A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, nor am I profiting from them in any way, blah blah blah and all that usual stuff...

I have to dedicate this one to Rickmanlover, my fantastic beta!

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

The grounds were deserted as he walked slowly from the Forbidden Forest towards the white casket in the small clearing. He still couldn't believe he was gone. Just before exiting the edge of the forest, he paused and slowly took his time looking around. When he didn't see any person or even an animal, he slowly pulled his cloak tighter around himself and approached the white memorial that belonged to one of the greatest wizards that had ever lived.

'It is all my fault. But, did I have a choice? Did he leave me a choice?'

He stood still beside the permanent tribute to his mistakes. He didn't resent or even hate the dead wizard, as many thought he did.

'I have long since stopped hating you. I am not sure I ever really hated you. I hated the circumstances of everything, hated the lies everyone told.'

He looked to the left, up the hill to the castle. The castle where some of his best and worst memories had happened. It was the one place he was safe, entirely safe from everything that had happened before the defeat of Voldemort. Now, there was nowhere he could go. He was the enemy of both sides, friend of neither. There were Death Eaters looking for him, as was the Order.

Almost subconsciously, he moved his right hand to rub his left forearm. Even with Voldemort gone, the mark remained. There was no way to get rid of it, and it was a decision he was going to have to live with the rest of his life. He knew many spells, and even looked in The Complete Handbook of Beauty and Outer Appearances, only to find nothing useful.

Voldemort had been defeated less than a month ago. He didn't know how he had survived, but he did. His body now bore scars from the final battle, but he wore them with pride. He had done his part to help bring down the Dark Lord. Though in confusion of everything, no one had seen him. He however, had watched a great many witches and wizards fall on both sides, and St. Mungo's had been busy the last month. He watched as Potter once and forever defeated the Dark Lord. He had not heard what happened to Potter in the end, if he had survived or not. He really didn't care. The Ministry had been busy trying to round up the remaining Death Eaters and supporters of Voldemort, including him. He had nowhere to go, he had been hiding for weeks. Just coming here was risky, but he had to.

His thoughts turned again to the tomb he was standing vigilance by. This man had done so much for him, tried so hard to keep him safe, to keep them all safe.

'You knew, all along, how this was going end. You knew that you were going to die in the end. But, why do I feel so guilty? There was nothing I could do to stop it, but I am still responsible.'

He lay his hand upon the white tomb.

"I wish you could have been there, at the end. If anyone deserved to see the end, it was you. You worked so hard and periously against him, knowing it was a risk to yourself," his voice was rough and gravelly due to not being used in a long while.

He turned and started walking back towards the forest. Right before he disappeared in the trees, he turned to look over his shoulder one last time. For one brief second, he thought he saw a bird of some sort sitting on top of the tomb. He blinked, and it was gone. He stared a minute longer, then turned and walked into the forest, and back into hiding.

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

A/N: So, fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies to anyone who can tell me who was at the tomb???