1 End of the road.
The first thing one would think when entering to the main hall of the skipping unicorn would be something on the lines of "this ain't no unicorn, neither skipping or whatsoever". The walls looked dusty and grimy, in a dire need of a thorough cleaning. the floor had stains of uncertain spills, the chairs and tables looked almost broken, and some tables had pieces broken off them.
The barman was trying halfheartedly to clean a pint, and a bored barmaid sitting on a stool near the counter. There was a single customer on the bar, hugging a tankard of some kind of alcoholic beverage of dubious origin, with his black hair hiding his face, an almost shredded tunic stained with what obviously was blood and gore from battle, and, if looked closely, you could see him with a look of pure hatred in his eyes.
At the moment he drank the last of the liquid in his mug, the skipping's door opened suddenly, and with the bang of the door, it came loud yelling from the outside, yelling "Nobody move! Put your hands on the table, palms touching the wood, and don't even think to do any sudden moves! we have the bar surrounded, and nobody can enter or leave without the clearance of the Ministry!"
The barman froze, and the waitress jumped to cover behind the table.
A deep voice came from the man, addressing the newcomers "What are you doing here, bootlickers? Last time I was in England the ministry wanted nothing to do with me. They even dar-"
"Shut up! you know nothing Potter! or should I address you as the people call you nowadays, Acheron? the reaper?" said the man in front of the squad of Aurors.
Harry grinned, with a smile that dint travel all the way to the eyes, that were gleaming with icy fury as he drilled his gaze to the pack of wizards in front of him "Yes, it seems that I am called that way now, isn't it? Even when all I did was fight for the people I loved. Now all are dead, or worse, in what remains of San Mungo's without any sanity left." said Harry. "I decided yesterday that fuck everything, I would be ending this madness today, whatever it took. And I did. Yes, there were casualties and the plan didn't work as planned. But Voldemort is dead, and not thanks to the Ministry. Now cut the chase, cease the yapping and tell me what the hell do you want. Now, Scrimgeour."
"As you will Potter. The ministry has decided you are a threat. You have two options. Go to Azkaban for what's rest of your life, and your wand to be broken. Or go through the veil, the choice is yours. " Said Rufus, and smirking added, "Maybe that way you can for the first time in your life make things easier for the rest of the people and maybe you will reunite with your thrice-damned fami..."
"YOU DARE!" roared Harry "Don't ever mention my family or friends. Ever. Is that clear, `Minister`?"
"Your time is over, murderer, surrender your wand and accept the punishment." Said an Auror infuriated the way he talked to the minister. "Mr. Scrimgeour even traveled all the way here, shut your trap and give me your wand!".
The fire in the eyes of the young wizard started to dim and lowering the gaze said "alright, Azkaban it is. As tempting the veil is, I won't kill myself even if I have nothing left." Said Harry. " My family raised me to cherish life, even if mine without them is worthless. Go on, take me there to that goddamned place, " said Harry.
Harry got up from the chair and took the ward from both ends bending the artifact until the wood started to crack from the pressure, as he said " my life as a wizard comes to an end. If there's other lives, other worlds or other opportunities in the other world, I swear I will protect my friends, and won't be influenced by anyone or anything. My path, my destiny will be mine to take. This is my resolve and my oath to myself."
As he said the last syllable of his oath the wand broke in two, provoking a sudden burst of color and sound. Harry dropped both pieces of his cherished wand to the floor, and gathering his resolve said to the pack of wizards "Let's go, I won't resist."
Blurry. That's the word. Harry felt everything was blurry. His surroundings, maybe because he didn't have the glasses anymore, traded for some food inside Azkaban. or maybe because he was older and hadn't eaten anything decent in ages. Who knows. What he knew is that deep inside, remorse was what he had that dementors couldn't suck from him. Harry felt kinda giddy for the last memory that emerged from the fog it was his psyche at the moment. He, Hermione, Ron, Luna, all fighting together, back to back quipping and joking knowing that his friends will have his back.
How young. How wrong he was. He recalled all his life one time, and another, and another. Countless times, realizing all the mistakes he committed, why, who betrayed him, and what for. The times Voldemort and his lackeys had the upper hand and why.
He realized that Voldemort really wasn't that of a big fish. He threatened England, true, but on the bigger scheme of things, world-wise, he was just a crazy wizard, with skills, that's true, but the final combat was anticlimactic. a simple repulso near a sculpture of a knight and Voldemort was impaled in the stone lance, ending his threat. He might have been lucky, but if positioning and a smart casting of spells can end the 'evilest wizard of the century'... He wished he did just that ages before. maybe like that his friends would be alive to celebrate the ending of the Dark Lord with him. Also, if he hadn't doubted after impaling Voldemort, maybe he wouldn't have blown up half London with that huge spell. Go figures. Thinking and pondering his past, he hadn't saw how a wizard with a crazed look in his eyes came to him until it was too late.
When he focused the gaze on his front what he saw was the eyes of a madman, and what was worse, glimmering with barely contained power. With a look of madness and concentration, he barely heard what he said. "The voices told me t..." As he heard this and felt how the stranger touched lightly his forehead, he sensed a terrible blast of magic energy and how the world started to whiten, and he found himself standing in a sea of pure light. Confused and scared, Harry looked around him, trying to locate himself. He tried to appear somewhere, but he felt he had no magic left in his body. and soon after, he heard a feminine voice, that said, "Greetings wizard, I have heard your oath, and I consider it worthy to be tested. I won't give you anything more than the memories of the past that won't be since I cannot give more what you already have. Go on, my child, show me your resolve."
As the voice said that, Harry was dumbfounded, "was this real? or maybe some kind of new way the dementors discovered to extract positive feelings from him?" he asked himself in astonishment, as the world started to go even brighter until suddenly, everything went black in a fraction of a second. Harry lost all his senses, sight, hearing, touch, even his sense of orientation, he couldn't even say if he was standing or upside down.
Then, he heard what soon would be the favorite sound of all his life for what it would come to mean. An alarm clock was ringing on the background.
