Disclaimer: Nothing but the plot is mine. Everything else belongs to J. K. Rowling. If you think otherwise, you are WRONG!

The Road to Freedom

Harry Potter was infuriated. He had just left Albus Dumbledore's office where he had just learned the contents of the prophecy that cost Sirius his life. All this time, Dumbledore knew that Harry would have to fight Voldemort, the most evil man ever to have existed, and he waited until the closest thing Harry had to a father was gone to tell him. In fact, saying that Harry Potter was infuriated would be a huge understatement.

Harry snapped out of his thoughts to see his best friend, Hermione Granger, limping as fast as she could towards him.

"Harry!" she shouted.

"Hermione," Harry said, running to her, "you should still be in the hospital wing."

"I had to find you," she said, leaning on Harry for support. "I needed to tell you something very important."

"What is it?"

"Not here. Somewhere where we can't be overheard."

"The Room of Requirement."

"Okay, lead the way."

Harry and Hermione made it to the seventh floor without meeting anybody. Hermione then walked past the wall where the RoR was thinking of a place where they couldn't be overheard. After the door appeared, the two of them entered the room, which had turned itself into a library. Harry looked at Hermione who simply shrugged.

After they sat down on the couch, Hermione started speaking so fast that Harry wasn't able to understand her.

"Hermione!" He practically yelled.

"What?"

"Slow down and start over. Now, what happened?"

"Well," she began, taking a breath, "I had just woke up in the hospital wing when I heard you name. Apparently, you have been fed many love potions by Ginny."

"WHAT!" Harry shouted, leaping to his feet. "But wait, if I have drunk love potions, why aren't I in love with her?"

I don't know. Apparently, you should be all over her. She said Dumbledore put her up to it."

"Dumbledore? Why would he want to mess with my love life?"

"I think that she said something about money. Harry?" she asked looking at him. "What's wrong?"

"Damn him," Harry growled, clenching his fists. "Damn that old bastard to hell."

"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked again.

"That bastard told me the prophecy. You know the one that Voldemort wanted. He told it to me."

"What did it say?"

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives… The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…" Harry recited.

"Oh, Harry, that's awful," Hermione sobbed, getting up and hugging him, which made him blush for some reason. "But wait, doesn't that mean that…"

"Either I have to kill Voldemort or the other way around?" Harry complete for her. "That's what Dumbledore said, but know I'm not so sure. Which is why I want you to help me decipher its true meaning."
"Okay, then, let's do it," Hermione said. "First, let's write it down." A piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink appeared as well as a table to write on. After Hermione had finished writing it down, she looked over it very carefully. Harry remained silent and instead went looking for a book that would help solve why Ginny's love potions didn't work. He quickly found a book detailing the bond between soul mates. After he had finished reading through the first chapter, Hermione gave a shout.

"Harry," she exclaimed happily, "I think this prophecy has already been fulfilled."

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked, curiously.

"There is a certain word that gives it away, vanquish."

"What do you mean?"

"Ugh, don't you get it? You vanquished Voldemort when you were a baby. You killed his previous body. And I believe that the power he knows not is the ancient magic your mother employed to save your life. Voldemort obviously didn't know about it. It all makes sense."

"So, I don't have to kill him?"

"No, because you already did. I think Dumbledore wants to use you as a weapon to get rid of Voldemort before he turns his wand on you. He would be hailed as the savior of the wizarding world, while you would be the tragic hero who died in the process."

"And Ginny, what about her?"

"I think that she was supposed to inherit all your money when you died. And when she did, Dumbledore would convince her, via a compulsion charm or even the Imperius curse, to leave all that money to him should she suffer an unfortunate 'accident,' and then Dumbledore would also be very rich as well."

"That's sick," said Harry, looking angrier by the second.

"I know, but I want to know why her love potions didn't work."

"I think I know this one," he said, holding up the book about soul mates.

"Soul mates?" asked Hermione, taking the book.

"Yeah. According to the book, if a person finds their soul mate, whether they know it or not, it is impossible for that person to be emotionally controlled by any means."

"But if that's true," she replied, skimming through the book, "then that means you have found yours."

"Yeah," he said, "and I think I know who it is."

"Who?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

"It's you, Hermione."

"What?"

"Ever since third year, I've been thinking more and more about you. When you were hurt tonight, I felt like a part of my heart was being ripped out of my chest," Harry said, taking a seat next to her and taking her hands. Hermione dropped the book she was holding when he did this, but neither of them noticed. "Hermione," he continued, looking deep into her eyes, "I love you."

"I…" she stammered, "I think your right, I mean, I felt the same way at the end of the Third Task last year. Harry, I love you, too." They leaned closer towards each other until their lips met. Nothing could describe the pure exhilaration both of them felt as they shared their first kiss. The kiss lasted a good full three minutes, and when they broke apart, they were both winded, but immensely satisfied.

"Wow," they both breathed.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, clinging to him, "I could stay like this forever."

"So could I," he replied. "But first we need to deal with Dumbledore."

"Right, but what are we supposed to do?"

"Well, first, you need to get back to the hospital wing…"

"Er, I'm afraid I can't do that," she said ducking her head.

"Why not?"

"I kinda went off on Ron and Ginny when I heard them. They know I'm going to try to find you."

"Then we need to escape now," Harry stood up, helping Hermione to her feet. "First, we need to get out of her. Hermione, I know how much you love magic, but I want leave all behind, but if you want to…"

"Harry, stop," she said, holding up a hand to stop him. "I don't care how much I love magic, I love you more. Besides, I'm really sick of the Wizarding World and its predjuces. I'm going with you and will leave magic behind forever."

"Thank you, Hermione," he said, embracing her. "I don't know if I could do this without you. Okay, first we escape, then we need to get to Gringotts to change all our gold to muggle money."

"We're gonna have to leave the country. How does America sound?"

"Perfect," he said, both were deep in thought. "So after Gringotts, we will go pick up your parents, board a plane and skip country to America."

"After that, we'll decide where to go from there."

"Don't forget that we are going to have to snap our wands," Harry said, pulling his out.

"Not yet, though," said Hermione. "We may have to fight our way out. Let's wait until we get to Diagon Alley. There we can leave them at Ollivander's."

"That's perfect. Then let's go get our stuff and then we can leave."

"Right."

Together, they managed to get to Gryffindor tower without being spotted. They changed into muggle clothes and shrunk their trunks, but not before Harry got the Marauder's Map and Invisibility Cloak out. After that, they both left the tower and made their way out of Hogwarts forever. With the Marauder's Map in hand, Harry and Hermione managed to evade all the teachers that were on patrol except for Snape. Fortunately, he had his back turned to them and a quick stunner took care of him. They made it out of the castle without further incident. They then made their way to Hogsmeade where Harry called the Knight Bus and spent twelve sickles to get them to Diagon Alley. They went to Gringotts where it was easy to exchange their gold to American money and had it transferred to a bank in America. They also received four plane tickets to San Francisco, California. They left Gringotts and went to Ollivander's where they snapped their wands and laid them at his doorstep. Ollivander would later find them and mournfully place them in the window as a reminder to all. Harry made a quick side trip to where the Weasley twins were staying. He laid the Marauder's Map on the door step under a rock so that it would not be blown away by the wind. Seven sickles got them to Hermione's house, and after a quick explanation, the four of them left for the London Airport. Two days later, they were all living comfortably in a house that was located in a suburb of San Francisco. They were free of Dumbledore and the Wizarding World forever.

Aftermath

Dumbledore was furious that his perfect weapon had escaped his grasp, but any attempt to find him turned up empty. His attempts also lead to Voldemort taking over Wizarding Britain in a manner of months. Dumbledore was killed in the final battle. After Voldemort took over all of Britain, he also tried to find Harry Potter, but was also unsuccessful. He, however, gave up after five years of searching, and was content with ruling Britain for another ten years until the IAM, International Association of Magic, had enough, and sunk Britain to the bottom of the sea. This was explained to the muggles as a cataclysmic shift in the tectonic plates underneath Britain, and the world mourned the loss of a great nation, although the event did spark a new interest in the lost city of Atlantis.

Ron and Ginny Weasley were furious that they would not get Harry Potter's fortune, and joined Voldemort willingly one month after Harry's disappearance. They perished in the sinking of Great Britain.

There were many that did escape Britain before it sunk. Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Rubeus Hagrid, and the other Hogwarts professors left just before Britain sunk. Others such as the Weasley twins, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Arthur Weasley left as soon as Voldemort took over.

Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody was one of the many that were killed while fighting against Voldemort at the Great Battle of Hogwarts. Molly Weasley died as a result of a heart attack when she saw her two youngest fighting with Voldemort.

Only Lucius and Draco Malfoy were killed fighting with Voldemort during the battle.

And as for Harry and Hermione? They enrolled as juniors in the local high school. Hermione graduated Valedictorian of the class of 1999. With Hermione's help, Harry graduated Salutatorian, much to his own surprise. They both attended the University of Southern California. Harry joined the soccer team and discovered he was an excellent goalie, making many awe-inspiring saves. Hermione joined many of the academic clubs, and became president of said clubs by her senior year. She graduated with a major in chemical engineering in 2004. She was top of the class. Harry graduated with a major in Physical Education on the high school level. He graduated with honors in 2003. Harry proposed on April 7, 2004, and the two of them married on August 16 of the same year. By the time Britain sunk in 2011, Harry and Hermione Potter had three kids; a six-year-old boy named Luke, a four-year-old boy named Jason, and a two-year-old girl named Lily, after her late grandmother. They maintained contact with those that had escaped Britain, and were devastated when they learned of Britain's sinking. By 2015, due to lack of use, Harry and Hermione's magic had atrophied to the point where they could no longer use it. All three of their kids received letters to attend the Dakota Institute of Magical Education, or D.I.M.E., but they declined each time. Overall, Harry and Hermione lived long and happy live.

The End

R&R please