Beta Reader: arwrite and Luke Knight

Note: Sorcerers and wizards are different from each other for this story. 1st: Sorcerers are more powerful than Wizards and only Sorcerers can perform wandless magic. 2nd: A Sorcerer's average lifespan is longer than a Wizard's. 3rd: Some spells like Legilimency and Apparition don't need wands and that's why Wizards can perform wandless magic. 4th: Every Sorcerer is different from each other. 5th: Sorcerers are rare and can only be one by birth; it can't be accomplished through hard work or performing any ritual.

Chapter - 1

Near an old chipped painted barn, a man wearing a mask appeared out of thin air with a loud crack. His pale blonde hairs were covered with dirt and grime as if he had been in a fight and hadn't taken a bath for a few days. He spun around to scan for any sign of life to make sure he wasn't followed. Finding no one, he trudged towards the main door and knocked three times. On the third knock, the mouth of the snake engraved on the door handle came to life and its eyes shone with a dim green light.

A slithery voice came out of the snake's mouth. "State your name and business."

"Avery and I have news."

After a pause, the voice said, "Enter!"

Without prompting, Avery walked inside and took the stairs to the basement of the house. A few other Death Eaters were sitting around an old wooden table. Near the fireplace stood a tall young man, hands folded behind his back.

"So, what's the news, Avery?" the man said heavily as he turned to face Avery.

"They are not coming to join us, Torian," Avery said,

"MASTER!" the man named Torian shouted, "You will address me as Master, and not by my name. Am I clear?"

"Yes Master, please forgive me," Avery said, his voice trembling slightly.

"You should have known, Avery, I do not forgive easily, but since this is your first mistake, I will not punish you too harshly," the man named Torian said. He raised his hand and shouted, "Crucio!"

Avery collapsed to the ground writhing and twisting in pain, screaming loudly.

Torian lowered his hand after a few seconds. The Death Eaters stood with their eyes open as big as possible and their faces turned white from shock.

"Let this serve as a lesson to you all about what happens when you show me disrespect. Remember I am not only the son of the Dark Lord but also a Sorcerer. Disrespect or disobey me again and you will be served even harsher punishment," Torian growled.

"Y… Yes, Master," Avery whimpered.

"Now, where were we? Ah, yes, you had a message for me, Avery," Torian said, waving his hand towards Avery, indicating him to speak.

"Y… Yes, Master, Crabbe said his loyalty belongs only to the Dark Lord and that he would never kneel to you. He also asked where you were when the Dark Lord needed you most. He will take the Dark Lord's revenge by himself," replied Avery, regaining some of his colour and composure back.

"What are you going to do now, Master?" one of the other Death Eaters asked, fear evident in his voice.

"Nothing for now. Let Crabbe draw attention to himself while I build my army." Torian said and began to chuckle maniacally.

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Harry woke up in his bed in the dormitory of Gryffindor Tower and remembered the events of the past few days. Voldemort, the most evil and fearsome wizard ever known, had finally been defeated at Harry's own hand. However, Harry wasn't feeling exceptionally happy or in the mood to celebrate the victory. Many people died in order to win the Second Wizarding War, which had begun three years ago but it was finally over, and this time for good. He slid the curtain to one side to get out of the four-poster bed. Ron and Hermione lay asleep on Ron's bed. Although they were fully clothed, he smiled on seeing his two exactly opposite friends together.

Harry looked out of the window and was surprised to see it was dark. 'Looks like I slept the whole day!' he thought. He walked down to the common room where the rest of the Weasleys were sleeping and tried to make as little noise as possible by tiptoeing his way to the portrait hole. On one of the couches in the faraway corner, Ginny and George had fallen asleep holding each other, their faces blotched from the tears and dirt from the battle.

On seeing George sadness filled him again. 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I couldn't save Fred.' Harry wanted to tell George, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. George hadn't only lost his twin brother, but his best friend.

Knowing he still had a job to finish, he put on his Invisibility Cloak and made his way to the grounds. While passing from outside of the Great Hall, he saw people arranging the dead or helping the injured inside it.

Harry saw Neville among those who were helping the injured ones. He walked over to him. "Hello, Neville," Harry said.

Neville jumped. "Harry! That's the second time today that you've frightened me."

"Sorry."

Harry looked around and saw the damage to the grounds created by giants and missed spells. There were large holes, spilt blood and trees which were uprooted and thrown here and there.

"I was looking for Hagrid. Do you know where he is?"

"Yeah, I saw him near the edge of the forest a while ago," Neville said, pointing towards the woods.

"Thanks." Harry patted Neville on the shoulder as he advanced in the direction Neville had pointed. He spotted Hagrid's large silhouette against the moonlight.

"Hagrid," he said, his voice hoarse.

"'Ello, 'Arry. Everythin' alrigh'?" Hagrid asked, concerned, covering his face.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Actually, I was looking for you. I wanted to apologise for what happened in the forest," Harry said.

"Eh, no prob'em, Harry. I understan' why yeh 'ad to do it," Hagrid said, shaking his head.

"Hagrid, could… could you help me with one more thing?" Harry asked.

Hagrid smiled. "'Course! I'll help yeh. What do yeh need?"

"Can you get me a Thestral?" Harry asked.

"Aye, I can get yeh one, but, what yeh be needin' tha' fer?" Hagrid asked, his thick eyebrows rising.

"I need to visit someone," Harry said, not meeting his eyes.

Hagrid gave Harry a once-over. "Yeh okay?"

When Harry didn't reply, the groundskeeper turned and made a noise, one Harry knew very well from his fifth year. Soon, a single Thestral came forth from the forest.

Harry walked forward, patted its neck and climbed onto its back.

"Godric's Hollow," he whispered in its ear. Without warning, the Thestral took off into the sky.

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It was over an hour after starting his journey that Harry's fingers began to numb as he shivered from the cold. Another half-hour later, the Thestral started descending before eventually landing. Harry slid off its back and trekked down the barely visible path.

Harry stood at Ignotus Peverell's grave and dug a hole next to it. He conjured a wooden box and gently placed the Elder Wand inside before he magically sealed it, and buried it in the hole. He then refilled the hole magically, so nobody could tell that the dirt had been disturbed.

After hiding the Elder Wand, Harry walked towards his parents' grave and saw people out buying groceries and mothers strolling with their children. Nothing seemed out of place, not in the Muggle world at least. He sat next to their tombstone and traced their names with his fingertips. It felt as if they were there as if they had never left.

"Mum, Dad, we won," Harry said with tears in his eyes. "Thank you for always being there for me. If not for you, I would never have been able to do any of this. I miss you and I wish you were here to see. Tell Sirius I miss him too and that he's the best godfather one could ever have. Hope you guys are doing well. Say hello to Fred,Tonks and Remus, and tell them I'm sorry."

After what seemed like a moment, but in reality, was more than an hour and a half, Harry returned to the Thestral and began his journey back to Hogwarts.

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As he entered the Great Hall, he saw that the bodies of the fallen were laid near the head table, and the corpses of the Death Eaters had been dumped in the farthest corner of the Hall.

Harry made his way to the deceased heroes. Upon seeing the bodies of Lupin and Tonks lying next to each other, a torrent of grief hit him and tears formed in the corner of his eyes, falling as he got closer.

After gathering himself, he went up to each body. Some of them he had known personally, some only by face, and some were complete strangers to him. Yet, they fought for him, fought until their very last breath. He thanked them for their sacrifice, for all they had done to protect him, Hogwarts, and the wizarding world.

At last, he saw Jimmy Peakes and Fred lying next to each other. Jimmy had been one of the Beaters on Harry's team during his sixth year. The sight caused Harry to fall to his knees, crying even harder. He didn't know how long he was in that position, but at one point, he sensed someone standing next to him. Harry looked up and was surprised to see Kreacher, his aged house elf.

"Kreacher!" he said, surprised, wiping his eyes.

"Master Harry," he said with a bow so low, his nose nearly touched the floor. "Kreacher knows Master Harry is not eaten anything, and Kreacher knows Master is not feeling well." Kreacher paused here, hesitating momentarily before saying, "Master Harry is very sad."

"Yeah, I'm not feeling good at the moment," Harry said.

"D… do Kreacher request something from Master Harry?" Kreacher asked.

"What is it, Kreacher?" Harry replied. 'Does he want to be freed?'

If Kreacher did want to be freed, it would be fine with him. Every intelligent creature deserved freedom, and it wouldn't be Harry's first time freeing a House Elf.

"Is Master Harry come to the kitchen for a cup of tea?" Kreacher asked. "It is to help Master Harry feel good."

Though Harry was taken aback by Kreacher's request, he accepted the offer anyway. A few minutes later, he was sitting at a long table in the kitchen, waiting for his tea and watching the house-elves go about their work. A few minutes later Kreacher came back with the tray containing tea and some biscuits.

"Kreacher, will you have a cup of tea with me?" Harry asked as he took the cup from Kreacher.

Kreacher stared at him for a few seconds, then replied, "House elves is not supposed to sit with their Masters."

"Why not? Come and sit with me," Harry said insistently. Kreacher accepted reluctantly. After Harry took the first sip and a bit of the biscuit, he was surprised that the refreshments actually made him feel better.

"So here you are drinking tea with House elves." Harry heard someone behind him say.

Turning, he saw Ginny standing there, grinning. He couldn't help but notice that the smile didn't reach her eyes.

He smiled back at her. "Do you want to join us?"

"Sure," she replied and sat down next to them. They both drank their tea in comfortable silence. After some time, they both thanked Kreacher and the other House elves before walking out of the kitchen.

"When is the funeral?" Harry asked as the door closed behind them.

"They are going to hold a combined funeral for everyone tomorrow afternoon at two, here at Hogwarts," Ginny said. Before Harry could say anything, she added, "and Mum asked me to tell you to come to the Burrow afterwards."

"Okay," Harry said in a hoarse voice. 'Fred was her brother and she just lost him because of me.'

They didn't say anything for the next few minutes and continued to walk down the corridor. Ginny sensed his pain and squeezed his hand.

"Do you want to take a stroll?" she asked.

"Yeah, let's do that," Harry said.

They walked around the lake, both silent and lost in their own thoughts. Soon, they stopped under a peach tree and sat down, staring into space. Harry was thinking over the past seven years: from the day he found out he was a wizard on his eleventh birthday, until today. So much had happened, from dealing with House Elves to fighting giant trolls and snakes and so many people had died because of him: his parents had died to save him, Cedric had been killed because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, Sirius had died because he made a rash decision, Dumbledore had also died to save him, and so many died in the final battle against Voldemort in helping Harry to search for the Horcrux that was hidden in the castle.

"How are you feeling?" Ginny asked, bringing him back to the present.

"Fine," he lied.

"You don't need to lie to me Harry, you know that," Ginny told him in a low voice. "You're not feeling well. You think all these deaths are your fault."

Harry stared into her eyes, brown and beautiful, but filled with so much sadness. 'She knows me too well.'

"Yeah, you're right," he told her.

Sighing, she leaned over him and kissed him. It surprised him, but he melted into her touch.

"I love you, Harry," she said as they parted to breathe. She lowered her voice so that only Harry could hear. "It's not your fault, you know."

Harry didn't say anything to her, he just sat there pulling Ginny closer to him the words were still ringing in his ear.

After sometime Ginny said, "Let's get back to the castle everyone must be looking for us."

They started walking back towards the castle, meeting Ron and Hermione halfway.

"There you are," Ron said. "Where have you been, you two?"

"We were taking a walk," Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

"When are you planning to do it, with the Wand, Harry?" Hermione asked Harry before Ron had the time to say anything that would have given rise to an argument between the siblings.

"I've already taken care of it," Harry said, knowing full well what Hermione was talking about.

"And you didn't tell us?" Ron asked, surprised.

"Yes, and I'll take this secret to the grave," Harry said.

"What? Did you hide it somewhere else?" Ron asked, "I thought you were going to put it back in Dumbledore's tomb."

"After our meeting with his portrait, I realised that if I ever lost a duel, I would no longer be its master. If it's hidden, it can't fall into the wrong hands," Harry explained.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked.

"We're talking about the Elder Wand," Harry said in a whisper, before turning to Ron and Hermione, "and please, don't ask me where it's hidden. I can't tell anyone, not even you."

Although Ron understood Harry's reasons for keeping the Elder Wand's hiding place secret, he didn't look happy with the decision.

The two couples walked inside the Castle, where the rest of the Weasley family were waiting for them. They stood surrounding Fred's body.

"Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you all were," Mrs Weasley said. She was clearly relieved as she wrapped each of them in a bone-crushing hug.

"Err... where is Mr Weasley?" Harry asked.

"He had to go to the Ministry. Kingsley needs as much help as he can get. Percy went with him," Mrs Weasley explained.

At that moment, Professor McGonagall stood at the head table, and everyone's attention shifted to her.

"I have an announcement for you all: The funeral ceremony will be held here on the grounds, tomorrow at two in the afternoon." McGonagall's shoulders sagged.

Harry looked around him, the Great Hall was completely filled, almost everyone was present. Suddenly he realised that this is the time to clear Snape's name.

Harry raised his hand and said, "Professor, I want to tell everyone something."

"What is it, Mr Potter?"

Harry walked toward the head table. "I want to say something about Professor Snape." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, then looked at everyone and began. "Severus Snape was not a Death Eater."

Hearing this, lots of murmurs spread through the Hall. He raised his hand to silence them before continuing. "He was not a Death Eater. He was a spy for Professor Dumbledore."

"But he murdered Dumbledore!" someone exclaimed, interrupting. Harry knew the voice but couldn't quite place it.

"No, he didn't murder him," Harry said. "Professor Dumbledore was already dying from a curse. Professor Snape slowed it down, but he wasn't able to cure it. Professor Snape killed Professor Dumbledore on his orders. Professor Dumbledore wanted to make his death quick and painless, and Snape helped him." Harry paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

"I know what you're all thinking, but I have proof." He took a small vial from his pocket and handed it over to Professor McGonagall. "These are the memories Professor Snape gave to me just before he died, to explain everything. Voldemort had his snake kill Snape. His body is still in the Shrieking Shack. He should be buried tomorrow, together with everyone else who died in the battle."

He could see that people were discussing what he just told them, but before he could concentrate on what they were saying McGonagall spoke.

"Don't worry, Potter. We will take care of that, and we will honour him as the war hero. Is there anything else you wish to say?" McGonagall asked with tears in her eyes.

"No, not for now, but please, add my name to the list of volunteers for the repairs of the Castle." With that, Harry walked back to where all the Weasleys and Hermione were waiting and together, they walked back to the Gryffindor Tower.

Instead of going back to the dormitory, Harry approached Dennis Creevey, who was sitting near the fire.

"Dennis," Harry said, putting a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry about Colin." His voice became heavy as he spoke.

"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault," Dennis said, looking at Harry with tears in his eyes. "Colin was a fighter who would've wanted to at least go down fighting for the right thing. He really admired you, Harry, and I think he would've been glad to know you didn't feel guilty by it."

Harry didn't know what to say to that, so he nodded instead. "If you need any help at all, let me know."

"I will," Dennis promised.

Harry moved to Mrs Weasley next, meaning to say something, anything, but before he could, she pulled him into her arms.

"Harry, it's not your fault, dear," Mrs Weasley said. "We all knew the risk and it was our choice to fight. Nobody blames you for the death of their loved ones." Harry held her tightly and let his tears fall once again. Mrs Weasley held him and let him cry while whispering kind words to him.

A/N: If you find any factual and grammatical errors, please let me know. This is not a strict canon story.