A/N: Still loving all the positive reviews. Thanks so much for sticking with this story. I've had a few people complain about my treating of Draco and Ron and to those I say thanks for reading as well. Sorry but unlike a lot of people who would have preferred Harry and Hermione to end up together I don't hate Ron at all. I just think Harry and Hermione make more sense. As far as Draco goes yes I understand he did some pretty horrendous things but I always felt that when push came to shove he wasn't truly evil so that's how i chose to portray him. Keep the comments coming and as always thanks for reading.

Oh PS, there's a few direct quotes from Deathly Hallows in this chapter. As always I give all the credit to J.K. Rowling and thank her for sharing.

Chapter 29: It Will End Here

Harry and Hermione stood stunned, staring at each other for a few moments. "He did it," Hermione finally squealed.

"He did," Harry reiterated.

"That means…" Hermione began.

"I have to kill him," Harry stated plainly.

"We'll do it together."

"It has to be Hermione, you know the prophecy as well as I do… it has to be me."

"You're not doing this alone," she said looking him in the eyes.

"I know," he said with a soft smile before wrapping his arms around her.

"So what do we do?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, maybe…" Harry began but he was cut off.

"The battle must cease," they suddenly heard as the hiss of Riddle's voice surrounded them and they looked around for the source but saw nothing. "There need not be another drop of blood spilled. I do not wish to harm your forces. I do wish to end any other lives. I command my forces to fall back. You, brave defenders of Hogwarts, gather your dead and wounded," Harry and Hermione looked at each other, mortified. "You need not feel the fear to fight for one hour. Harry Potter I now speak directly to you. As always you have allowed others to fight your battles for you. You have allowed those better witches and wizards to fight the fight that was meant for you and died the deaths that should have been yours. But now I ask you to do the right thing. If you seek me you shall find me in the forest and this all can be over. You have the ability to end this now. Do what must be done Harry Potter. End this now and die a hero or stall, drag this out, and die a coward. How will you be remember oh Chosen One? Who shall you be? I wait for you now, I am here."

The silence that followed the words seemed to take hold of all the grounds. Harry's feet were moving before he even knew where he was going. "What are you doing Harry?" Hermione screamed as she chased him down the stairs of the stands.

He didn't know how to answer. He wasn't sure he knew the answer so he just kept walking until the words came out, "It has to end," he said unwaveringly.

"It will," she cried. "We can end this together."

"Or I can end it alone and no one else will need to die," he said as he continued to trudge out of the stadium.

"Harry no," she cried. "You don't have to do it. It doesn't have to be this way," she said. Then she realized where they were walking towards. "Where are you going? The forest is the other way."

"I have one final stop to make," he said as he walked towards the school.

"Where?" she asked continuing to chase after him.

"I need to talk to Dumbledore."

"But Dumbledore is…" she began but then it dawned on her. "Do you think Snape will have even left it up?"

"I don't think he could take it down even if he wanted to. The office is where the Headmaster lives but it belongs to Hogwarts," he replied.

Hermione remained quiet now as they walked through the school. They didn't run into anyone as they walked but signs of the battle were everywhere. Bits of ruble lined the corridors. Shards of suits of armor were scattered throughout. It didn't appear that anywhere in the castle had been spared. When they reached the seventh floor they walked down the corridor leading to the Headmaster's office and saw that gargoyle that usually controlled the entrance had been left in crumbles and the stairway lay unguarded. They walked up the stairs and as Harry began to pull open the door they heard a rush of conversation. Hermione moved the close the door but Harry kept pulling. When it was completely open all the commotion in the room ceased and every eye of every portrait in the room gazed down upon them but Harry only had eyes for the one in the middle.

The half-moon spectacles peered at perhaps his greatest pupil who was the first to speak. "You heard Riddle?" Harry asked.

"Yes, it appears that Tom has leaned a few more tricks since he left school," Dumbledore replied.

"Is he lying again or have we really lost people?" he asked.

"Unfortunately this time Tom speaks the truth," he replied somberly. "Both from our side as well as theirs."

"Who?"

"From my understanding the school has lost another professor as Professor Flitwick took a killing curse from Dolohov," Harry heard Hermione begin to sob and felt a tear trickle down his own cheek but his face held steadfast. "It also appears that Greyback has claimed two more victims in Miss Brown as well as Mr. Finnigan. And lastly it appears that Bellatrix has taken out the last remaining Marauder when he stepped in front of a curse meant for his wife."

"Is that all?" Harry asked, doing everything he could to steady his nerve.

"There are others but from my knowledge the rest of Dumbledore's Army and the Order of Phoenix remain, for the most part, unharmed."

"I have face him don't I?"

"Harry you should know by now that you do not have to do anything. For it our present choices that make us who we are, not our past decisions."

"Those people died because I wasn't fast enough," Harry said, his head dropping in shame.

"Those people died because they chose their side Harry and unfortunately it is a choice that came with risks, risks that you know well."

"Like the risk you took to believe Snape?" he asked. He hadn't meant to say it but somewhere in the sadness a sense of anger had come out.

"My trust for Severus is as absolute as it is for you," Dumbledore replied.

"He killed you," Harry said now looking up at the portrait in disgust. "He swatted you away like you were nothing."

"You should know better than most by now that things are not always what they seem, that people are not always who they appear to be."

"How can he be anything but murderer?" Harry asked.

"We all must die my boy and some will have their time come sooner than we wish mine came when it needed to."

"Is that your way of saying I should let Riddle kill me?" The sobbing coming from Hermione grew louder with each passing breath.

"Harry why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?"

"If I die it's done. With me dead Riddle won't have anything else to fight for. His guard will be down and the DA and the Order can finish him off."

"Or you could kill him yourself," Hermione cried, finally finding her voice.

"As always Miss Granger is right," Dumbledore said calmly.

Harry took a deep breath and turned to Hermione, "You need to go find everyone else. You need to get them ready. You know what it will take to take out Riddle. I need you to help organize it," he stated.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked.

"I'm going to make him show his hand. We need to know who else is left with him. I'll get all of the information we need then I'll signal for you."

"No, you can't go alone. I'll go with you and then we'll apparate back together," she pleaded.

"No we can't. If you're with me the Death Eaters will kill you on sight. But Riddle wants me for himself. Nobody else will try anything so I can get much closer alone. Keep your coin close. I'll signal you the second I'm ready." She looked up at him with a terrible fear in her eyes. "Go Hermione," he insisted. "We'll be back together before you know it."

She threw his arms around him, "Don't be hero," she cried.

"Hey," he said pulling away and forcing a smile at her. "Have I ever let you down?"

"Don't start now," she stated.

"I won't," he said as he placed a soft kiss on her lips. She wiped a tear away before she was gone with a pop.

Harry pulled his coin out of his pocket and looked down at it. It still read that Ron had killed Nagini. He walked to the desk and placed it in the middle and looked back up at Dumbledore. "Can you make sure she knows I'm sorry I lied?" he asked, another tear streaking down his cheek.

"In time she will understand," Dumbledore stated.

"If I die he dies, neither can live, neither can survive."

"A choice that is certainly not easy but ultimately will hopefully prove to be right," Dumbledore said nodding.

Harry nodded back, gripped his wand and with pop he was gone. When he opened his eyes he was next to Hagrid's hut, or at least what was left of it. He glanced back up to the lights in the castle before taking another breath and walking towards the forest.

With each step his feet threatened to betray him and run back to temporary safety but he trudged on. He reached into his pocket to find his pocket watch to make sure he still had time, which he did but when he went to place it back in the other pocket his fingers felt another bit of metal. He grabbed it and pulled the golden snitch out of his pocket. The words remained etched on the side, 'I open at the close.' Harry closed his eyes, held the snitch to his lips and whispered, "I am about to die."

When he opened his eyes he the first sense of calm he had felt since he had arrived at Hogwarts rushed over him. Sirius, Lupin, and his parents stood smiling in front of him, "Hello dear," his mother said softly.

"Hi," he said smiling at both of his parents. Then his eyes met with Sirius' and Lupin's, "I'm sorry," he said, tears filling his eyes again. "I never meant for either of you to die."

"We only died so that others may live," Lupin replied.

"It wasn't your fault Harry. You've been amazing," Sirius mentioned.

"Death was simply our last great adventure," his father said smiling.

"Yeah and what at hell of an adventure it was eh James," Sirius said with a smirk.

"Does it hurt?" Harry asked softly.

"Not when you do to save those you love," his mother replied.

"Best feeling in the world," Lupin said.

"Will you stay with me?" Harry asked.

"We're always with you," his father replied.

Harry nodded and began to walk again and his companions fell in line silently behind him. He saw a light a little ways off and traipsed through the trees until reached a clearing where a fire burned and several black cloaked men and women stood examining their wounds. A few steps away a streaky black haired man and black curly haired woman sat at the feet of a bald, snake face man. Harry cleared his throat, "Hello Tom."