A/N: This story has fifteen chapters, the next chapter is an epilogue of sorts.
Harry did not return to Hogwarts for the start of the year. The DA did, so Harry was slightly relieved and slightly anxious at the same time. Now he had less people to have to command, but that also meant fewer people in the war against Voldemort. Yet, he knew it was best for the to continue their education. The only ones that stayed behind to help were Harry's closest friends, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. This made Harry slightly worried as well, but at least this way he could keep a closer eye on them to make sure they stayed out of harm's way.
They had successfully tracked down and destroyed five of Voldemort's seven horcruxes. A mouth organ in a haunted orphanage was among many of the enchanted objects in the several dangerous places that they had been. Harry guessed that the Diary in his second year had also been a horcrux, so Harry decided that they had probably destroyed six of the seven horcruxes, not five. Harry had been mortified beyond belief at the different, horrifying guards that Voldemort placed to protect his various fragments of soul. He was having some slight difficulty figuring out where the final horcrux was, however. It was frustrating him. He was raking through various memories of Tom Riddle through Dumbledore's pensieve, when suddenly he found something. Voldemort was terrorizing two small children from his orphanage in a small cave in the yearly outing. Harry smiled with grim satisfaction. Of course, Voldemort would put his horcrux in some place of special significance. Terrorizing small children from the accursed orphanage that he had lived at would definitely qualify as a place of significance—after all, the placement of most of his horcruxes had had to do with his childhood so far.
Harry pulled himself out of the memory and looked at James and Sirius, who had been watching him.
"There's a cave where he tormented a couple of kids. I'll bet it's in there," Harry sighed. They were so close. Six down, one to go. This past year had been a nightmare if he'd ever had one, and Harry was hoping that he could have this crackpot dead by New Year's. Then at least he could have a good new year and forget his awful past. Harry resolved that he would wait for Ginny to finish Hogwarts and marry her, and live out his days as a Quidditch player so as to avoid the horrors that being an Auror offered. At this point Harry would be glad if he never had to fight ever again. A peaceful death in his sleep at an old age seemed to be a comfort anymore, a luxury he probably wouldn't get. James and Sirius nodded at his words and went to inform the Order of where they were going to go do. Harry prepared by slipping into comfortable, warm clothing and getting out his wand. He felt that this one would be a long haul. When James and Sirius returned, Harry quietly told them where they were going, and that he wanted only James to come along. Sirius nodded in understanding and with two pops Father and Son were gone.
They arrived on a cliff. Harry could smell the salty sea air. It was terribly cold, and Harry was glad that he had had enough sense to dress warmly. James looked down over the cliff. "You're sure this is the place?" he asked. Harry nodded absently.
"Yeah, I'm sure." He said. "Come on. This isn't our final destination." With that, Harry began to climb down below via jagged rocks that made for foot and hand holds. Knowing that they had to do this, James followed. He knew enough from Voldemort to know that they couldn't simply apparate. When they were a little closer to the water Harry pointed. "See that? Where the water is swirling? That's the cave. It'd be faster if we jumped. The water will be cold, so be prepared," Harry said, and with that he jumped into the icy water below. Reluctantly, James did the same. Harry treaded water for a moment to light his wand, then, putting it in his teeth, he swan into the dark tunnel that was the cave. Eventually they came to a point in which it was possible to walk, and so Harry and James both did so, stepping up steps to a large cave. It looked to James to be a dead end. Harry walked around, feeling along the cave. "It isn't a dead end," Harry said, as if answering James' unspoken question. James had learned not to ask Harry how he knew things. He, like Dumbledore, worked in strange ways. He'd obviously picked up a thing or two from him. James guessed that having Dumbledore's memories had helped. James wasn't sure how much Dumbledore had actually put in his pensieve, but he guessed that it was a lot.
Harry stopped when he found a place. "This is the entrance. Hang on, I'm freezing." Harry muttered a drying spell and then a warming spell. "You should perform one on yourself as well." Then Harry muttered something, and the outline of the door appeared. "Huh. Interesting, Tom. Interesting." Harry mumbled.
"What's interesting?" James couldn't resist to ask. Harry just said simply,
"We must make blood payment to pass." James sighed. This wasn't too uncommon for Voldemort, he had noticed. Moody, who had already lost so many body parts, had already had to give a finger to let them pass through some of Voldemort's guards. Harry took out a silver knife. He had been prepared for this. He made a shallow, diagonal slice across his hand and allowed it to drip on the stone. It opened as predicted. Harry gestured for James to follow him through.
It was completely dark, so Harry and James both lit their wands (Lumos Maximus) and continued though to a cavern. They were standing on the edge of a great black lake that emitted an eerie, greenish glow. "Don't step in the water," Harry warned. "Don't touch it even a little." James made sure he was careful to obey his son. They walked on for a while until James became frustrated.
"Can't we just summon the thing?" he asked. Harry gave him an amused expression.
"Sure. Be my guest," he said. James obliged confidently. There was a noise like an explosion and something large and pale erupted out of the water about twenty feet away and then vanished. James' eyes were wide.
"What was that?" he asked in alarm. Harry shrugged.
"Not sure. Something to stop us, of course. Come on then," Harry said. They continued on for a while until Harry stopped. "Aha," harry said. James looked around, bewildered.
"Aha what?" he asked. Harry smiled.
"Found it," he said. He tapped the air with his fist and wand, and out of nowhere a copper chain fell into his hand. He tapped it with his wand again and it was pulled through his hand and into a coil on the ground steadily.
"This is the horcrux?" James asked doubtfully. Harry grinned.
"Oh no," he said. "But it will help get us there. Look." James obeyed. There was a boat coming toward them. It reached the shore with a gentle bump.
"Are we going to get into that thing? Is it even safe?" James asked. He always felt very ignorant in matters of Voldemort whenever he was with his son, which seemed terribly ironic and terribly sad for the boy. Harry nodded.
"Should be," He got into the boat. "Quickly." James got in the boat as well and they set off. "Watch out," Harry warned and James turned inside the small boat in alarm. A cold, dead, white hand was clasping onto the side of the boat. "Wasn't meant for two wizards," Harry mumbled as he set the hand on fire. It recoiled. Harry cast a speed charm on the little boat and soon they reached an island. "Out. Fast." James was used to his short, unexplained directions and quickly followed. "We'll have to fight them soon, but they're slow."
"Inferi," James said. Harry nodded.
"Disgustingly, yes." Harry sighed. He turned to a basin that emitted a green glow. He stuck his hand near it. "Can't touch it…hmph." He conjured a goblet. "Has to be drunk…make sure I keep drinking." James looked at him in alarm.
"Are you INSANE?" James shouted. Harry looked at him, an eyebrow raised.
"No. It's the only way to get the horcrux. I must do it quickly before the inferi catch up with us. He dipped the goblet into the basin. "Cheers," he said, and drank up. When he finished, he said. "No…it won't kill me. In fact, me it won't even harm." Harry took goblet after goblet until the inferi finally started to show up. James threw flaming curse after curse at them until Harry yelled in triumph as he grabbed a locket at the bottom of the basin. He helped his father with the flame and they both jumped into the boat. Harry cast another speed charm, and the inferi, distracted by the ring of fire around them, did not seem to notice. "One alone could not have done it," Harry murmured and as they got out of the boat on the other side, Harry sighed mournfully. "I know where Dumbledore rests, Dad. It is here. Once it's all over, we must come and destroy this evil place." Harry took his goblet and dipped it in the water, taking a swig. "It breaks the curse," he explained. The two left and, once they'd reached the water outside, they apparated away.
Once they were at the house, James couldn't help but ask.
"Harry, what curse was there? You didn't seem to react to it at all." Harry smiled woefully at him.
"Oh, I was effected all right, but it didn't do much to me. You see, the potion made you relive guilty moments and brought back the guilt ten-fold. I don't have much to feel guilty about, so it didn't do much to me. To a normal, sinful person it would have incapacitated them. I fear it did that to Dumbledore, and the inferi got him. Normally, one could not go through that ordeal alone." Harry took the locket out of his pocket. "I'm afraid we did all of that for nothing, though." James' eyes went wide.
"What do you mean?"
"This isn't a horcrux," he said. He opened up the locket. A piece of very old parchment fell into Harry's hands. He smiled when he read it. "No worries," Harry said. "They've all been destroyed anyway." Harry gave him the parchment. "Bravo, Regulus, bravo." James took the note and knew what he meant. James gave a weak smile. They apparated from the Order's HQ, Number Four Grimmauld Place, to back home where they called Sirius in. They gave him the note and told him that his little brother had died in honor, not as a snake. Sirius looked shocked, and he quickly excused himself. Harry and James didn't blame him—a man had the right to cry in private. Harry sat with grim satisfaction. The Horcruxes were all destroyed now. There was only one last thing to do, and that was to go after the big guy himself.
Harry got his chance not too long after the Horcrux. The death eaters decided that another attack on Hogwarts would be a good idea. The Order members there held them off until they all came. Harry searched for Voldemort himself. He found Voldemort standing there, waiting. Harry stood across from him.
"Ah, Mr. Evans. I was wondering when you would join me," he said cordially. Harry inclined his head and raised his wand.
"Mr. Riddle. I was wondering when you'd stop cowering and show yourself." This of course, made him angry, and the duel began. Harry was terribly bloody and he had a few near scares with the Avada Kedavra curse, but then Harry thought of his father, of Ginny, of Ron and Hermione and all of the people who loved him and who he loved, of all the people he needed to protect. He felt warmth wash over him and he put all the power he had in him and all the love into one curse—petrificus totalus. Voldemort went rigid and fell to the floor. Surprisingly, even with his legimens he hadn't been expecting it. Harry knew immediately that the love that he had had protected him. Harry squatted over him. "By the way," Harry said, "My name's been legally changed. I'm Harry Evans-Potter, weren't you informed?" Harry held a twisted smile. "I guess Voldemort isn't all knowing after all. Goodbye, old enemy. May your death be as horrific as your life." With that Harry pointed his wand at him, and, instead of in hate did he raise it, but in mercy. This man didn't deserve to die—he deserved a fate worse than death, but he was too dangerous to keep around. He had to protect those he loved. "Avada Kedavra." A white light erupted from Harry's wand. It hit Voldemort, and the Dark Lord was no more. All that was left of him was a black mark on the polished marble floor. Harry pocketed his wand and walked away.
Overall, the day was a good day. There were many deaths in that final battle, but Voldemort was finally gone. The Dementors were back to obeying the Ministry, and all of the death eaters were imprisoned. There were celebrations. Harry really wouldn't remember much of that night, or of the nights that whole week, but he remembered that it was a good, fun week indeed. Harry sighed as he collapsed onto his bed in his Father's house. Yes, this was where he belonged. This was how he belonged. He smiled. He liked his new destiny—to live out his life with those he loved. Yes, it was a good fate indeed.