Ministry, he was met with confused stares from the members of the Wizarding Government about why Potter was doing at the Ministry a week after defeating Voldemort. Anyway, Kingsley Shacklebolt quickly saw to welcoming the son of James and Lily Potter.
"Potter, what brings you here?" Kingsley gave Harry a warm smile which Harry had returned a smile to the new Minister of Magic.
"I'm Flooing to Azkaban. To see Voldemort." Harry said, his voice went rough as he mentioned Lord Voldemort.
Kingsley's normally cheerful face dropped and went stone hard as Harry told him of his plans to visit Lord Voldemort. Harry proceeded to speak more before Kingsley had the chance to argue on why Harry had the idea to visit a Dark wizard who wanted to kill him.
"Kingsley, I need to see him. Look, I can't move on from what happened last week without seeing him. I need to forgive him in order to move on." Harry pleaded with the Minister which the dark-skinned wizard saw what Harry had to do and had agreed with him. Sometimes, you had to move on after forgiving a person who destroyed your life. That applied to the Boy Who Lived.
"Alright, Harry. I'll let you go. It takes guts to forgive such evil to move on. I am proud of you." Kingsley sighed as he spoke before giving Harry a smile at the end of his sentence. Harry felt relieved that a Minister of Magic was supporting him as he was going to forgive Lord Voldemort.
"I'll have Auror Caleb Diggory accompany you on your trip to Azkaban." Kingsley said as he summoned Caleb Diggory, the older brother of Cedric Diggory. Caleb was a decorated Auror who dealt with the inmates of Azkaban. Caleb quickly appeared before Harry and the Auror walked over to the Floo.
"Azkaban!" Caleb shouted as he dropped the Floo powder and green flames appeared. Potter and the Auror were finally on their way to the dreadful prison in the middle of the British Channel. Azkaban was better since Kingsley had inspected the prison and had been appalled at the conditions that the prisoners of the State had been subjected to. That meant banning the awful creatures named the Dementors.
Harry and the Auror arrived at Azkaban at the offices. Caleb led Harry to an office that dealt with the visitors of the prison. He organised identification for Harry before Harry giving the office his wand so that Voldemort would not use it. Anyway, after finishing up the process, Caleb led him again as they walked down to the maximum secure wing that Lord Voldemort was being held. Harry could feel his heartrate up a notch as he walked in the dark hallways of the wing before reaching the room where Voldemort was.
"Voldemort is harmless, he cannot do something to you. As you destroyed his Horcruxes, his magical core is very weak so you stand a chance of not being harmed by him. Anyway, be careful because he can be unpredictable at times." Caleb warned Harry of what he was getting into by visiting the prison's worst criminal. Harry nodded before Caleb spoke again.
"If Voldemort tries to hurt you, he will be met by a jinx that is automatically set up in his room in the event that he hurts a visitor. Good luck." Caleb said again as he unlocked the steel door that belonged to the room that Voldemort was contained in. Harry felt his breath quicken and his heart rate increasing as he heard the metallic unlocking of the door.
Caleb opened the door at last before entering the room that Harry followed behind him. Harry's face went pale as he saw the very wizard that attempted to kill him last week as he sat on the luxurious looking bed. Voldemort turned his bald head around to see who came to visit him apart from the Ministry. The Dark Wizard's snake like face paled further as he saw his nemesis enter the room.
"Voldemort, I have a visitor for you. Be nice to him." Caleb warned Voldemort before looking at Harry as he made his way out of the room, leaving Harry and Voldemort alone in the comfortable-looking cell. Azkaban now sure knew how to treat their long-term prisoners.
Harry saw a wooden chair that stood in the corner of the room and pulled it over to the small table that stood in the middle of the room. Voldemort was confused to why Harry Potter was doing in his room after he had defeated him in the middle of Hogwarts last week.
"Potter, what are you doing here?" Voldemort asked Harry as he looked at him through his dark red eyes. Harry swallowed hard as he felt that Voldemort stared at him with utter confusion that etched on his snake-like face. The boy wizard pulled his chair closer to his nemesis who sat on his bed.
He cleared his throat before speaking.
"Voldemort, what happened last week was horrible to me," Harry said as he composed himself that he wasn't going to show his fear of Voldemort but he knew that the Dark Wizard was harmless. Harry saw that Voldemort had paled further as he was reminded of what he tried to do to the Boy Who Lived through his eighteen years. Voldemort's breath went raspy as he felt the repercussions of that day wash through his mind, he never knew what he did to the boy had massive consequences on his own part. He knew that he was being selfish and wanted the boy to die for his own personal gain.
"I need to move on from that day but I can't do that if I forgive you for what you did to me for the past eighteen years of my life. I may never understand why you chose to go after me until that day but I forgive you, Lord Voldemort." Harry choked back tears as he looked at Lord Voldemort with sad blue eyes that were behind his famous glasses. He was actually doing the impossible. He was forgiving Lord Voldemort, the most evil Dark wizard of the 20th century.
The room went very eerily quiet which Harry felt it was uncomfortable for him that he started fidgeting in his chair that sat next to Lord Voldemort's bedside. Then, the ice broke when Voldemort began to speak. Harry looked up at Voldemort who was very clearly struggling with his emotions after he heard his worst enemy the Potter boy forgiving him.
"Harry.. I am so sorry for the pain I had caused you and your friends." Voldemort's voice rasped but continued to speak more, he needed Harry to hear how he felt when he realized that he had killed many of Potter's friends.
"You were just a boy when I saw you standing in that courtyard. I had killed your family that night when that spell rebounded on me. I wanted you to pay for that night while you fought to stay alive. Now that I am in here, the past eighteen years made me to think about you." Voldemort felt human tears run down his inhuman face as he spoke to the Boy Who Lived.
"I am so sorry." Voldemort finally stopped speaking as he began to cry.
Harry thought he'd never see the day that he saw Lord Voldemort begin to cry like a human. He thought that Voldemort was not capable of feeling such emotions that a normal witch or wizard normally have. That a normal human being could have.
Ending up feeling terrible for the Dark wizard in front of him, Harry got up from the chair and sat on the bed before wrapping his short arms around the Dark Lord. Voldemort sobbed loudly that his crying had echoed the room.
"It's okay now." Harry soothed the emotional Dark Lord as he wept into his chest. "I'm here." Harry added in a whisper as he rubbed the Dark wizard's broad back. Harry realised that Voldemort was a wizard who was very lonely and needed the World to pay for what happened to him in his childhood for what his own father did to his mother in Little Hangleton. Lord Voldemort was a very lonely individual that had never felt the effects of love. Now, Harry was showing him what it feels like to be loved and wanted by someone else.
Voldemort broke away from the embrace that Harry had given him to look at him in the eyes. He saw a very mature wizard who wanted to handle the whole situation by forgiving him and moving on to focus on the future.
Harry gave him a small smile before putting his hand on the Dark wizard's shoulder to reassure him that Harry Potter was here for him. Voldemort could feel himself giving Harry a genuine smile that he thought he would never do again. He knew that he was truly evil and could never feel emotions like what Harry was showing him. He was truly grateful for Harry Potter's forgiveness.
"I will visit you every week if that helps to pass the time." Harry said softly before getting up to leave the room since he had a short visit that was imposed by the Ministry. Voldemort got up and went over to Harry. He enveloped Harry into a genuine hug that showed Harry that he was truly grateful for Harry to come and visit him. He felt Harry return the hug with everything he had before breaking away once more again.
"Goodbye, Tom Riddle." Harry said as he used Voldemort's original name. Voldemort could feel his cold heart beginning to warm up as he felt himself transforming back into the Tom Riddle he was in Hogwarts. Gone Lord Voldemort, he was now Tom Riddle and a very handsome wizard he was.
As he saw Harry leave the cell and the door locking again, Tom found himself smiling as he looked out the window that overlooked the British Channel. Since he was going to spend his life in Azkaban, Tom was feeling better that his new friend was going to see him every week regardless of their history together.
After the events that occurred in the past eighteen years, life was beginning to brighten and that the future was looking good. It was all thanks to Harry Potter who always believed that forgiveness was the key to moving on. And he was right.
The End.