Dark Marks, Orders and Auror’s Chapter 9: Death Eaters in the Ministry., a harry potter fanfic

Dark Marks, Orders and Auror's chapter 9 (Last chapter).

Death Eaters in the Ministry.

By 100 monkey's typing on 100 keyboards for 100 years.

Beta read by just ten of those monkey's: only the select few.

Proof read by Chris.

Summary: With the defeat of Voldemort, Harry has one final matter to deal with. Returning to the Ministry of Magic for the first time since "the incident" he has scores to settle, and revenge on mind. Can Harry truly ever return to his old self after everything he's done? *Final chapter* H/G, R/Hr.

Extended thanks at the end...

Chapter 9

Death Eaters in the Ministry.

Harry found himself in front of the Ministry of Magic building, having apparated a few miles away; he felt a walk would ease his mind, help him fine tune the plan that little bit more. The scene that greeted him was pure chaos. People running around, bumping into each other, and not even bothering to try and disguise what they were wearing, even clueless Muggles were starting to notice.

Something, and Harry had more then a sneaking suspicion what, had caused the building to become frantic in it's operation, and this was just on the outside. He dare not imagine what the scene would be like inside the Ministry building itself.

Stepping into the five story office block, using the revolving Muggle doors—which he had once seen Ron get stuck in; his friend kept walking around and around, afraid that if he stopped something bad would happen, though, to this day, Harry still couldn't imagine what that might be—he found himself in a large hall that he knew for sure was biggest room in the entire building. Though it was one of the largest, it was also one the most bland and bare rooms as well. Straight ahead of him was a glass-windowed lift that took you to the rest of the building. To the far left hand side was a door which, if his memory served him correctly, took you to genuine Muggle-decorated rooms. These "office rooms" were used as cover; should any Muggle accidentally find themselves—for whatever reason—inside the building, they would most certainly find nothing out of the ordinary... except perhaps that at that very moment, a mop was gliding along the carpet-less floor apparently of it's own accord. Next to door that lead to the Muggle offices another plane wooden door stood. The second door Harry knew lead to a cloak room where many of the wizards stored there clothes, and, where there were more then a few spare Ministry uniforms.

Combing his dark hair down around his scar, Harry made his way to a skinny brunette security guard whom had obviously dressed in what they would consider to be Muggle clothing. Harry had to hand it to the guard; they had done a pretty good job... if she'd been trying to dress as a Muggle from the eighties that is. Giving her a nod as he approached, and with a beckoning motion, Harry indicated that Muggles tended not to have self-cleaning mops.

With a look of horror, the guard suddenly realised that the mop was cleaning the floor on its own, and ran off in an attempt to stop it; but, it seemed the mop didn't like being interrupted, and, with a shudder, took off at great speed across the floor, the security guard hanging on for dear life behind. Now that the security guard was busy fighting with the runaway mop, Harry quickly made his way to the cloak room, and grabbed any set of clothes there; in this case a bowler had, and a black and white pinstripe suit with the "Wando" designer label. Though the suit was a bit big for him, it was more then ample for what Harry needed; the most important feature, the bowler hat, covered his noticeably dark hair, and lightning bolt shaped scar completely.

Returning to the fist room, Harry noticed the security guard wasn't having much luck and was now chasing the cleaning device across the room, waving a broom in the air threateningly.

Closing the lift doors, Harry left behind the security guards angry shouts of, 'You stupid broom... I'll teach you some manners,' and hasty of additions of, 'Remote controlled broom!' every time someone walked passed, should they be a Muggle.

Harry took out his wand swishing it in the air he then tapped it against the dials and said, 'Rivvo.' As if it were alive, the lift jumped as soon as the words rang out travelling at an alarming speed upwards; Harry felt himself pushed by an invisible force down. The lift's initial upwards motion changed to that of sideways, and then back and forth, again up and down, and in general, every other direction possible; much the same as if one were travelling in a maze and didn't quite know which way to go. Five minutes later, a whiter looking Harry exited the lift, stumbling slightly into the room in front, his legs jelly like legs once again getting used to solid ground.

If outside could be considered busy, then inside was surely sheer chaos with the frantic actions of the wizards. Although the room itself was large, only a little smaller then the downstairs reception (or upstairs, or possibly to the right... or left. The lift really didn't seem to know where it was at all.), the sheer numbers of wizards and witches inside seemed to shrink the room significantly. What's more, everyone seemed on the verge of panic and most were frantically rushing about in an attempt to do what the had to. A few feet to Harry's left, two wizards who were obviously on edge—under far too much stress—were pointing their wands at each other in a typical duel fashion, whilst all around them work colleagues gathered attempting to pacify the situation and calm the frail nerves. What made the panic seem so much more though, were the owls. Hundreds of them, for every colour you could ever imagine there was an owl. Harry hadn't seen so many owls in a single place for a long time; not since his last year at Hogwarts where, during breakfast, they would swarm in like a plague of locusts delivering messages, letters, parcels and of course the occasional Howler. This room though as big as it was, was nowhere near the size of the Great Hall and was clearly incapable of dealing with the birds in such numbers. The owls had nowhere to fly, many collided midair after they took off, whilst others flew straight into desks, objects and people... as Harry found out when a great eagle owl collided with his head, the massive bird knocking Harry the ground with a mouth full of feathers.

Continuing—more warily now—Harry passed hundreds more doors, some of which had brass plates stating such things as, 'Goblin control' and 'Dangerous Magical Creatures.' On his way through the building, Harry had to dodge several more owls, and barley managed to duck a set of Bludger balls that had escaped during the commotion. At long last, Harry found himself at the set of stairs which lead to the Ministers office.

As he made his way up the steps though, a wizard—whose face was hidden by a stack of papers in her arms—came shooting out of an office careering straight into Harry. Both tumbled down the stairs, Harry coming of worse as the... witch (he now realised) landed straight on top of him, after using him as a sledge that is.

The witch gave a squeal of panic when documents she'd been carrying fluttered to the floor; it was seemingly raining paper. 'Oh no, what have I done!' In a panic she scrambled—completely forgetting about Harry—to pick up the papers. 'I'm in so much trouble now!'

After the tumble, Harry felt almost as dazed as when he'd left the lift, only this time he had a splitting headache as well.

'Oh, no, no, no...'

Harry struggled to his feet, surprised to see the witch he'd collided with couldn't have been older then nineteen; probably straight out of Hogwarts, she could be a junior in Ministry at the most. And it appeared that was all she'd ever be; the documents must be very important the way she was going on. Though his headache told him she deserved it, Harry drew his wand. 'Stand back.' Pulling the bowler hat over his face further he shifted uncomfortably where he stood.

The witch did as she was told standing to her feet without even a second glance at Harry; which he was thankful for.

Harry coughed and, in what was quite clearly an attempt to disguise his voice, said, 'Returnus.' Instantly, all the papers flew into the air, arranging themselves into a neat pile on the floor, reminding Harry of the times he'd seen Dudley use a remote control to rewind a video to watch his favourite part over and over again. This time the papers were wrapped up in none-stick Spell-O-Tape so they wouldn't go flying everywhere again.

The witch grabbed the papers with a half smile. 'Thanks,' she said as she took off.

'Wait,' Harry shouted at her retreating form. Once again he pulled the hat further down; now so much so it had begun to interfere with his vision. 'What's going on around here? Why is everyone so panicked?'

'What's going on around here!' said the witch dumbstruck, her mouth gapping in disbelief. 'Where have you been? A third Mark was seen the other side of the country, it means You-Know-Who has been killed... if it's true.'

'Hmmm,' said Harry thoughtfully. 'Looks like Harry and Ginny got him then!'

'Yeah,' said the witch leaning forward. 'Just between you and me they deserves some kind of medal. Forget about what Harry Potters done in the past, you know this is the second time he's defeated You-know-Who?... Only-'

Harry leant forward, and was so close he could almost touch her. 'Only what?' he whispered.

'Well, someone in the Taskforce has gone missing... I heard some senior Minister members talking about it; Ron. Ron Weasley.'

'Ron? He'll probably turn up, it's just like Ron Weasley to go missing' Harry reassured. 'Best you take those papers to where they have to be, then.'

'Yeah,' said the witch remembering the pile of papers and taking off. 'Bye.'

Harry glanced at her wand, carefully examining it. 'Yeah, bye,' he shouted as she disappeared around the corner. 'And I thought I'd need the invisibility cloak!'

The door that opened into Ministers office was somewhat larger then other doors. In the place of the usual brass knockers and plaques, was a glistening silver one, above which the Ministry logo was etched into a second silver plate. Next to the Ministry logo, a wand scanner—a tiny black cube—was positioned on the door.

Using the stolen wand, Harry placed it into the scanner. He performed a simple spell and a few red sparks erupted from the wand; though nothing like the sparks you'd get from using your own wand. The door took a while to check the wand, then with a brief hesitation let Harry in. No one would know he'd ever entered the building; they would see only that whoever the young witch was, had visited the Minister and assume it to be to ask advice for her future or something similar... though it could start a scandal as well!

The room was nothing like what Harry expected. In the middle of the room was a new, but not overly magnificent desk; compared to Hermione's it was very bland. Behind the mahogany desk, a small shelf of the same decor held just a handful of books. Apart from the occasional interesting magic device scattered about here or there, there was nothing exceptional about the room whatsoever. There was definitely nothing to suggest that the Minister of Magic of all people used this as an office. For a start there were almost no souvenirs, and Harry knew for a fact the Minister of Magic was one of the most widely travelled people in the entire community. Then again, if he were so well travelled then he needn't worry about having such a small drab office. Most noticeably though was the room was empty of human life.

'Damn, where is he,' said Harry, angrily. 'I really need to speak to him.'

Harry took a seat in one of only two chairs within the room, and turned it to face away from the door. Whilst waiting for the Minister to arrive, Harry read through that day's edition of the Daily Prophet to pass the time. As he reached the last page, some half an hour later, a muddled patter of feet echoed down the hall. Someone had reached the top of the stairs and was heading straight for the office.

...TAP... tap, TAP... tap, TAP...

The sound drew nearer; an odd patter to say the least. The large pause between steps and the difference in the weights of alternating steps signified a limp. This meant the person approaching was who Harry was here to see, the Minister himself: Cornelius Fudge.

The sounds grew louder and nearer. Harry listened carefully for any additional patter... there were none; Cornelius was most definitely alone. A few seconds later and Harry heard a few muttered words just the other side of the door, signifying the wand scanner was being used. With a quite clicking sound the door swung open and was immediately followed by the telltale click of it closing.

'Cornelius!'

The Minister looked no different to when Harry had last seen him, years ago... The time he'd killed the three 'innocent' Ministry Wizards. His suit was much the same as the one Harry wore, except it was a shocking blue with white pin stripes, and it fitted the Minister a damn site better then the clothes Harry had borrowed fitted him. Cornelius was looking rather pale though, with definite bags under his blue eyes due to the many sleepless nights he had; he was bordering on insomnia. Harry could see the shocked look on the other mans face as tiny beads of sweat appeared on his forehead—which the Minister quickly rubbed away with a handkerchief held in a clammy grip.

Cornelius walked nervously further into the office. 'H-Harry,' he said. 'What-'

Harry glanced up at the Minister offering a polite smile. 'I've taken care of Voldemort,' he said, still apparently reading the Daily Prophet.

'So it appears,' said Fudge, once again patting the handkerchief to his forehead. 'We haven't found him though.'

Harry smiled again. 'Trust me, he's taken care of.'

'I... I suppose you'll want a pardon?' Cornelius grabbed at a black piece of parchment, muttering nervously all the while. 'Yes, yes... That is what you want. A pardon!... I can do that, Harry. For someone who took down the... Dark Lord... Our community can overlook a few... In-discrepancies, I'm sure.' Fudge ran his hands over his pockets nervously. 'If I can find a quill... Where is that quill... I'll dismiss the Taskforce at once, Harry.'

Harry went back to reading an article in the Daily Prophet. 'Don't forget Ginny,' he said quickly. 'They seemed to be after her as much as me.'

Another bead of sweat appeared on the Ministers head, but he'd given up attempting to wipe away. 'Yes... Of course, Ginny will be pardoned most certainly... and on behalf of the Wizarding world,' he stuttered. 'I want to thank you for ending the dark campaign off-'

'You know what,' Harry said suddenly, cutting the Ministers speech off abruptly. His eye's finally left the paper, the green orbs staring at Cornelius instead. 'I don't think we'll be needing that pardon after all.'

The Minister nearly dropped the quill he'd found. 'W-What?' said Fudge. 'But... Harry... What?.. W-Why ever not?'

'I'm tired of playing games Cornelius. I should just kill you now, where you stand!'

Cornelius eyes bulged in shock. 'Then you'd be hunted for the rest of your life, Harry,' he replied, managing to sound indignant despite his obvious fear of Harry. 'Killing the Minister... you wouldn't make it out of this building.'

Harry got slowly to his feet. 'I did once before,' he said neatly folding the newspaper and placing it on the desk. 'Do you remember that?'

'I... Yes,' squeaked Fudge. 'But... But y-you had help... Take the pardon Harry...'

Harry lashed out, knocking the paper to the floor, he shouted, 'It's worthless.' Lowering his voice he said, 'Not when there are still hundreds out there that fear me like...' And angry snort escaped his lips. 'Like they fear Voldemort. How can they ever be that scared of me?

'I don't know why I didn't realise what you were sooner, Fudge,' Harry spat with so much venom laced in his voice, the Minister visibly shrank back.

'I-I... I don't know what you mean,' said Fudge. The Minister attempted to compose himself and feeling particularly brave, said, 'Now I suggest you leave, Harry Potter, or I shall have the Dementors take you!'

Harry gave a nod, laughing indignantly. 'Yes, the Dementors. They were your biggest mistake-'

'I don't know what you're talking about,' said Fudge, struggling to keep a composed stature. 'Now I will not warn you again, take your pardon and go...'

'-I realised a few years ago,' Harry continued. Pulling out his wand he pointed it at Cornelius, ordering, 'Sit down.'

The Minister sat abruptly on the spare seat.

'Your wand, give it to me.'

'My, my wand?'

'Give it to me,' Harry hissed. 'And don't try anything stupid Fudge, I'm ten times faster on the draw then you.'

Cornelius slowly drew his wand from a pocket on the inside of his suit and gave it to Harry.

Gripping the wand tightly, Harry bent it until he heard the shatter, and though Cornelius looked outraged, he didn't make a sound.

'Tell me this,' said Harry as he dropped the two halves of Cornelius's wand to the floor. 'When Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, were you worried about me?'

'Yes, of course the whole world wa-' Fudge began, but the wizard stopped abruptly when slammed his hands to the desk.

'Or did you realise that he was going after someone else? You realised that Peter Pettrigrew must still be alive didn't you-' Harry ignored Fudge's indignant responses, and continued undaunted, '-You were worried that if Peter were to be caught, he might point the finger at you! He might have once seen you in Voldemort's company, and you couldn't take that risk. That's why you were so adamant about catching Black. So that Peter wouldn't resurface.'

Fudges head darted round as Harry continued to circle him as a lion does it's prey. 'You don't know what you're talking about,' said Fudge. The Minister dare not move though.

'And next...' said Harry; he held up two of his fingers. 'Next there was your refusal to believe Voldemort had returned to power again. For years you denied it, kept things quite, even went so far as to keep the news from the papers. You refused to help Dumbledore stop him from gaining control... I, along with everyone else that knew, though you merely in denial, that you truly believed it was better the world didn't know. That you truly believed Voldemort was dead.'

'It's true,' said Fudge as he stood up abruptly in defiance. 'I don't know what you're implying here, but I don't like it... You-' Fudge paused to tear up the paper on which he had written Harry and Ginny's "Pardon." '-Can forget about the pardon, now. I have never been so insu-'

'Sit down,' said Harry who waved his wand at Cornelius. The Minister collapsed—against his will—into the chair giving out a high squeal; he finally realised Harry was quite prepared to use magic on him. 'Then, when you do finally acknowledge Voldemort's return, you suddenly decide that you could do things better without Dumbledore. As if you could do better without the only man Voldemort feared the last time he was in power. The Ministry, on your order, breaks away from the resistance, and now those who oppose Voldemort have split... United under Dumbledore we stand, divided, Voldemort rules!'

'This is the biggest nonsense I have ever heard,' Fudge declared.

'Then we have clue number four,' said Harry, pausing calmly before adding, 'The Dementors! Why?... Why, Cornelius, did a few Dementors stay with you, when surely, everything about them, their very nature suggests they should join Voldemort?'

Fudge squirmed under Harry's gaze. 'They could probably see that Voldemort wouldn't win,' he said, sounding unsure. 'They knew if they joined Voldemort and he fell a second time, they would be destroyed!'

Harry chuckled at Cornelius's excuse, almost mocking. 'No, they stayed, because you were too much of a coward to act alone,' Harry accused, his green eyes boring holes in the Minister. 'You wanted to know, you wanted to be sure that if you were found out you would have a chance to flee to your master; the Dementors would buy you that time... I'm surprised Lord Voldemort let you keep them though, it was a mistake on his part; a big giveaway.'

'What else do we have...' Harry drawled... 'Oh yes, this whole mess involving those Ministry Wizards I killed.' Harry flashed Cornelius and angry glare. 'You know, I actually believed they were spies at one point. I actually believed your lies, Fudge. I believed I had killed innocent Wizards, you do not know what that done to me... How much that hurt... IT RUINED MY LIFE!' he screamed, an audible whimper escaped the Minister. 'I even admitted it to my friends, that I, Harry Potter had taken innocent lives... They were disgusted, and so they should be... Have you any idea what it feels like to believe you've killed someone innocent? Do you have even the slightest clue what that done to me... Well, maybe you do, because they're deaths are on your head as well.'

'I... I... I...' Cornelius seemed to be beyond words.

'But fortunately, they were not innocent, were they? What did you say in the papers? "These Wizards were as dedicated to stopping the rein of terror of Voldemort as myself"'

Fudge finally seemed to find his voice; it was a feeble attempt at outrage. 'Have you know respect for the dead? Kill them, and then drag their names through the dirt years later... Do you know how much your accusations hurt their families the first time round?'

'I'm afraid I can't feel too sorry for families that follow the murderer of my parents,' said Harry calmly. 'Now then, need I go on, Cornelius? The spells that didn't work, those that were supposed to keep me from setting foot in many places, they were all lies... Ready to lead me into Voldemort's trap... Do you admit to being a Death Eater?'

'I most certainly do not. Why, I'll see you're taken to the Dementors for sure now.'

'You are in no position to make threats,' said Harry. The auror ran his wand across Fudge's face to emphasis this point. 'Now show me your arm.'

Fudge hesitated but extended a shaky arm when Harry's wand was pressed harder against his neck.

Harry pulled back the stripped sleeve, nearly punching the table after he done so. 'Nothing!' With a hint of desperation he pulled the Ministers arm in all directions before he finally let go. 'Your other arm. Show me your other arm.'

'Well now see here. This is getting out of hand.'

Harry took a deep breath, his voice became dangerously quite. 'Show - Me - Your - Other - Arm - Now!' he said, emphasising each word in turn.

The Minister once again held out and arm, this time his left, still shaking like a leaf; his face, paler then any ghost Harry had ever seen. Slowly, Harry, shaking himself, peeled back the material. 'NOTHING!' he shouted out furiously, no longer caring if anyone heard him. Taking a step back he pointed his wand threateningly at Fudge. 'I'll kill you here!'

'Harry, no!' came a calm voice from behind Harry. A voice of reason, the voice of someone Harry respected above all others; the voice of a true hero. In his resolve at proving Cornelius a Death Eater, Harry hadn't heard the group of people approaching the office, nor had he heard them use the scanner.

'Dumbledore, thank god,' gasped Fudge, obviously relieved. 'He's gone mad. Stark raving mad!'

'He's a Death Eater,' said Harry, his wand trained on Fudge.

'Nonsense,' said Fudge. Slowly and warily, so as not to provoke Harry, the minister got up and limped towards Dumbledore. 'Harry, I would be only to happy to pardon you, as I'm sure the entire wizard world would want. Just... Just don't point that thing at me. I can understand you are a little... confused after your ordeal with You-Know-Who.'

Harry didn't move, positioning his body to stop Cornelius limping past, he spat, 'Sit down.'

Fudge looked pleadingly at Dumbledore.

The aging Wizard stared down through his crooked nose at the Minister; his deep blue eyes through half-moon spectacles gazing calculatingly. Harry had seen that same look a very many times before; it was the look that felt as though the wizard were staring straight into your soul. 'Cornelius,' he said calmly through his long white beard; the white hairs twitching. 'How is your leg feeling this day?'

'No better then usual.' The Minister looked obviously perplexed.

'And have you been using the medicine I have Poppy send you?' said Dumbledore, his eye's flicking to Harry, trying to tell him something. But what?

'Yes,' said Cornelius, scratching his head in confusion. 'Every day, but I'm afraid it is no better... Now, can we all settle this-' He glanced particularly at Harry. '-because I have much business to attend to... Here,' he said as he held out another piece of paper for Harry.

Dumbledore once again glanced at Harry. 'Then perhaps if you would allow me to take a look at your foot,' he said calmly. 'I have been brushing up on healing none-fatal curses lately... and we do have the one who cursed you with us. Why, we may be able to heal it completely.'

The minister jumped to his feet. 'No,' he said all too quickly. 'That won't be necessary... I have to introduce some new security measures.'

'Yes, I suppose you have,' said Dumbledore. 'Those Dark Mark detectors won't do much good now Voldemort had been captured.'

Harry's eyes flickered to Cornelius who had once again gotten to his feet and was limping towards him... Could it be?

The minister winced slightly at the mention of Voldemort and tried once more to get past Harry; this time successfully.

'Wait,' said Harry, suddenly; Cornelius froze in his tracks. 'Fudge, if you would be so kind as to let me heal you... I insist. You've pardoned me, it's the least I can do!'

Fudge shook his head. 'No, no, that really won't-'

Suddenly, a sound erupted throughout the room and as far as anyone could guess the rest of the Ministry headquarters. It was as though a large voltage had discharged threw a very large dragon; a high-pitched screech followed by an angry roar. The sound was so loud, it seemed to pierce everyone. Harry himself jumped in shock and quickly brought his hands to cover his ears. Cornelius reaction though was much more severe. The minister was already nervous and on edge due to his encounter with Harry, and the noise had taken him by surprise causing him to slip and fall. The minister stumbled forward in an attempt to keep his bearings but in the end crashed to the ground with a loud thump, landing awkwardly on his supposed bad leg without so much as a wince. Then, using both legs equally he scrambled to his feet; only when he was up did he remember to start limping.

'Well, I best be off...' said Fudge creeping past Harry and Dumbledore.

'Stupefy,' two matching shouts rang out in the room creating an almost stereo effect. Both Harry and Dumbledore had sent identical spells Cornelius's way with alarming results. Cornelius was sent hurtling through the air landing some twenty feet at the end of the corridor where he lay still and most certainly unconscious.

A brief flash of red hair signalled Ginny was also there, and next to her, Hermione stood still wearing a robe with the Hogwarts coat-of-arms. Both women had already gone to collect the form of Cornelius—not bothering to use magic, the simply grabbed one leg each looking completely disgusted and begun to drag him back—at that moment Ron appeared at the end of the corridor.

'What are you all doing here,' said Harry quietly.

'We came as soon as Ron told us about you,' said Hermione.

'I think Dumbledore already knew about Fudge,' said Ron, looking at Dumbledore for confirmation.

'I figured it out last week,' said Dumbledore. The ex-Hogwarts headmaster closed the door behind them and signalled for Hermione and Ginny to put Fudge down, where he tapped the unconscious Fudge with his wand; the Ministers shoe immediately fell of to the ground, its laces untying themselves. 'Ron got to me word of some very interesting news. News you probably didn't have access too, Harry.'

'Which was?' Harry asked politely.

'That Fudge's leg suddenly got better.'

'I don't understand...'

'It just so happened at the same time the Dark Mark scanners broke down. I didn't think anything of it though; at the same time I'd had Poppy make up a batch of medicine that healed the majority of leg-injuries, it could very well have been that. But I thought it more then strange that as soon as they were back and working, his leg became just as bad as ever.'

Harry laughed, 'Not very good at acting then.'

'Oh, he was very good at acting... He fooled us all for years. We were just lucky that Mr. Weasley could tell the difference between real pain, and a fake limp.'

Ron blushed. 'It was nothing.' Hermione shot him a sidelong glance, and Harry only then realised how close they were standing... doesn't look like Ron wasted much time.

'Unfortunately, Harry,' said Dumbledore with a note of regret. 'Cornelius here has been very busy this week, as he has been every week since the Dark Mark scanners went up; always flying off to one place or another... it was easier in his younger days, but I believe the pain is starting to get to him of late. He's been so busy though—what with word of your arrival, Harry—I regret to say, I was unable to confirm my suspicions earlier.'

One final tap of Dumbledore's wand, and Fudge's sock slithered off like a snake, to reveal a bare foot. The dark green skull stood out against the pink-peach of flesh; it was the Dark Mark. Cornelius Fudge was as Death Eater.

'But as soon as I heard—and saw—you'd defeated Voldemort, I knew Cornelius would have to return,' Dumbledore continued, not batting an eyelid when he saw the Dark Mark. 'Well, I knew this would be my chance to find out for sure. I came at once; we all did, Harry. I had Ron shut of the Death Mark detectors—that was the noise you heard—to catch Fudge in the act... I had to know for sure that he was a Death Eater. I can't go around accusing the Minister if I didn't know for sure... That's why I didn't stop him straight away, you understand Harry?'

Harry gave a nod of understanding and stood up. 'Of course, all that matters is we caught this piece of filth.'

'So... So,' said Hermione in an almost pleading tone. Her eyes fixed squarely at Harry, and, the very quite Ginny who stood next to him... as Ron stood next to Hermione, Harry couldn't help think or of course smile happily.

'Does this mean you didn't kill all those people? You didn't do all those horrible things?' said Hermione.

Harry glanced out of the corner of his eye at Ginny, then to Dumbledore, hoping the ageing wizard didn't say anything. 'No,' he finally said, all trace of emotion gone from his voice.

Dumbledore's penetrating gaze met both Harry and Ginny; he knew it to be a lie yet didn't say anything. Dumbledore was a firm believer in second chances if the people truly wanted it; he'd given Severus Snape a second chance and he'd been a Death Eater... He could see Harry and Ginny wanted a chance at a normal life more the anything else.

Though they'd never killed an innocent wizard... Harry had killed—Dumbledore didn't know about Ginny, he had a sneaking suspiscion she hadn't, and that Harry hadn't told her he had... but that would be up to Harry, that would be for them to sort out...Unless it never happened! Both had hurt, both had tortured, and perhaps enjoyed it. They had strayed as close to the line that separates good from evil—right from wrong—as possible without crossing over... or at least, they'd stepped back again... they'd waded through the various shades of grey that existed there... This was their second chance.

Harry promised himself, for both of them, they wouldn't need a third.

'Ginny, would you fetch Regina Ong please, and bring her here?' The redhead gave a nod and left quietly, shooting Harry a look of appraisal, and then left... Had she been weighing up what she wanted? Did she want to be with him? Worse yet, did she not?

'Oh, Ginny,' Dumbledore called. 'You should find the vice minister at Hogsmead.'

Ron fell back into the ministers chair. 'I don't understand something,' he said, then, realising with disgust whose chair it was quickly scrambled to his feet.

'Which is?' said Harry.

'What happened after you split away from the Order of Auror?' said Ron. 'You said you'd explain everything later... Well, it's pretty much later.'

Harry opened his mouth to answer.

'I can explain,' said Dumbledore who glanced at Harry. 'Harry, it seem as though you have something you wish say to Ginny-'

Harry looked unsure... What if Dumbledore told Ron and Hermione the truth?

'-It's okay, Harry. Go, start your "second chance" with the lovely young lady, you'll regret it if you don't... I'm sure you wouldn't want to let her go... You make a lovely couple, picture perfect... Mirror perfect even!'

Hermione glanced at Ron looking distinctly confused. Mirror perfect? The redhead just mouthed to her, 'Crazy as a loon,' and Hermione couldn't help laugh. Ron could get her so mad, but he was also one of the few people that could make her genuinely laugh as well.

'Thank you,' Harry nodded to Dumbledore. 'You two,' he called to Ron and Hermione. 'I expect an invite to the wedding!'

'Huh?'

'What?'

Harry darted off down the corridor, a smile on his lips, the bowler hat falling to the ground as he ran... he just left it.

Dumbledore waited for Harry to leave and Ron and Hermione's attention to once again focus, before beginning. 'You see, the first two factions to split away from the Order Harry founded called themselves the Diloursey's and the Triads, as I'm sure you both already know-' Ron and Hermione nodded. '-Harry and I believed at the time a few of the Wizards within one or both of the groups might be working for Voldemort. We thought they were attempting to cause further rifts between the Ministry and the Resistance-'

'And were they?' Hermione more-less read Ron's own thoughts.

'In a way,' said Dumbledore cryptically. 'They were not Death Eaters per se... Quite the opposite in fact: They were Auror's, albeit very dark Auror's. They were however, working under Fudge's orders. It was Fudge who convinced them to take harder action against Voldemort and dark wizards.'

'Why would Fudge do that? I thought he was working for Voldemort!'

'It served to split the Order of Auror up, allowing Voldemort to take down the Auror's that were hunting him... it also caused further rifts between the Resistance and the Ministry. Of course we didn't know any of this, Harry and I still believed them to be working for Voldemort. So it was decided that Harry and Ginny would join those two renegade factions, and try to find out who amongst them were working for Voldemort... Harry also told Fudge of this plan and came to an agreement with him... if a dark wizard were caught, he would leave a sign above where they'd been caught and the ministry would swoop in.'

'Then why would he do that?' said Ron echoing his last question.

'It was an attempt of mine to lessen the gap between the Ministry and the Resistance... short-sightedness on my part, I blame myself for Harry and Ginny's past... I should have realised something was wrong with Fudge.'

'You couldn't have known,' Hermione said. 'How could you have known?'

'To this very day, I don't know, but because of my plan two good wizards have lost years of their life as fugitives.'

'No,' said Ron fervently. 'It wasn't you, it was Fudge... Neither Harry or my sister blame you, they blame him. I trust their judgment.'

'Perhaps,' said Dumbledore. 'But I digress, you want to hear of Harry and Ginny... In the end, they couldn't find any dark wizards, and with Harry on their sides—he's somewhat as a beacon of hope in the fight against Voldemort—those three factions ended up catching countless dark Wizards.'

'So that's when they went after Voldemort: They thought they could end it all,' said Hermione.

Dumbledore nodded sadly. 'Yes, Hermione, they did... and they might have been capable of it as well, if given a fair chance. But Fudge warned Voldemort... He must have, because Voldemort was ready for them all... A great many Auror's died that day. I may not have liked their methods, but they were one of the reason as to why Voldemort didn't gain complete control, especially after the rift in the Wizard community. If it weren't for them, then Voldemort might now rule this world.'

Ron gulped down a lump in his throat. 'So what about when...'

'When Harry "killed" those men at the Ministry?' asked Dumbledore; Ron nodded feebly. 'From what I gather, Harry found out about spies in the Ministry. Spies that were working in league with Voldemort. Harry and Ginny believed it was those three wizards who had warned Voldemort of the Orders offensive against him. Harry blamed those three for the deaths of many of his fellow Auror's, and took revenge.'

'But I thought he didn't kill them,' protested Hermione.

'He didn't,' lied Dumbledore. 'They were dark Wizards though, and Harry attacked them, there is no doubt about that; there is no doubt he went to the Ministry to bring those wizards to justice... But from what Harry has told me, he never killed them, he never got the chance. They managed to get away; there were a lot of other wizards about at the time. I suspect that it was Fudge who killed them.'

Ron went to protest but Dumbledore silenced him by holding up his hands. 'I will explain all I can Mr. Weasley if you allow me to.'

Ron turned a deep shade of red and muttered, 'Sure.'

'From what I can gather, and I may be wrong, Fudge kill his own men on Voldemort's orders. If Harry Potter killed innocent Wizards, then Fudge could finally do something about him without drawing attention to the fact he was a Death Eater. Before that day, Fudge could do nothing to stop Harry or the Order of Auror; they were hurting Voldemort too much, public opinion wouldn't hear of Harry being sentenced to the Dementors. So, when Harry found out about the three spies, it must have seemed perfect. Wait for Harry to cast the first spell, and then claim he was trying to kill them... he would immediately be overrun by other members of the ministry...'

'Harry told Hagrid he'd killed those wizards though,' Hermione said.

'There were curses flying all other the place; I daresay caught in the crossfire, Harry truly believed he had killed them—after all, he didn't know Cornelius was a Death Eater. I'm sure in the confusion, Harry couldn't have known if he'd hit a wizard, or a table... Harry escaped, of course, believing he'd killed them; believing he'd done justice... Then of course, Cornelius made up the scandel that they were infact innocent of the charges brought against them; that the Death Eater Harry had seen them in the company of was actually a spy; the Death Eater he'd seen then left Voldemort's ranks to join the Ministry to complete the act and Harry believed he'd killed innocent wizards...'

'Oh god,' said Ron in shock, his eyes almost tearful. 'I... I... blamed Harry for that... I can't believe it... The things I said.'

'He doesn't blame you,' said Hermione softly, embracing Ron.'Poor Harry and Ginny,' she sighed. 'What must they have gone through?'

'Ron, Harry never blamed you; you never done anything wrong,' Dumbeldore reassured. 'He blamed himself, but he never blamed you. In fact, I can safely say, the way you confronted him on the matter made him respect you all the more.'

'Is he alright now?' said Ron; Hermione looked as equally anxious to know the answer.

'Yes. Luckily he figured out the truth... If he didn't, then who knows what would have happened to him. Killing someone—or believing you have—accidental or otherwise, can change a person... Change them from the worse. It would take a great person to change in such a way but still wish to come back to the light.'

'But he didn't change?'

'No,' Dumbledore looked fleetingly at Ron and Hermione, a smile flashing across his face. 'Now I hear from a very good source the Weasley-Granger epic romance saga has begun a new chapter, is it true?'

~*~

'Ginny!' Harry called into the street, nearly collapsing as he ran after her. '...Wait...' he gasped, clasping the stitch at his side as he attempted to catch his breath. The red-head slowed her pace, stopping completely at a junction to let Harry catch up. 'Boy, you really walk fast, Gin.'

'You're wearing you robes,' Ginny pointed out.

Harry glanced down at his black robes. 'Oh—'

An old man walked past, giving Harry an odd look and muttering, 'Youngsters! Getting stranger and stranger these days.'

'Still, not as strange as our grandson,' said the old woman walking alongside him. 'Have you seen the clothes he wears?.. Calls it a... a... "Goth" look, I think. Ghastly.'

'—It doesn't matter. Gin, I need to know... What I mean to say is... The kiss, and what I said after it. I mean it.'

Ginny laughed standing with her hands akimbo. 'What, we'll talk? Well we're doing that right now, Harry.'

'You know what I mean,' said Harry as he waved his hands at his sides in an attempt to express his emotions. 'What I'm trying to say is...'

'Have you been drinking again?'

'Ginny, I'm crazy about you... What, no I haven't been drinking again... Just listen, because I'm only going to say this little speech once... and even now I'm having second thoughts; it sounded a lot better in my head.'

'Alright, I'm listening... I'm used to just listening by now, what with you always yapping on.'

'Shut up.'

'Charming.'

Harry coughed angrily, flashing Ginny what was supposed to be a stern look but only looked ridiculous sending Ginny into a bout of laughter. 'Oh, I give up,' Harry sighed. 'This is hard enough as it is.'

'No, wait,' Ginny said abruptly, still trying to keep from laughing. 'Just give me-' Again she started to laugh... 'Give me a minute... Just a few seconds... Harry, do that look again... The Hermione look!'

'No! Just listen.'

'Alright, alright, I'm listening.'

Harry watched her for a few seconds, to judge whether or not he could continue; obviously he decided he could because he cleared his throat ready to talk. 'Ginny, you are my rock, the only thing I could depend on these past years. You are the most important person in the world to me; what I would miss the most of all if I didn't have-'

'What about Quidditch?' said Ginny.

'-Okay, second most-'

'Make it a good answer, Harry,' laughed Ginny.

'More important then even Quidditch!' Harry said, hastily. 'I couldn't live without you. Words can't even begin to describe how I feel about you, Ginny, as I'm obviously proving... though that might just be that I'm not very good with words... We have a second chance now. A chance to begin our lives again, and I want, very much for you to be a part of my life: A big part of my life.'

'Harry,' said Ginny taking Harry's hands in her own in a display of affection. 'I'll always be a part of your life. We'll be friends-'

'Bigger then that,' said Harry. 'Ginny, I don't know if it's love, I have nothing to compare it with; I've never felt for anyone else what I feel for you. But whatever it is, I've felt it for years; I've just been too much of a coward to tell you. The truth is, I couldn't bare to loose what we have... unless I knew I would get more. I want all of you Ginny.'

'Well...' said Ginny, looking at Harry with appraisal. '...Okay then,' she said with a shrug.

'What? Just like that?.. I feel cheated, I was expecting to have to prove myself to you, I brought my wand and everything... I at least expected for you to say more then "Okay then."'

'Harry, I've waited long enough for you. I don't see the need to start reciting poetry-'

'You couldn't if you wanted to,' laughed Harry. 'You don't know any! You've hated poetry ever since you read that enchanted poetry book... the one that—entertainingly—made you speak in rhythms for an entire week...'

'Are you going to kiss me or are you going to yap on?'

'Well, the first-'

Harry was immediately silenced as Ginny leant forward, bringing her lips to his in an almost aggressive kiss, attacking his mouth, melting into his embrace. She could feel his hands run their way up her back, all over her body, claiming every part he could claim (in public that is); shudders of pleasure where ever he touched. His mouth on her own, fitting so perfectly, tasting, feeling... The feel of each others frantic, explosive kisses, the breathless gasps, it was nearly too much... She was on fire, burning passion. Harry's own body heat glowing in it's sum flush against Ginny, as she was sure so her own was against him. They were lost in each other, completely oblivious to the looks they were getting from the passing crowd... or the catcalls. All Ginny knew was she had Harry. Finally, after years of waiting, she had him. Completely. Not just a night of passion they never spoke of the next day; she had him and all of him. His hand knotted itself in her hair, her own hands in his... to ensure the kiss would last... Neither wanted it to end; it was how it should be. It was perfect. It wasn't just the kiss, it was what the kiss represented, it was the promise of more, much more... A tiny voice in the back of Ginny's mind whispered something, somehow—as rediculous as it seemed—emerging over the lust. There was something she had to do, wasn't there? What was it? What was it... she couldn't remember... Minister... She had to get the vice minister...

Ginny pulled away with a sigh; having to force herself to do so. She certainly didn't want to. 'Sorry,' she muttered gasping for breath. 'But I really have to go get the vice minister; there'll be plenty of time for that later,' she leered.

'Look forward to it,' Harry grinned, though unable to hide the disappointment that the kiss had ended. 'I've got to go somewhere anyway... Besides, there's a crowd of Muggles watching us...'

'So...'

'So... I've got to go...'

'You already said that!'

'Oh...'

~*~

Harry appeared in Hogsmead a few seconds after Ginny; he had to dive into an alleyway so she wouldn't see him. 'Of all the places she could apparate, she had to apparate here,' he murmured, angrily. Then again, why should he be surprised that Ginny thought exactly as he did? In all their time together, they had become a unit. They worked in perfect sync with each other, so much so it was almost scary. Truth be told, there was no surprise that Ginny had apparated to the same place as he did.

He certainly didn't want her to see him though, if she did then she'd ask all sorts of questions. Questions he didn't have the answers to. He popped his head round the corner—attempting to stay hidden—in time to see Ginny dissapearing into the crowd, heading towards the Hogsmead bar (The most likely place for an ex-Quidditch Beater to be... probably knocking back the booze; Regina was famous for it. She'd once been reported to have gone on a three day drinking binge four day's before a match, yet still manage to play an... adequate game. [Authors note: Oh boy, I'm going to be shot for this] Unfortuantly, because of her intoxication, she'd been hit by one of the bludgers that match which had knocked one of her front teeth clear out!). Harry only just noticed how busy the square was, sounds of feet clapping against the coblestone floor filled the air; a sound that hadn't been heard for quite a while.

Exited chatter filled the air, people gossiping wildly, people laughing... It was quite extrodinary. It could almost be described as a street party. Huge decorations were hung on almost every building within the square: From Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, where a huge multicouloured tapastry hung from the second floor billowing magically in a breezeless morning; to Ollivanders wands—which celebrated in it's own, much less extravogent way—where fairly large signs placed in the window read, 'You-Know-Who's defeat' as covered by the Daily Prophet; Perhaps most exiting of all was Gringott's, where a huge array of firework-like-lights were shooting overhead, and large crowds gathered, many with bags full of money, ready to spend, spend, spend.

Harry shook his head dissaprovingly. There wasn't even confirmation that Voldemort had been caught, killed... anything. All they had was his word—well, a sign that represented him—and day's before, this surley would have meant nothing to them. Days before they feared him nearly as much as Voldemort himself... People were too trusting when it came to matters of Voldemort; such was the fear and the deprivation they had because of his reign of terror.

In the distance Harry heard a crowd of people chattering exitedly, crowding round a wizard who was selling copies of the Daily Prophet. Within seconds, he was sold out, wizards and witches, young and old grabbing at the papers.

'No use wasting time,' Harry thought out loud, though the carnival-like atmosphere of Hogsmead was getting to him. He could easily get caught up in the party's that were no doubt going on throughout the village and forget about what he had to do. Harry fought through the crowd; an extreemly difficult task with the mass of bodies there; several times he was almost swept away. Eventually he found himselves at Honeydukes, and slipped inside the packed building. Somehow, Harry wasn't sure how really—such was the difficulty—he managed to slip into the secret passage that lead to Hogwarts and minutes later found himself at the wall which opened into the school.

Harry swished his wand at the wall. 'Dissendium!' The wall opened immediatly as the one-eyed witch statue opened up into an empty corridor. Harry thought himself lucky; there was no way he could know it was empty, he didn't think to bring the Marauders map, he couldn't have been sure the corriddor was empty, and if anyone had seen him... there would be some very awkward questions asked. For the rest of his journey Harry stuck to the route which was least used when he was there, and soon found himself at the gargoyle statue that opened into Hermiones office... 'Westminster,' he said. Seconds later he'd dissapeared inside.

Harry stood for a second just to marvel at the sight... it's silvery reflection, the cherubs in the corner, the design. 'I can't believe she never knew,' he chuckled. 'Imagine, having a Dynasty Pensieve mirror and never knowing!' Harry took tentative steps toward the mirror that hund on the wall behin the desk; he seemed almost drawn to it. The auror ran his fingers over the glittering frame, feeling the etched designs on his skin...

'Help,' squeaked a wizard in the frame. 'A giant!'

'Now where's the key?' Harry said out loud. Taking his wand out, he waved it at the mirror causing it to flaot from the wall; hovering midair. 'Stay,' he ordered as though it were a pet. With noticable determintion he pulled open the draws of the cabinet, and quickly—though carefully—sorted through a host of magical devices; which though many could be considered interesting, some he'd never even seen before, were not what he was looking. The next draw didn't contain what he wanted either; though it did contain something extra interesting.

Holding the picture into the air, letting the natural light in the room highlight it, Harry couldn't help laugh. The scene was something he distinctly remebered, it was a day that would be forever fixed in his memory. 'A fan of Norris Albert-Greenway,' he laughed again, careful not to crease the picture or inadvertently mark it in any way; if he did then Hermione just might know someone had been in her office. 'I think I'm going to have to call her on the matter, never know, she might want my autograph!'

Harry placed the picture back in draw despite "Norris's" protests that, 'it was dark,' and stopped to think. If the key wasn't in the any of the draws, where would it be? Where would Hermioine keep somehting like that; something obviously magical, yet which she didn't know the purpose of? His eyes darted from item to item his mind racing to discover the key's whereabouts... perhaps an invisible safe... perhaps hidden in one of the books... perhaps it was under guard somewhere in the castle by a giant dog named Fluffy! No, it wouldn't be in any of them; it would be somewhere close to Hermione, somewhere she could keep an eye on it whilst she attempted to discover it's purpose. His stopped in his tracks as he glanced at the desk. 'Bingo!' his grin faded. 'Ginny would have absolutly cruicified me if she heard me say that,' he said, horrified.

Tapping the desk with his wand, he said, 'Revilosa!' Nothing happened. 'Show yourself,' he said, tapping it with his wand once again. 'Muggle... Big Ben... Parliment... Television...' Nothing he tried worked. 'The Simpsons... Futerama... Family Guy... Open damn it... please!'

Harry stopped attempting to guess a password, thinking instead back to when he'd seen Hermione open up a secret drinks compartment the last time Harry had been here. Hermione had opened it without saying so much as the simplest hex, spell or curse... all she'd done was... What the hell had she done?

Harry, in his anger, brought his wand down hard against the desk, the tip of his wand hitting part of the decorative engravings that ran round the table; a flower bud to be precise. At once, the hidden compartment that held the many drinks sprung out.

'Great, at least I won't die of dehydration now... Unless...'

Following the decorative plant etches around the desk, he tapped his wand wherever a decorative flower bud was drawn into the wood, each time a new secret compartment opened: Some of them filled with nothing but quills and ink; others with more personal things—that Harry didn't dare look at—such as past letters from Ron; finally, Harry found what he was looking for when he tapped a small bud on the bottom half of the right hand side of the desk. The compartment opened, and there, at the back all on it's own, was a dull-blue circular medallion.

With the medallion held in his shaking grasp, Harry just stared at the mirror; just stared and stared, his eyes dilating as became rooted to the spot... What he saw made him nearly sick... What he had become. Harry stood paralysed, just staring into his own dark green eyes, watching himself... Harry shook his head disappointedly. 'Sorry Ginny,' he said sadly, a lone tear fell down the side of his face. 'Sorry, but I'm much to much of a coward to tell you the truth... I'm too much of a coward to face the truth... but this way, this way I don't have to lie to your face; don't have to lie to anyone's face's.' The slightest flicker of slight grin crossed his face. 'My new life begins today... our new life...' Touching the medallion with his wand he reluctantly said, 'Actiatus.'

Nothing happened. Either it hadn't worked, or it was one of the rare few spells commonly know as "invisible magic." That is, magic that gave out no outwardly sign it had been a success, no lights or sparks or shudders; you wouldn't know if it had been a success unless you then used it properly.

Harry brought the medallion up to each of the four cherubs—one in each corner—in turn. One at a time, as the medallion—now a perfect fit somehow—approached the angels disappeared inside; the medallion slotting into the circular space the cherubs left. The key turned—though somewhat stifly after years of standing unused—under Harry's grip; as soon as the key was removed though, the cherubs reappeared. If anyone were to come in then, they woudn't be any the wiser as to what was going on. Slowly Harry brought the medallion up to the last cherub, unsure of what to expect. The medallion seemed almost magnetic, drawn to the last cherub, it practically turned of its own accord...

Harry felt a weird feeling, a pulling, almost as though a hook just behind his navel was dragging him forward... almost like a Portkey... but different. Harry felt a floating feeling, his head becoming light as air, he could almost feel himself hovering above the ground... then, then there was an incredibly odd feeling. It took him a few seconds to realise he was watching himself, and in turn, he could feel someone watching him: Himself... Suddenly the room was swamped in a flash of white light, dazzling, blinding, all consuming....

'You killed them. You killed them all. It's your fault they're dead.'

'Oh god... Harry, no... No, please.'

'HELP! SOMEONE HELP US! He's attacking us...'

'...Avada Kedavra...'

'He killed Flint!'

'Guess whose next, Henson? This is for those auror's you betrayed; my friends... Avada Kedavra.'

'...You killed them! Harry, what the hell do you mean, you killed them?..'

'...Ron, please, you have to believe me: I thought they were dark wizards... I didn't know...'

'...Hermione, I have something to tell you. You might want to sit down...'

'...Hagrid, I thought it best you heard it from me...'

'...Ginny... I've made a terrible mistake... Oh god, what have I done...'

'...Goodbye Macnair...'

'...You can't kill me, Potter. You haven't got it in you...'

'...That's where you're wrong, Macnair! Once is hard, a second times difficult, a third tough: Blind rage gets you through three. But a fourth? A fourths a breeze... Avada Kedavra...'

'...Nott, it's time to die... Avada Kedavra...'

'...Gin, I'm just going to do something. It shouldn't take long...'

'...It takes a dark wizard to defeat a dark wizard...'

'...Avada Kedavra... Avada Kedavra... Avada Kedavra... Avada Kedavra...

'Avada Kedavra... Avada Kedavra... Avada Kedavra... Avada Kedavra...

'Avada Kedavra... Avada Kedavra... Avada Kedavra... Avada Kedavra...'

'...Please! Please don't kill me!..'

'...I kill dark wizards, it's what I do...'

'...You're a match for Voldemort; I reckon you can defeat him...'

'...It takes a dark wizard to defeat a dark wizard...'

'...I kill dark wizards, it's what I do...'

'...Go kill yourself then...'

'...Avada Kedavra...'

'Let go, Harry.'

'Ginny? Ron? Hermione? Hagrid? Dumbledore... what are you doing here?'

'Let the memories disappear. Let them float away. Let go, Harry, let go.'

'How?'

'Forget!'

'I don't know how!'

'Trust us...'

'Where am I? What's going on?'

'You're free.'

'I'm... free?'

...Harry woke dazed and confused, there was almost a surreal feel to the world, like he were waking from a long sleep. A sleep where he was dreaming a dream he couldn't remember. He was briefly aware of silence around him, the only sound the beating of his heart and heavy breathing. His eyes fluttered open; he had awaken from a dream. That explained the surreal feeling he had, but what had he been dreaming... He wasn't quite sure. Not used to the light that assaulted his senses, it took a while for Harry to adjust. 'What the hell?' he gasped sitting bolt upright. Immediately he regretted it. The moment he sat up a pounding started between his eyes, a deep throbbing pain, it felt as though his head had been hit by a blunt object; it was almost numbing in it ferocity. His confusion couldn't have been helping things either. Harry racked his minds, trying to contemplate what he was doing in... Hermione's?! office? Harry couldn't remember, in fact, he couldn't remember much at all. A mist seemed to have clouded his mind, a thick blanket cover that cloaked his every memory. Even the most important things in his life, names, places, faces... even these were hazy. Yet, despite this feeling, despite that it should cause panic, or in the very least unease... it didn't. Was this amnesia? He didn't know. All he knew, was that it felt great. Harry—despite the headache—felt the best he'd felt in a long time. It almost as though he'd been freed; though from what he didn't know... was it that Voldemort was finished? Voldemort was finished? It might be... Yet, something deep inside told him otherwise. This had nothing to do with Voldemort. Harry must have sat where he was for minutes, just reflecting on his happiness; his contentment. Slowly, one memory after another began to return, very slowly at first, but then the returning memories began to cascade, more memories filled his head ever faster, ever greater, it was nearly too much to take in; the haze began to lift.

Harry sighed, though for what reason he wasn't sure; it was just a sigh of contentment. Propping himself up, he got to his feet, finally noticing the feel of cold metal in his hand. With slight apprehension, he opened his fist. In his opened palm was a small blue medallion. His eyes widened in recognition, another memory flooding back; stronger then the others, it must be the most recent, and pretty important. At least he knew what he was doing in Hermione's office now; he'd come to use the Dynasty Pensieve mirror. For what reason Harry dare not guess.

His head once again gave a throb of pain and Harry stumbled forward, stopped only because of the huge oak desk. Unfortunately, the headache hadn't gone with the cloud that had swamped his mind; but thankfully neither had the feeling of happiness. 'Hmmm,' he said with quite reflection (Quite because if he spoke too loud it would aggrevate his headache further.) 'I wonder what memories I've wiped...' Harry paused abruptly, a voice in the back of his mind telling him he really didn't; this voice overrode any such principles of curiocity. 'Actually,' he added, sadly, 'I don't.' He shook his head, perhaps to silence the voice that was still calling for him to watch the memories he'd removed. 'I really, truley, don't.'

With all said and done, Harry left Hogwarts, making sure to leave everything how he'd found it; Hermione was extremely organised and would be sure to notice if anything was moved. Just before he left, he placed the Mirror key in it's compartment, and straightened the mirror itself; after putting it back on the wall. For some reason, contrary to how he'd been for years, Harry couldn't help but grin just for the sake of grinning. What had changed him? The only reason he grinned before was when Ginny cracked a joke! Nor could he help the bounce in his step or whistle on his lips... particularly when he thought of Ginny, or even his friends. He'd be with friends again, Hermione and Ron... Christmas at the Weasley's. Of course he and Ginny would get their own apartment, but Christmas was a time for families. Harry considered none more of a family then the Weasley's.

'I wonder what sort of decor Ginny wants,' Harry thought, pointlessly. 'She better not go all girly pink on me.'

That very day he would start his new life. He would disband the Order of Auror—which wouldn't be exactly hard as apart from he and Ginny there were only a few other auror's in the world that still used the name—and get another less dangerous job... Perhaps Hermione had a position for him, or there was always the ministry there would be a lot of vacancies there!

That day he had begun again; his second chance. A real chance, the way it should have been. Whatever memories he'd removed—forever stored inside the key—from existence, were gone. Whatever they were, whatever he'd done to warant such drastic action as removing... or adjusting them, he would make sure never do it again; or at least try. Whatever they were, it surley had something to do with Voldemort, and he was finished now....

Harry's past was behind him. He had done many terrible things he could still remeber: torture, spread fear, he'd even killed three people in his life. Three! Though it wasn't something he would ever be able to forget, in the end, he'd had no other choice; it was a life and death situation. His past was gone, forgotten, lost. His future? His future was just beginning. His future was five-foot-seven, red-haired and stunning. For the first for as long as he could remeber he truley felt himself again. Harry Potter was back....

'I wonder if I can stil fly like I used to!'

THE END...

No, wait, I want to do something really corny here:

THE BEGINNING...

Extended authors notes (Warning, warning, sappiness abound):

Well, there it is, the final chapter, all done. The final chapter; my first complete fic. The fic is finished. Done and dusted apart perhaps for an epilogue and a "fake" or "alternate" epilogue which is already written. I'm a little sad that the fic is finished, I had so much fun writing it ::sighs:: What started out as a three chapter excuse to turn Harry into dark-Harry has turned into a nine chapter, fifty-five thousand word plus fic with a storyline! Just goes to show you: I have no idea what I'm doing ::laughs out loud:: (LOL to you email savvy people).

When I first posted the fic, I didn't get any reviews whatsoever for a few day's, and got very worried that the fic was so crap it didn't warrant any reviews. I remember thinking at the time I would kill (Okay, not literally.) for just 10 reviews... well, at the time of this going out, there have been 21 reviews. That's over double what I hoped for! So I just wanted to thank from the bottom of my heart (i.e. my septum) all those that reviewed. More importantly, the fact that the reviews seemed to speak well of the fic, quelled all doubts I had about the fic. The following people warrant special mention:

No Reply (Who finally signed in!). Thanks for the feedback. As for the question, well, Marcus was just a plot device. I, yes, just used him to introduce the Order of Auror, The Two, and of course the Ministry Taskforce... as well as using him to throw a few hints about dear, Wormtail-sized rat, Cornelius Fudge.

Regina... Who sends me curses and bludgers via email. Thank you Regina, hope you don't send me a too bad curse for casting you in the last chapter ::ducks bludger:: Anyway... Regina... gotta thank Regina whose curses got my ass (Can I say that... Oh yeah, it's R-rated: I could say a lot more if I wanted... but I won't: I'm bloody well and English gentleman for heavens sake.) into gear... there's nothing like the threat of the Avada Kedavra curse to get you moving with a chapter!

Rhi... Fantastic author, wrote a brilliant H/G fic even though she doesn't find Harry particularly interesting to write (That's just enraging! That's just unfair!) Go read her stuff [::There, Rhi, I said it, now can you put that gun down?::]. Plus, not only is she a great author (Who needs to start her next fic!) but she's part Swedish as well, what is there not to love about her? Thank-you Rhi, my dear, for all your feedback and for encouraging me to "express myself" better! ::grins pointlessly::

Person... A yes: Person represents that little bit of person in all of us... or is it that complete person in each of us. Well, one thing we know about Person for sure, according to their biography, is that they're a person! Anyway Person, if you're reading this, thanks for the feedback... Oh yes, Person has a Harry Potter site as well: http://www.geocities.com/eeieeioooo/

Spitfyre, what can I say? You've reviewed every single chapter... You are like, my hero! By the way, did you guess right that Ginny stole the Marauders map? I'm not a particularly big fan of Draco either, of course I supposed you could say I like him in the "I like to hate him" kind of way. Same with Snape. But Draco would never hook up with either Hermione or Ginny in any of my fics; it would change his character too much (not to mention whoever he falls in love with). Besides, I think Draco is best as the nemesis of H, Hr and R... That, in my opinion, is his place in Harry Potter books. Oh yeah, you want the prequel fic finished? Well, I'm making it my priority now that this fic is practically finished, so "Rings of..." will be underway again, soon....

Raven of Death, with your very dramatic, and a little scary pen name... though aren't crows more often associated with death then Ravens? Anyway, if you're reading this, thanks for your feedback throughout the fic.

Kiara... You're review has greatly boosted a below average ego! I would have thanked you personally, only you didn't leave an email address so I'm thanking you now: "Thanks". I hope this last chapter answers all your questions and ties up any loose ends... What did you think of the bigger rat? Big, no? Twisty, huh? Once again, thank you for your kind words. Cheers! ::downs a pint::

One final thank you to my little sister who introduced me to the world of Harry Potter... though she'll never see this fic, at least for a while (It's R rated people!)... she's too little... at least she is in my eyes; she's my baby, 10 year old, sister.