Time seemed broken during that long battle of Hogwarts. There were moments that seemed to happen so fast no one believed they happened at all, and others that happened so slowly they might have been going on for years.
While Harry was being carried out of the forest by Hagrid, time seemed so slow that Harry felt that he could have slept for several hours and they still would have been walking towards the school with nothing but the sight of the tall trees and the many Death Eaters beside him. Pretending to be dead was exhausting as all he wanted to do was either attack the Death Eaters around them, knowing that they were probably just waiting to storm the castle again to kill more of his friends. Even more, he wanted to comfort the half-giant carrying him.
. "Harry...why? We were all rootin' for you. Would have fought to the very end we would." Hagrid cried, his voice sounded like that of a broken man. Harry wanted to tell him that he was not dead, and that there was no need to mourn. He hated how he had to do this and was certain that this moment would be in both of their nightmares to come.
But Hagrid's words only assured Harry of his actions. "Of course, you would have," he wanted to reply. "That and is exactly why I had to do it." Too many had already died when Harry could have stopped it all long ago. They sacrificed themselves, just so Harry could have a little more borrowed time. What was the point of him living, if he was just going to be killed in the end anyway?
Death Eaters who had witnessed Harry's murder walked by them silently, preparing themselves for the fight they knew was going to come. All except for Bellatrix who kept cackling and poking her wand in his ribs just because she could. Hagrid glared at her each time, but he dared not do anything about it. He would not risk anything else happening to Harry.
Not like it mattered now.
"Baby Potter's dead! Baby Potter's dead! Poor mum and dad must be so proud. He turned out just like they did. Nothing but a cold corpse! No more Potters! No more Potters." She sang. Her taunts were nothing compared to what he heard once they finally stepped back into Hogwarts grounds.
It was like a bomb of voices had gone off, and Harry struggled against covering his ears with the sounds. The shouts and screams his friends and classmates gave once they saw him made him feel like he had aged a thousand years in a second and it made his soul ache for them.
He had never heard McGonagall scream like the way she did, but the sound of her voice tore his heart in two. Harry had heard a similar sound earlier that night when Mrs. Weasley had found out that her son was dead. He felt both touched that she would worry about him so much and guilty that he was causing her pain.
"NO!" He heard Ginny yell in disbelief and anger. He knew that she would fight her way towards him with all the power and fury she could gather, but he thankfully heard someone else shouting after her. "NO! LET ME GO! I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL KILL HIM!"
Harry wanted to tell them all that it wasn't real so that they wouldn't have to feel this kind of pain anymore. He was touched that so many cared about him, and happy that he got to learn just how much, but not at the expense of their pain.
Bellatrix just laughed at them.
It took a while to silence them all, none of Voldemort's spells held on them for every long, but once he did he asked them to lay down their wands or die like Harry. "He tried to run rather than fight to protect any of you. Would you still mourn him? Would you mourn a coward?"
Harry wondered what was going in in Voldemort's mind at that moment, but for once he had no idea. The Horcrux inside of him was gone. There was no unnatural pain coming from his forehead, and somehow that made him feel even more alone than ever. Like a piece of him had been torn away.
Once Harry finally revealed himself, he saw Voldemort's face and knew. In his eyes, Harry saw nothing but fear and anger. Anger that once again Harry had faced death and survived, and fear as to what would happen now that he had nothing keeping him from the death he feared so much now that people knew about his Horcruxes.
Harry pitied him. What kind of man fears death to the point that he would risk so much to keep living such a broken, and empty life? What hope did Voldemort have to repair anything that he has done if he continues to live?
The battle did not stop with one battle between the Dark Lord and Harry Potter or even two. They fought again and again, each having to flee once the other got the upper hand, and they so no other option for their survival. Even once Neville destroyed the last Horcrux, and Voldemort was left with nothing
The battle raged on for weeks until both sides were left broken and starving. Harry had experience with surviving without food. His time at the Dursleys had prepared him for this, but that didn't mean that he enjoyed it. When he saw the people around him starving and still fighting for their lives, he knew that he could not stop until they were safe.
Voldemort and his army left in the middle of the night without warning. Those who fought alongside the order thought it was a trap at first, but after they searched the entire forest and checked every secret passageway within Hogwarts, they finally relaxed.
Although Voldemort was willing to risk a great deal to kill Harry, he was not prepared to lose so much magical blood in one battle. On both sides, so many had perished that he had feared for the continued existence of the wizarding world, no matter who was left in it. Magical blood was of the utmost importance to him in the wizarding world, and if there was none left then what was the point of his rule?
They took the time to mourn their losses, and celebrate their survival. Those who had fallen early on in the fighting had stasis charms placed on them to prevent them from rotting in the hallways, but now, looking at their bodies now, it seemed as if they were just sleeping, or had only died moments before.
This affected everyone. Ms. Weasley started crying once the blanket had been taken off her son. George only stood there, staring with a haunted look on his face. The rest of the Weasley family stood there in silence. Their exhaustion taking hold of them and the reality of what had happened to their dear brother hitting them once again.
Harry had sat next to Remus and Tonks, their fingers still intertwined just as they were the moment they died. He didn't know what to do. He did not have to deal with Sirius' body when he had died, there wasn't anything left after he fell through the veil.
He took Lupin's cold hand in his and squeezed. "I'm sorry," He told the cold corpse. "I'll watch out for Teddy, I promise. He won't be without a family. I'll make sure he knows you loved him every day."
Luckily, Harry didn't have to do anything. Andromeda arrived to take them away and gave Harry a surprising hug before she left. "They will be happy together in the afterlife I'll take care of Teddy for now. You can come visit him whenever you are able. You get better and go after that Dark Lord. We are all counting on you."
Harry felt the weight on his shoulders grow heavier at the words. His only job was to kill the Dark Lord. When was he going to find time to see his Godson?
Time seemed to pause as everyone took their time saying their goodbyes and left to bury their fallen loved ones. No one spoke of the next move against Voldemort. The only worry on everyone's mind was to repair the wards around Hogwarts so that there would never be another battle, or another massacre like this one again.
Harry was first to volunteer. There were no more Horcruxes to find, and no one knew how to go after Voldemort, but he didn't want to sit around being useless. Day after day, he learned everything he could about wards and helped repair the damage done to his home.
His friends insisted that he rests. "We've been gone for a year. We've fought battle after battle and we've made great progress against the dark. Harry that's earned you some time to rest at least. Please, you're going to work yourself to death."
"Voldemort isn't resting," Harry repeated the same words his professor told him so long ago. "I won't either." How could they think about resting while there was still a war going on? Just because they survived one battle that didn't mean they would survive the next. They all needed to be prepared the next time Voldemort came knocking at their doors.
Harry spent months repairing the school, only stopping to sleep and eat. Even then, he did not sleep long and someone always had to force him to eat something. He was terrified of another attack on his home and he would not stop until he was certain that it was safe, and if that meant risking his own health to do it then Harry didn't mind. He had sacrificed more than just sleep and food before.
Ginny helped him sometimes. She would silently work by his side or drag him to the kitchens to get him something to eat. "I'm still here for you, you know. You're not as alone as you think you are. If you ever need someone to talk to…" She said.
But Harry did feel alone in a way that went beyond a physical feeling. It was the only way to describe it. The Horcrux in his scar was gone and it was like it left a hole there that he didn't know how to fill. He didn't realize how much and how constantly he felt the connection between him and the Dark Lord until there was nothing there at all.
At night, he would dream of searching for it in the King's Cross where he saw Dumbledore, but no matter how hard he ran or how hard he searched he couldn't find it. When he awoke, he would be drenched in sweat and fighting back tears.
Harry didn't want to tell his friends about it, what would they think of him? He often found himself rubbing his scar, wondering why it didn't hurt or why he couldn't feel another's presence in the back of his mind. When he would remember, it was like the ache in his heart would begin anew. How could he explain to his friends that he missed the Dark Lord in his head? He didn't even completely understand it himself.
Ginny, somehow, knew what he was feeling even though he didn't say anything. "When the diary was destroyed, I felt lost. I hated you for a while you know. I thought that when you had destroyed it, you had destroyed whatever piece of me he took. But, after a while, I realized that he didn't actually take anything. He was just such a constant presence in my life that I had built who I was around him. Who are you without Voldemort, Harry?"
The question gave Harry pause. "I don't know." He admitted. It was hard to imagine his life without him and now that the end seemed so near, he didn't know what to do with himself.
"Do you want me to tell you what I see?" Ginny offered. "I see someone who is so worried about other people, he is risking his health just to make sure that they are safe. Someone who loves to fly just for the joy of feeling his feet off of the ground. I see someone who takes pride in their schoolhouse but has made great efforts to learn about and respect the others. Hell, I see someone who loves to teach and is a natural at it. Harry, you have a life outside of Voldemort and it is still here whether you are out there fighting him or in here being with your friends."
She placed a hand on his shoulder, a kind and a patient smile on her face. "We all know who you are without Voldemort, it's time learned it too."
That conversation was the only thing that brought Harry back to his sanity. He always seemed to forget that Ginny was the only other person alive that would know what it was like to have such a strong connection to a Horcrux. Her experience, although horrible, was keeping him from feeling like he was alone.
He still worked on repairing and strengthening the school, but he also took breaks when he needed to. Hermione and Ron would come visit him often, and they spoke of anything other than the war. Harry smiled every time he saw their hands intertwined or Ron would proudly call Hermione his "girlfriend".
Ms. Weasley kept asking Harry every time she saw him when he and Ginny were going to get back together. Although she had become irreplaceable in his life, he still didn't feel safe risking her life just so he could call her his girlfriend. It didn't help their relationship either, that Harry was more focused on the war than he was with her.
He loved her without measure, but he couldn't give her what she wanted right now.
Weeks turned into months and soon Hogwarts was repaired. The wards were more powerful than ever thanks to Harry's constant work. The tides of the war had shifted, and since Hogwarts once again belonged to the light, Professor McGonagall became headmistress and opened the school to all children whether they belonged from a light family or dark. She claimed that it was not the children's fault who their parents sided with in the war and should be in an environment where they were free to make their own decisions no matter what they may be.
Voldemort had vowed to never again attack the school and risk more young, magical blood from being spilled. They were such a small society as it was and any more deaths of young witches and wizards would risk their survival. The muggles already outnumbered them a thousand to one and he didn't want to increase that amount.
After Hogwarts was once again deemed a safe haven, Harry returned to the battlefield. He threw himself into the Order and was there for every meeting, and helped with every mission he could. Harry Potter had grown into the role of the savior of the light that the world had claimed him to be. He no longer felt like he was just a victim of destiny. Instead, Death Eaters and dark creatures alike feared when Harry would show up on the battlefield just as the light side would fear the moment Voldemort showed up as well.
Although Harry was on the front lines in battle, he only ever saw a glimpse of Voldemort since their legendary fight at Hogwarts. Voldemort preferred to plan his attacks and manipulate his troops in safety now rather than fight. Harry knew why. His precious Horcruxes had all been destroyed and now he was just as vulnerable to death as the rest of the world.
Harry could imagine how terrified Voldemort must be feeling, and yet without their connection, he could not be sure. Every time he thought about it, he couldn't help but pause in mourning of it. Still, if Voldemort was now terrified, that meant that he was going to become desperate to try to cling to life through some alternate last resort. All the order had to do, was wait for the opportunity to strike presented itself, and they would finally be rid of Lord Voldemort once and for all.
When he wasn't fighting Death Eaters, Harry was at Hogwarts teaching the next generation of students. He wasn't the Defense Against the Dark Art's Professor, but he did teach the students about survival and dueling. He taught them about all the plants that grew in the wild both muggle and magical alike that they could eat or that would be useful as a healing tool.
Both children of light and dark families hung on his every word. They all knew of the legend that was Harry Potter and how he faced the Dark Lord time and time again. It made Harry smile every time he would step foot onto the school and the students would always be happy to see him.
He taught them proper shield spells and how to dodge against all kinds of attacks. Proper dueling etiquette he saved for the school dueling club. In his lessons, he taught them how to fight dirty.
"In a real fight, a death eater isn't going to wait for you to bow, or let you find cover against their attacks. They will attack and they will do it without restraint. They have more experience than you so that is why, when given the opportunity, you need to fight in any way you can. And if that means bringing down the ceiling with a simple Accio, or lighting their robes on fire with an Incideo then that's what you do. You don't need an extensive number of creative spells in your arsenal to survive although it will help. You just need to have the bravery and cleverness to use the tools that you have."
Before he knew it, two years had passed. The war still continued, but there were no battles as big as the Battle at Hogwarts. Muggleborns were still being hunted, but it was used more of a threat to keep people in line rather than an extermination anymore. They were not allowed to have accounts at Gringotts, they were not allowed positions in the ministry, and they were not allowed to speak to their muggle relatives ever again or the would risk their wands being snapped and sent to Azkaban.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were still named undesirables, however, and the only time they showed their faces in public where to fight or to recruit people to their cause. Harry was amazing at how some people refused to pick a side and would rather sit back and follow Voldemort's new rule rather than fight for what they believed in.
Ron and Hermione often went out into the world and used their new-found infamy to recruit people to their cause. Hermione was a brilliant speaker, and Ron was constantly there to support her. Since the two of them together where both a muggleborn and a pureblood, more and more people listened to them speak.
They traveled to far places just to gain the support of people who may never see a fight in their war. If nothing else, it was to prevent the dark from getting to them first. Still, they did not convince everyone and were often chased away with threats of death following them.
The order was waiting for something, anything to give them the upper hand in the war. Harry just wished that this time, it wouldn't involve him.
But fate had always been cruel to him when it came to Lord Voldemort.