Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters… blah blah blah, you know the drill.

A/N: Even though I know it doesn't really fit with the canon characterizations of the novels, I'm still writing this story. Because I think Harry Potter needs to be shown after the end of the novels. And because I've had this idea bouncing around in my head that I really want to write.

Prologue

"Fall back!" Harry shouted above the noise that had erupted on the battle field. "DA, to me!" he shouted again.

Harry quickly withdrew from the front ranks, followed quickly by the remaining members of the DA. Falling back behind the ranks of centaur archers, he quickly did a head count. There were people missing. But who? Looking around the group he saw Parvati Patil with a face stained with blood and tears.

"Padma…she…she got hit by the Killing Curse. She couldn't stop it. She…she's gone!" breaking down in tears as Seamus tried his best to console her.

Others had been killed too. Michael Corner and Terry Boot had fallen to the fatal kiss of the Dementors, and Justin Flinch-Fletchey had been killed by an Inferi. Other recruits, some who had just joined this past year, were scattered among the dead bodies.

Harry struggled to find the words to say. Finally, he got his emotions under control and tried to calm everyone down. "Okay, here's the plan. We're going to break off into groups. Neville, you and Luna will take the sixth years along the right flank and reinforce the Aurors. Hermione, I want you and Ginny to take the fourth and fifth years and reinforce the Order members on the left flank. Ron, you're with me. Seventh years, stay here for a second."

With the groups heading out, Harry turned to his best friend. "Ron, you're the only wizard I would trust with this task. I want you to take the remaining seventh years and head towards the front ranks. You're in charge. If anything happens to me, it's your duty to get the fourth and fifth years to safety. Sixth and seventh years can stay if they want, but get those others somewhere safe. They're the future. Now, let's go!"

Harry stepped away from the group, and strode forward through the fray. All around him the battle raged. Death Eaters and Aurors exchanged sparks of all different colors. Dementors were gliding around the field, their hoods down. Patroni whisked throughout the air, holding the creatures away.

And in the middle of the pitch stood one figure, taller, more menacing then all the rest.

He wore robes of pure black, with a black hood. He carried a shield, and bore a long wand. Above him floated the Dark Mark, the symbol that struck fear into the hearts of virtually every member of the Wizarding World.

It was up to Harry to defeat him.

He held out his wand in the proper dueling pose.

"I've come for you, Tom!"

Voldemort sneered at him. "How dare you refer to me by my Muggle father's name!" he raged at Harry. "You will die for your insolence, Potter!" Raising his wand, he fired green sparks at The Boy Who Lived, who so long ago he had marked as his equal.

Harry dodged the sparks, shooting his own silver sparks as he bellowed "Sectumsempra!"

Voldemort quickly threw up a Shield Charm, and the curse bounced off to hit an unsuspecting Death Eater, who writhed in pain.

"Cute Potter, throwing curses at me created by my own followers. You should know better."

Again, he reared back to throw green sparks, just as Harry prepared to throw red sparks.

The two spells met in midair again, creating the Priori Incantatem effect that had appeared three years ago in the graveyard that night. And just as before, Voldemort was deeply entranced by it.

But Harry, having prepared for this moment, wasn't as enthralled by the strange natural occurrence. He broke the connection, and before Voldemort could react, he was already casting his final spell.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry yelled, mustering all of his hatred towards Voldemort into one final spell.

It hit the Dark Lord square between the eyes. Without another Horcrux to fall back on, he was finished.

He rocked slightly, than fell backwards.

Walden MacNair, one of the few surviving Death Eaters, was the first to spot the body.

"You'll pay for this Potter. Someday, somehow, you will pay!"

Then, pressing his Dark Mark twice, he Disapparated. Other Death Eaters soon followed his lead, disappearing from the scene.

Harry collapsed to his knees under the sudden exhaustion wave he had experienced.

Looking around, he surveyed the carnage. The few survivors stood around him, checking on him. He could see Ron, a cut on the forehead and a nasty gash running down his right cheek. He saw Hermione, her hair plastered to her forehead, sweat dripping down her face. And Ginny, a look of concern in her eyes, her face otherwise unscathed.

"We did it you guys. It's over. We win."

Ron looked down at his best mate. "No Harry, you did it. You won."

In the weeks to follow, Harry would hear about the actions of the others during the final battle. He heard how Ron had led the remaining seventh years right into the main knot of Death Eaters, disabling many of them, including Dolohov, the Lestrange brothers, and others. How Ron himself had faced up against Lucius Malfoy and come away the victor.

Harry learned that Hermione had finally enacted her final revenge on Draco Malfoy. No one had heard from him since the battle.

Harry was told about the climactic battle between Remus Lupin and Severus Snape, just moments after Lupin finally succeeded in avenging the deaths of Harry's parents by killing Peter Pettigrew.

It was over. There had been numerous casualties, including Percy Weasley, who had sacrificed himself for his parents during a united Death Eater attack. But it was over. The Auror Corps would do mop up for the few remaining Death Eaters. It seemed that peace was eminent. And so, even though there was no longer any real need for Aurors any more, after graduation, Harry began his training in the Auror Corps. And that's where this story truly begins…