Damnatio Memoriae

Voldemort had won; the entirety of the Wizarding World of Britain kneeled before him, and now he had turned his gaze toward conquering the Muggle world, those who had stood against him now lay dead at his feet.

Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, had tried valiantly to defeat Voldemort and his followers, becoming the leader of the 'Order of the Phoenix,' after Dumbledore's death, they had even tried to follow the old man's example at first, preferring to stun rather than kill, but as the war raged on, their views had changed. As a result, the war began to turn into a slaughter on both sides.

Now, after six long years, Voldemort finally completed the grand work that he began so many years ago, and as he sat on his throne and looked down from the raised platform at his followers, his mind wandered aimlessly.

Six years since he had been brought back thanks to Harry Potter's blood; six years since Voldemort returned from the land of the dead, had it truly been such a short time? It felt like a lifetime ago, and Voldemort smiled as he thought about how much had changed; the Ministry was now nothing more than a confederation of sycophants with only one objective, to do as they were ordered by their new master, their new god.

Harry Potter's numbers had gradually been whittled down, though not without cost, for every one of Harry's soldiers that was killed, four of Voldemort's had fallen as well, and loathe, however, he was to admit it, Voldemort had to respect the boy's stubbornness that kept him fighting long after the war was lost.

According to Voldemort's whispers, Harry Potter had only two to three dozen fighters left. At the rate they were being slaughtered, Voldemort suspected that it wouldn't be long before they finally admitted defeat unless they were suicidal, in which case their end would be the same as if they surrendered to him.

Voldemort smiled cruelly as he thought of all the ways he planned to punish the boy for his continued defiance. Once Harry Potter was in his hands, Voldemort would make the brat beg to die, yet Voldemort would not allow it. Instead, he would keep the boy alive and in constant agony as a warning to anyone else foolish enough to challenge his right to rule.

The Dark Lord let the images of torture and death linger for a moment more before his mind turned to the next phase of his plans, the conquer of the Muggle world; he would begin his assault in the next few days with an unprecedented amount of power that would leave Muggle England shocked and unable to properly plan a response, if all went according to plan, Voldemort would be master of England in less than three months and then he would turn to the rest of the world.

Voldemort was the greatest wizard the world had ever known, of that he had no doubt, and more than that, he was the one who had pushed the boundaries of magic further than they had ever been pushed before. Not even death could hurt him anymore due to his Horcruxes. He was a God in all but name; soon, even that would be his as he ruled over the world of magic and muggle alike for the rest of time.

The Dark Lord smiled as he imagined the world he would bring into being; muggles would be made into slaves as was their proper place. Those born with magic in their blood would be taken from families of low value and be given to appropriate families who would raise them as the next generation of his valued followers.

As Voldemort sat in quiet contemplation, the room was as quiet as a graveyard; Voldemort had summoned his faithful Death Eaters a few hours ago to discuss the next phase of his war, yet he had not said a word to them. Instead, they stood silently before him, shifting nervously.

Finally, Voldemort's dreams of the future ended, and his attention was brought back to the present,

"The time has come, my loyal followers, to initiate the next phase of our war," Voldemort said in a cold whisper that echoed throughout the chamber, "The time has come to show the muggle filth where their place is, under the boot of their betters!"

The hall rang out with cheers as his followers belted out their joy at finally being told that they would destroy those they viewed as little better than animals. Voldemort smiled at the display as his eyes zeroed in on his most loyal follower, Bellatrix Lestrange, who looked as though his words were bringing her unimaginable pleasure.

"According to my spies," Voldemort said, instantly bringing an end to the noise, "The British government is just as incompetent and corrupt as the Ministry was. Therefore, the destruction of the muggle's government should prove exceedingly simple."

His Death Eaters leered hungrily at the words as though already imagining the things they would do to the defenseless muggles whom they captured; Voldemort smiled as he took in their faces, already knowing what perversions some of his followers enjoyed and would inflict on those that were unfortunate enough to fall into their hands.

"We shall attack in full force," Voldemort said in a hiss, "We shall bring the full force of our power down on their pathetic heads. We shall show them WHY we are their betters and that they will NEVER be our equal!"

His followers issued another deafening cheer, and Nagini hissed in annoyance from Voldemort's lap, where she had been napping,

"So loud…." Nagini hissed, "Must they make such a racket?"

"They're just excited," Voldemort replied with a slight chuckle, "It's not their fault. Mortals are slaves to their baser instincts after all,"

"As you once were?" Voldemort's snake hissed back,

"Yes, once, I suppose," Voldemort replied with a sneer, "But I have outgrown such plebian behavior."

Voldemort raised his hand for silence and was about to continue his speech when the doors to the chamber suddenly boomed open, and a figure ran into the room,

"My lord! My lord, I bring news!" The figure cried excitedly as he ran to his master,

"Crucio!" Voldemort snarled, pointing his wand at the Death Eater who dared to approach him without permission; instantly, the intruder fell to the ground and began to scream in agony as his followers watched.

"I ordered no interruptions!" Voldemort snarled as he gazed down at the screaming figure before him, "How DARE you defy me by entering this chamber with summons!"

"My lord!" The figure cried as his body twitched in agony, "Forgive me, my lord! I had no choice! Please!"

Voldemort finally stopped the curse and stared down at the figure who was sobbing on the floor in front of his throne,

"Speak, and pray that the news you bring is of value," Voldemort sneered, "Else, you will be Nagini's dinner tonight."

The Death Eater looked up in horror as the snake raised itself up and gazed down at him hungrily, eagerly extending its tongue in anticipation of its upcoming meal.

"My lord….it's Harry Potter and his fighters," the Death Eater gasped out, "They've been captured and brought before you! They're waiting outside as I speak!"

Voldemort's eyes widened in surprise as the room began to buzz with excited whispers,

"The boy has been found…." Voldemort said softly, "At last, where was he found? Who is with him?"

"He and his fighters were found not far from Godrick's Hallow; apparently, the boy decided to pay a visit to his parent's grave! As to who is with him, it's the mudblood bitch Granger, four of the blood-traitor Weasley's, the Lovegood girl, and the Metamorphmagus!"

"Eight?" Voldemort said in surprise, "That's all he has left? The poor brat's prospects were worse than I had thought."

The chamber echoed with laughter at the Dark Lord's words before he raised his hand for silence again,

"Well done, servant," Voldemort said softly, "You get to live for today. Bring them in!"

The Death Eater almost stumbled over himself as he ran for the door, desperate to do as he was told and avoid being eaten by his master's pet snake; a moment later, the sounds of chains rattled through the chamber as nine people shuffled into the room in a chain-gang as four Death Eaters walked alongside the prisoners, their wands drawn and ready in case their prisoners tried anything.

When they were a reasonable distance from Voldemort's throne, the prisoners were directed to stand apart so that they stood side by side in front of the Dark Lord. He looked down at them with curiosity and enjoyment at finally having his hated enemy in his grasp.

"Harry Potter…." Voldemort said softly as he gazed down at the young man, "I've long been awaiting this meeting, so good of you to come,"

"Glad to be here, Tom," Harry replied with a smile that made Voldemort frown in annoyance; Harry had grown since the last time Voldemort had seen him; now, Harry stood over six feet, though he was still incredibly skinny, with long black hair that was tied tight behind his head in a pony-tail.

The boy was dirty, as were all his companions, the price for living in hiding, no doubt, and Voldemort's lip curled in distaste as he took in their disheveled state; yet, there was something off about the captives, rather than looking afraid of whatever Voldemort had planned for them, they instead looked amused, as though they shared a joke that only they were in on.

"I have waited a long time for this day, Harry Potter," Voldemort said coldly as he rose and slowly stalked down the raised platform towards the boy,

"Talk about obsessive, Tommy boy," Harry grinned back, "You need a new hobby. Have you tried golf?"

Voldemort turned incandescent with rage at the boy's flippant attitude as the other prisoners began to laugh at Harry's joke. With a snarl, Voldemort raised his wand,

"Crucio!"

Instantly, Harry fell to his knees and began to scream in pain as Voldemort smiled at finally having the boy at his mercy; Harry's companions, though, surprised the Dark Lord; they didn't cry out for Voldemort to stop or yell in anger, they simply watched with blank expressions, as though they were watching the news or a tedious game of cricket.

A moment later, Voldemort finally stopped the curse and motioned at two of his followers to haul the man to his feet. Once they had done so, Voldemort roughly grabbed Harry's face, forcing him to look Voldemort in the eye.

"If Dumbledore could see how far the GREAT Harry Potter has fallen, it would break the man's heart, no doubt," Voldemort sneered before moving down the line to look at the other prisoners.

Hermione Granger looked like she had not had a bath or change of clothes in weeks. Voldemort's lip curled at the sight, Hermione simply smiled at the Dark Lord, and he moved on, frowning at the lack of fear he saw in each of the prisoner's eyes, they should be terrified of him and of the things he had in store for them, yet they looked entirely at ease as if they didn't have a care in the world.

The twins were by far the most baffling of the group, and Voldemort stopped and looked at them for a moment; they both had huge grins on their faces and looked as though they were trying desperately not to laugh, while the last prisoner at the end of the line, Luna Lovegood, simply stared emotionlessly at the most feared wizard in the world.

"I would have thought you were smarter than this, Potter!" Voldemort spat as he strode back to stand in front of his hated enemy, who was being held up by two Death Eaters, "You must have known that I would have the graves of your parents watched. So tell me, how foolish are you that you would walk into so obvious an ambush?"

Harry smiled, and Voldemort felt his pace quicken at the man standing in front of him, there was madness in Potter's eyes, and his smile looked as though it belonged to one who had spent time in an asylum.

"Oh, I knew your pets were there, Tommy," Harry replied with a wink that made Voldemort shake with anger, "I just didn't care, that's all; I wanted to pay my parents a visit, one last time."

"One last time?" Voldemort asked in confusion, "Do you mean to say that you PLANNED to be captured?"

"Little baby Potter has gone mad!" Bellatrix laughed, "He's suicidal!"

"Is that true, Potter?" Voldemort asked with a cruel smile, "Has the realization that you've lost finally driven you to such despair that you sought me out, hoping I'd kill you?"

Harry began to laugh suddenly, a deep cold laugh that seemed to make everyone in the chamber suddenly nervous; even Voldemort was confused about the prisoner's behavior when the rest of them likewise began to chuckle and laugh as though Voldemort had just told the world's greatest joke. The Dark Lord took a step back without realizing it.

"We didn't come here to die, Tom," Harry said with a grin, "We came here to gloat!"

"ENOUGH!" Voldemort snarled in rage as he looked into Harry's eyes and forced his way into the man's mind, only to gasp in surprise as he hit a seemingly impenetrable mental wall that blocked all access to Potter's thoughts.

"Your skill with occlumency has improved, Potter," Voldemort sneered, "Severus would be proud of you were he still alive,"

Harry winked at the compliment, and Voldemort felt his temper burn hot as he turned away from the man,

"I wonder if the rest of your friends are as proficient as you are; let's find out, shall we?"

Suddenly grabbing Hermione by the hair, Voldemort forced her to look into his eyes as he snarled,

"SHOW ME WHAT THE BOY IS HIDING, MUDBLOOD!"

Hermione just grinned at the insult, and the Death Eaters watched with bated breath to see what would happen; a moment later, Voldemort roared in anger before throwing Hermione to the floor and turning next to Ron.

"Ah, Ronald Weasley," Voldemort purred, "I still have fond memories of how you ran away like a coward when I attacked your home while your parents stayed and fought. Your mother managed to kill four of my Death Eaters before she was finally killed; you should be proud."

The Weasley's all smiled in unison, much to Voldemort's annoyance,

"Yeah, that sounds like mum, all right!" Fred laughed,

"A tiger to the end!" George added with a warm smile,

"Kind of sad when your so-called 'mighty Death Eaters' can't even beat a housewife," Ginny said with a smirk.

With a savage roar, Voldemort grabbed Ron's head in both hands and used as much power as he could to slam into Ron's mind, only to find a wall just as strong as Potter's; this seemed to only enrage the Dark Lord further as he swore angrily and threw the redhead to the floor beside Hermione.

"Whatever plan you've come here with will fail, Potter!" Voldemort screamed as he walked back to Harry and stood inched from the man's face, showering Harry with spittle as Voldemort continued to rage.

"I AM THE MOST POWERFUL DARK LORD THAT HAS EVER EXISTED! I RULE BRITAIN! AND SOON, I SHALL RULE THE REST OF THE WORLD AS WELL!"

"Well, of course, you are, Tom," Harry chirped, "We never said you weren't, did we guys?"

"Absolutely!" Fred said with a smile,

"Truly the worst of the worst!" George added with a wink,

"You've forever set the standard for Dark Lords," Ginny added,

"Even the devil would be jealous," Luna said with a smile, while Hermione and Ron nodded,

"We should all strive to such evil," Tonks said happily.

Voldemort was nonplussed, as were his Death Eaters; what was happening? Harry Potter, Voldemort's greatest foe, was complimenting him and seemed to not fear him at all, the idea was ludicrous, and Voldemort had no response to such madness.

"As I stated previously, Tom," Harry said with his mad grin, "We didn't come here to die. We came here to gloat,"

"Gloat about what?!" Voldemort snarled.

Before Harry could respond, Rodolphus Lestrange suddenly began to glow, and a look of pure terror appeared on his face as the other Death Eaters quickly moved away from him,

"My lord!" The Death Eater cried, "What's happening?!"

Before anyone could respond, the golden light engulfed Rodolphus; a moment later, he was gone.

"Told you it would be him first!" Fred cried happily, "You owe me ten Galleons, George!"

Dammit," George groaned, "I was sure it would be Lucius,

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, POTTER?!" Voldemort snarled, grabbing Harry by the throat,

"You're right, Tom," Harry said with a Cheshire grin, "You ARE too powerful to beat now, and I no longer have enough fighters to put up a decent fight anymore."

Suddenly Antonin Dolohov began to glow just like Rodolphus had done a moment ago, and the man screamed in terror before disappearing in a blinding flash of light. The chamber began to echo with the sounds of panic as the Death Eaters demanded to know what was happening,

"But you weren't this powerful when you were a kid, were you?" Harry asked, his grin growing even more prominent.

Voldemort felt as though his blood had turned to ice, and he released his grip from Harry's throat before taking an involuntary step back,

"What…..?" Voldemort said in a whisper as more Death Eaters began to disappear one by one; suddenly, the prisoners started to laugh, the sound seeming to bounce off the walls as Voldemort watched his army vanish before his eyes.

"Remember about six months ago when the order attacked the Ministry?" Harry asked, "No one could figure out why we had done that. As a result, I lost more than fifty of my best fighters, friends, and people I loved. You and your Death Eaters thought it was a suicide mission when in fact, it was a strategically planned assault."

Voldemort felt as though he couldn't breathe as he hung on every word, while the prisoners continued to laugh like they'd lost their minds, and the Death Eaters continued to panic as more of their numbers vanished in blinding flashes of light.

"We managed to get away with three Time-Turners, Tom," Harry said happily, "We realized that there was no way of defeating you. Even if we somehow managed to kill you, you'd just come back thanks to your damn Horcruxes. So we decided to end this war before it even began by traveling back to when you and your Death Eaters were all children and slaughtering you there before you ever become as powerful as you are now."

The Death Eaters who were listening paled at the words, and Voldemort suddenly found himself with an unfamiliar feeling worming its way through his body: fear.

"The golden light is time catching up to those who shouldn't exist," Hermione said with a cruel smile, "Time is correcting itself by eliminating those who shouldn't be here since they've been dead for decades."

Lucius Malfoy grabbed his wife and son and opened his mouth to say something before he vanished, and Narcissa and Draco screeched out in horror,

"LUCIUS! NOOOO!"

"DAD! DAD?!"

"You've tampered with time!" Voldemort yelled, "You have no idea what will happen because of your actions! You may have done irreparable harm!"

"Wrong Tommy, old son," Tonks laughed, her hair turning bright pink, "We've created an entirely new timeline, one where you never exist, and all those purebloods who supported you died as children! The world will never know that Voldemort or his Death Eaters even existed in the first place because, in the new timeline, you WON'T!"

Bellatrix threw herself at Voldemort's feet in terror, tears running down her face as she sobbed and clawed at Voldemort's robes,

"MY LORD! SAVE ME! PLEASE SAVE ME!"

"GET OFF ME! GET OFF, I SAY!" Voldemort snarled as he kicked Bellatrix away; the Dark Lord's second in command sobbed pitifully as the gold light began to engulf her,

"NO! NOOOOO!" Bellatrix screamed one last time before she was gone; a moment later, Draco began to glow, and Narcissa shrieked in horror,

"NO! NOT MY BOY!"

"Mum?" Draco said, his eyes wide as the glow grew brighter, "Mum, hel-"

As Draco disappeared, Narcissa turned to Harry, who was watching with a grin, and lunged at him, her claws extended as though she wanted to tear him apart, only to disappear a second later before she reached Harry.

At last, Voldemort was the only one left, and he raised his wand at Harry, murder in his eyes as he eyed the man who had destroyed his empire at the moment when he had finally achieved victory.

YOU FILTHY HALF-BLOOD! HOW DARE YOU CHALLENGE ME!"

"Calm down, Tom," Harry grinned, "Too much stress isn't good for your health,"

"Yeah, you don't want to have a heart attack, do you?" Ginny added with a laugh.

Voldemort was apoplectic with rage at the thought that he and his army had been defeated by these people and his vision suddenly turned red as he looked at the grinning prisoners,

"IF THESE ARE MY LAST MOMENTS ON EARTH, THEN MY LAST ACT WILL BE TO KILL YOU!"

Raising his wand high, Voldemort brought it down just as his body began to glow,

"Avada Kedav-"

XXXX

The chamber was as quiet as a graveyard as the prisoners eyed one another with a mixture of sadness and happiness; they had finally beaten him, Voldemort was no more, and yet the cost had been too high, much too high.

Slowly shuffling, the group made their way to what was once Voldemort's liquor cabinet, and Harry smashed open the cabinet and pulled out what looked like a very expensive bottle of wine while everyone else grabbed a glass.

"We did it…." Ron whispered in awe as Harry filled their glasses, with a somber look on his face,

"It's finally over," Tonks said, a lone tear running down her face,

"Here's to those who got us here," Ginny said in a tight voice, "To the fallen!"

"To the fallen!" The group responded, bringing their glasses together in a toast.

There was a sudden shatter as two glasses fell to the ground; Ron suddenly turned to his brothers, and a sad expression came across his face as he realized they were gone; slowly turning back to Harry, Ron said in a sad voice,

"Do you think we'll be best mates again?"

"Of course," Harry replied with a smile, "No matter what world we find ourselves in, we'll always be mates."

Ron smiled at that and raised his glass to his lips before suddenly he was gone as if he had never been there; Tonks smiled sadly as she took another drink,

"I wonder what this new world will be like," she said softly,

"Better," Hermione replied, "It will be better."

Tonks nodded her head as she began to disappear,

"Guess it's my tur-"

Luna stared at where Tonks had previously been before turning back to the others,

"Can we be friends again?" Luna asked as though she were about to cry, "In this new world we go to?"

"Of course, Luna," Hermione said in a tight voice as she hugged the girl, "Always,"

a moment later, both girls were gone, and Harry and Ginny were alone.

"Ginny…." Harry said softly as he pulled her in close,

"Promise you'll find me again, Harry," Ginny said softly as she gazed into the eyes of the man she loved more than life itself.

"I promise," Harry replied, "No matter where we end up, I will find you again, Ginny Weasley,"

Ginny kissed Harry then, and the two stayed that way as their bodies slowly began to disappear, until all that was left was an empty chamber.

XXXX

"Come on, Harry!" James Potter cried happily as his son fell back, "You don't want to miss the train on your first day of school, do you?"

I'm moving as fast as I can!" Harry Potter laughed back, "You try pushing this bloody cart!"

"Watch your language, young man!" Lily said in a mock-serious tone.

As they neared the train, James helped his son put his luggage onboard as Lily gave her son one last hug,

"Now remember to write as often as you can, and we'll see you for the holidays, okay, sweetie?"

"Okay, mum," Harry replied with a smile as he pulled away and gave his father a hug,

"And tell Remus I said good luck on his first year as a teacher,"

"Dad," Harry whined, "I can't tell uncle Remus good luck! He's my teacher!"

The train whistle sounded, and Harry's parents pushed him onboard before giving him one final wave; a moment later, they were gone as the train rounded a bend.

A little while later, Harry was sitting in an empty compartment when a small redhead boy opened the door,

"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit with you? Everywhere else is full,"

"Not at all," Harry replied warmly, "I'd be happy for some company. I'm Harry, by the way, Harry Potter."

"Nice to meet you," the boy responded, extending his hand, "I'm Ron Weasley."

As the train made its way to Hogwarts, the two boys began to talk about what house they hoped to be in and what their favorite subject would be; there was no Boy-Who-Lived, no prophecies or Dark Lords; there were only two boys and a lifetime of adventure that awaited them.
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