Chapter 27: Voldemort's Destruction

Ron Weasley woke up in his room and looked around. His two roommates Dean and Seamus were still asleep when he awoke. His sleep had been uneasy at best; and as he looked at the empty bed that normally belonged to his best friend, he remembered what had gone on the night before. After the sorting was finished, Minister Scrimgeour revealed himself to be in leagues with He Who Must Not Be Named and then the two people in Death Eater robes entered and the fight started then the students were evacuated.

He remembered Hermione explaining the situation to them after they had gathered in the common room, and now he felt an anxiety about facing the new day. He wondered what awaited him outside of his bedroom, and what exactly had happened last night. He decided that the only way to know for sure was to go out and see. He changed from his pajamas to a pair of jeans and a t-shirt his mum had given him for his last birthday. He then grabbed his wand, took a deep breath and set out.

He had his wand firmly in his hand as he made his way into the common room. He was going to go straight out to the grounds, but then he saw two items that attracted his curiosity. He saw a pair of glasses on a leg rest, and a black tank top with a sword and sheathe beside it on the ground nearby. He cautiously approached the area near the fireplace, ready for anything…or so he thought. The scene that awaited him there was one that would confuse and almost frighten him. He let out a small scream of surprise at what he saw when he turned around to face the couch.

He immediately recognized Hermione, and he saw that she was wearing a nightgown and was snuggled up, with a big smile on her face, next to a young man who he didn't recognize at first. After he saw the scar on his forehead however, he figured it was Harry.

He heard Hermione breath a deep sigh and stiffened at the prospect of her waking up and seeing him there. He relaxed when she stayed asleep and snuggled next to Harry even deeper. Ron couldn't help but think how wrong it was for him to see his two best friends like they were. But he knew that there would be time for explanations later. For now, he figured that Harry must have defeated Voldemort and that it was safe for him to back to sleep…but he found it difficult to sleep after what he had just seen.

About an hour later, Harry Potter opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was breathing in the scent of the beautiful girl lying next to him, her head leaning against his chest and her arms around him. He felt his right arm around her neck and his left arm holding her right hand. He breathed a contented sigh and then gave her hand a squeeze. Hermione awoke slowly and blinked before smiling at the young man next to her.

"Hey" she said to Harry as she fully awakened.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked her.

"That was the best sleep I have ever had in my entire life" she answered him with enthusiastic sincerity.

"Good" Harry replied before kissing her on the mouth.

Hermione gasped in surprise at first, but soon kissed him back and they both sat up on the couch. They rose to their feet and Harry picked up his tank top and glasses, then he remembered what he had done before he had come up to the common room.

"Oh no, Sean!" Harry exclaimed with fear and anxiety.

"What is it Harry?" Hermione asked slightly worried.

"Sean was in bad shape after his fight with Scrimgeour and Bill took him to the hospital wing."

Hermione understood what Harry's concern was and responded immediately; "we'll go to the hospital wing and check on him now."

Harry looked at Hermione and said, "You don't have to come with me."

Hermione answered him, "All this time I have been worrying about you being murdered or coming back and me not knowing you anymore. I don't want to leave you anytime soon."

"Alright" Harry answered, "let's go."

Sean woke up that morning to find himself in a hospital bed, something he had never experienced before, and facing very unfamiliar sights. He felt a tingling in his foot and in the other parts where he had been wounded, but it was obvious to him that his foot was the most serious of his injuries. He looked to the side of his bed and found Harry's urn on a table next to it.

"Sean!" he heard Bill's voice call out as he walked into the hospital with a drink in his hand that he quickly discarded. "Thank God you're awake," Bill said as he came up next to Sean's bed.

"Madam Pomfrey's office I presume" Sean said to Bill.

"You're correct" Bill answered.

As he said that, three other figures walked into the room. Although he had not seen them for years, Sean immediately recognized who they were.

"Tristan, John, David!" Sean called out as the three Scottish Knights entered the room. "You did alright then?" Sean asked them.

"Aye" Tristan answered, "but those Dementors were an odd bunch."

"Aye" John said as he took a bite of chocolate, "the wizards told me that one of them got a hold of me. All I know is that I felt like I'd never feel happiness again, thank God for the wizards there."

David then spoke, "the werewolves weren't much of a problem…nothing that some silver shotgun shells and your old fighting lessons couldn't a handle."

Sean was happy that all his friends had survived and that the battle had been an enormous success.

"How long was I out for?" Sean asked with concern and in a groggy voice.

Bill answered, "You nearly died last night, Harry brought you to Madam Pomfrey and she and I brought you here. As far as your injuries go they were all easily treated except for the one in your foot."

Sean was now conscious enough to notice that his wounds were pretty minor, comparatively speaking, with the exception of his bandaged left foot.

Sean then got a questioning look on his face, "What happened last night?"

Bill recounted to Sean how the werewolves and Dementors had dispersed shortly after he shot and killed Greyback. He then talked about how he, the Knights, and the other Order of the Phoenix members made their way into the castle and started fighting off Voldemort's forces. Then all of the sudden all the vampires either dropped dead or suddenly couldn't fight anymore and left. He then said that the Inferi and remaining vampires weren't a problem to destroy and that the Death Eaters that had been at the castle were either dead or now in Azkaban Prison. About that far into Bill's recap Harry and Hermione walked into the room.

"Thank God you're all right," Harry said as he came beside Bill.

"Hey Harry…Hermione" Sean answered referring to both of the new arrivals as he sat up on his bed.

Harry and Hermione had come straight over from the common room and hadn't changed clothes, Hermione was grateful that her nightgown was modest.

"I'm glad to see that you came out better than I did." Sean said speaking to Harry.

"Well," Harry answered giving Hermione's hand a squeeze, "I owe that to Hermione and her teaching."

A slight smirk crossed Sean's face, seeing his protégé with the love of his life made him happy.

About that time Sean noticed the strange looks being given and received by Hermione and the three Knights.

"Oh by the way" Sean said to break the silence. "This is Tristan, John, and David, the three Scottish Knights that came to help with the werewolves last night."

Harry and Hermione exchanged handshakes and greetings with the three Knights before Tristan spoke.

"Well, we had better be getting back to the monastery for purification."

"I hope to see you again sometime" Sean said to them.

"Aye" answered Tristan as he, John, and David came by Sean's bed to give him farewell embraces and then leave.

"You should go dispose of this," Sean said as he tossed Harry the urn. "Then I would appreciate it if you could apparate me back to the monastery, I need to do purification myself."

"About that," Harry said to Sean. "I talked with McGonagall and she said that the term will be starting a week later, with some kind of opening ceremony on Friday and then classes starting on Monday. Students can either stay here and wait, or go home for a few days." Harry paused before saying the next part, "and I was wondering if I could do purification with you?"

While Sean was surprised at this, he was delighted that Harry wanted to go through with the whole process of the Order of St. George.

"Of course" Sean answered, "but we need to be leaving in about an hour if you are going to be finished in time for the ceremony."

Harry shook Sean's hand and then told him to meet him by the white tomb when he was ready to go. Sean looked at Bill, who nodded to let Sean know that he knew what Harry was talking about, and then Sean nodded to Harry in understanding. Harry then made his way out of the hospital with the urn in one hand, and Hermione on his other arm.

They made their way to the river by the white tomb, Harry was wearing the same gear he had on the night before and Hermione (who had insisted on changing) was dressed in a pink t-shirt and jeans. It was a warm summer day outside and between the heat of the day and the heat coursing through their bodies as they walked together, completely in love, they were very comfortable.

They reached the white tomb, and the two of them stopped to contemplate for a moment. Hermione could tell that Harry had something to say and do here.

"I can leave you alone for a moment if you like" Hermione said to Harry.

"No," Harry answered, "I want you in my life forever, I want to share everything with you…I figure that should start now."

The two of them walked to the tomb of their former Headmaster. The area around it was clean and well kept; it reminded Harry of the opposite state that his parent's graves had been in before he and Sean cleaned the area up. Now that Voldemort was gone, he thought to himself, Godric's Hollow will probably recover and become what it once was.

Hermione squeezing his hand brought him back to the present, and the task at hand. He handed the urn to Hermione who took it in her soft and delicate hands. Every second that Harry was around her, he had to fight the urge to hold her and kiss her. He loved her so much, and he knew she loved him back.

Harry pulled off the top to the urn with his right hand and reached in to pick out a silver locket on top of the ashes. He held it in his hand a moment and then let the chain come over his fingers with the locket dangling down. He walked toward the tomb of his old mentor; Hermione walked a short distance behind him still holding the urn. Harry turned and put the top back on the urn, then began to speak to the white tomb before him.

"Well headmaster," Harry said with a tone surprisingly void of emotion considering where he was and what he had just gone through. "I did it," Harry continued to the tomb of Dumbledore. "I completed the training, I have mastered illegumency and occlumency, and I defeated Snape and Voldemort."

Harry paused and beckoned Hermione to come to his side where he put his left arm around her shoulder as he moved the locket to his right.

"Sean and I found who R.A.B. was, it was Scrimgeour. He turned out to be the head vampire, and Sean killed him at about the same time I killed Voldemort." Hermione reached up and squeezed Harry's left hand affectionately. "I don't need this anymore," Harry said holding up the fake horcrux, "you gave your life to get this, so I figure that it is better suited to decorate your grave."

Harry put the chain and locket in the palm of his hand and walked forward to the tomb while Hermione stayed behind. He paused one last time to remember all that the old Headmaster had done for him.

"I am forever in your debt Headmaster, and I want to thank you for all you did for me."

Harry then placed his palm on top of the tomb and held it there for a moment before moving it off and leaving the locket on top. Harry then performed the bow and salute that Sean did for his Sagart to the tomb of Dumbledore and stood up.

"He would be proud," Hermione said as she came up behind Harry and wrapped her free arm around his waist.

Harry turned around to hold Hermione in his own arms for a few moments.

"It's not done yet," Harry stated to Hermione who nodded and then gave him the small bag she had been carrying in her pocket.

The bag contained a small bit of gillyweed, not as much as Harry had used when he competed in the tri-wizard tournament nearly three years earlier, but enough for what he needed to do.

Harry gently took the bag from Hermione and opened it. He took out the weed and placed it in his left hand, he then gently took the urn from Hermione and spoke as he tucked it under his right arm.

"Wait for me?" he asked her as he prepared to carry out the final phase of Voldemort's destruction.

"I'll wait for you forever" Hermione said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and captured his lips in a brief but passion-filled kiss, which he happily returned.

Harry smiled as he put the Gillyweed into his mouth and swallowed it down. He knew he only had a few moments before he would be sporting gills and would need to get into the water, so he hurried into the lake, removing his wand from the waistband at his left hip. As his gills formed, he plunged himself into the lake, the added weight of the urn helping him to descend deeper faster. After he had sunk to a point where he couldn't see without using his wand to perform the lumos charm, he figured he had gone deep enough. He gripped his wand between his teeth and opened the urn.

Harry glanced as all that remained of his greatest foe floated in the water that surrounded him. It was fascinating to him that a being so powerful and feared was now reduced to the same dust that accumulated on his shoes when he didn't shine them for a few days. He watched the ashes of Voldemort and his horcruxes for a few moments before putting the top back on the urn and using his then free arm to swipe at the floating remains a few times to ensure that they were scattered. He then took the urn and threw it into the air, it did not go very high and began to sink, but this gave Harry time to get his wand from between his teeth and aim it at the urn.

"Obliviato!" Harry yelled as he pointed his wand to the urn and saw it reduced to mere dust particles.

He was about to breathe the refreshing sigh of having accomplished the impossible, but it would have to wait as his gills began to disappear. Harry swam for the surface at a calm but accelerated pace. He broke the surface and took in a deep breath.

His glasses were fogged, but he could see the shoreline easily enough and could now make out the outlines of three people waiting for him. He treaded water for a moment while he cleaned his glasses. He then recognized the two new figures as Bill Weasley and Sean O'Sullivan, the latter leaning against Bill to steady himself.

He came ashore and first approached Hermione who gave him a big hug and then kissed him right on the lips.

"Do you know any drying charms?" Harry asked after their lips parted.

"Of course I do," Hermione responded. "But you look sooo sexy right now with your ripped body and your wet skin-tight shirt and pants that I don't think I want you to be dry."

Harry gave her an amused look before Hermione, rather reluctantly, performed the drying charm on Harry.

"You ready to go then," Sean asked Harry.

"Yeah" Harry answered. He turned to Hermione; "I need to go back to the monastery with Sean for a few days. But I will be back here for the opening ceremony…save me a seat?"

"I won't let anyone else sit next to me." Hermione answered to Harry.

The two of them came together for a passionate kiss that had to have lasted at least twenty seconds as Bill and Sean turned to look away and give them some privacy. When Harry and Hermione came apart they rested their foreheads against each other and gazed lovingly into the other's eyes.

"I'll see you there then" Harry said to Hermione.

"I love you" Hermione said to Harry with resolute honesty.

"I love you too," Harry answered with equal emotion and sincerity as he lifted Sean's arm around his neck to support him…and then they vanished.