Chapter Thirty-Nine: Ending It

October 30th, 1981 | Potter Cottage, Godric's Hollow, England, Great Britain | Earth-2A

For the second time, Harry Potter was sent flying out of the bright blue vortex, slamming face-first into the ground as the sound of the explosion rang out. He could hear yelling, gunfire, and spellfire. Fighting. In 1981? No. They'd been ambushed. Right when they left an explosion had occurred in the caves. Voldemort had attacked them. He was here. A second Voldemort was here, fighting them. Harry quickly jumped to his feet, grabbing his rifle off of the ground. He was quick, aiming it towards the source of the opposing size. And sure enough, Voldemort was there alongside a squad of Death Eaters. And beside them was a second Voldemort. He was clearly shocked by the whole endeavor but nonetheless turned back towards the Potter Cottage. Harry needed to stop him.

"Go!" Eleven shouted. "We'll cover you and Echo Squad!" Harry gave her an appreciative nod and sprinted off towards the Potter Cottage. While he ran, he examined the cottage and realized he had only two options. Run through the front door after Voldemort and potentially run out of time. Or jump into the second-floor window directly into baby Harry's bedroom. Harry went with the second option, jumping high into the air before smashing through the window. He ignored the screams of Lily Potter and the toddler Harry as he slammed through the bedroom door. He spotted the stairs and ran towards James Potter, who was facing Voldemort face to face. The Dark Lord - grinning madly - fired a killing curse at James, who was unprepared.

With speed and agility, he didn't have most of his life, Harry jumped clear over the stairway banister and dropped down in front of James. He took the killing curse to the back, though it did nothing against Harry's armor. That was good to know. These armors were impervious to the killing curse. James let out a terrifying yell, falling back onto the stairs while Harry spun to face Voldemort. Echo Squad had entered from the front door and were now surrounding Voldemort at the foot of the stairs. He was completely surrounded. Harry didn't give the psychopath a chance. He opened fire, with the members of Echo Squad falling suit. Before they could blink, Voldemort disintegrated into thin air. The hard-light modifications done to their assault rifles had worked. Good.

"What the bloody hell?!" James Potter exclaimed, his wand extended.

"Stay inside, Mr. Potter. Protect your wife and son. We'll handle the rest," Harry told his father. He had no interest in talking with the man or wasting any time reacting to his presence. Harry had work to do. Taking off at a sprint past Echo Squad, Harry exited the cottage and found that the fight was still ongoing. And even worse, it was at a standstill. Three members of Tango Squad were dead, and the rest of the group were held up behind a mound of debris. Voldemort's forces weren't looking any better. Several Death Eaters were dead, leaving Voldemort himself and a few others. Harry knew already that he had won. The Voldemort that would one day spread across the Multiverse was dead. The timeline was gone and the old one was restored.

Now Harry had three new missions. Kill this Voldemort, ensure his parents were murdered the following night by the real Voldemort, and go forward to kill Voldemort in 1996. If he survived while Harry 'died' in the Veil, then Harry couldn't be certain that another Voldemort wouldn't arise in another timeline ready to conquer to Multiverse. He had to end it at the source, after all. So Harry took off at a sprint, jumping over the rubble as he fired on the enemy. Several Death Eaters fell at once, disintegrating into nothing. With the wave of his hand, the debris on the ground suddenly lifted from the air. Exposing Voldemort, Harry sent the debris towards the dark lord, who was hit continuously by small and large pieces of concrete and shredded material.

It didn't take long to mop up what was left, and soon it was only a very injured Voldemort lying on the ground amidst where his forces had once been. They had all been incinerated. Harry motioned for the others to stop firing, his rifle lowering while he made his way to Voldemort. When he reached him, Harry knelt down beside the man. His smile could not be contained. This was the moment. The moment that he ended it. "Have you come to kill me, mysterious stranger?" Voldemort asked, his hands clutching the plasma wound in his lower abdomen. "Who...are you?" His smile still wide, Harry reached up to pull off his helmet, revealing his face. Voldemort let out a long deep sigh. "Harry...Potter,"

"Back from the dead,"

"You've come to kill me,"

"Of course,"

"It won't work. I have contingencies in place," Voldemort told him.

"The Horcruxes? Do you think I didn't catch those the instant I spotted you? They're gone, Tom. The connections you had with them are gone. You're mortal, Tom. And I'm going to enjoy proving it-," Harry reached down behind his back, unsheathing a glowing orange knife. "-with this. Its blade is covered in hard-light technology as well as concentrated plasma. When I stab you with this - and I will stab you with this - your inside will begin to bubble and expand. And once they're the size of basketballs, they'll burst and begin to fade into dust. The last thing you'll feel is the incineration of your heart and mind," Harry grabbed Voldemort forcefully by the jaw, pulling him closer. "And I'll be the last face you ever see,"

Without hesitation Harry drove the knife into Voldemort's abdomen, reveling in the scream of pain it produced. It happened slowly. Tom twisted and turned, his entire torso swelling as his organs enlarged. And then phase two occurred. Tom screamed again, the swelling in his chest disappearing as his organs disappeared too. "Goodbye, Tom," Harry spoke, his hand still gripping the man's jaw. And with one final scream of pain, the light behind Voldemort's red eyes died out. He was dead. Harry let go as soon as the rest of his body disintegrated, getting to his feet with a content smile. That was enjoyable.

"Harry?" Turning his head, he was met by James Potter, Lily Potter nee Evans, and an infant Harry Potter. Eleven, Alyssa, Val, Hermione, Neville, Astoria, and the Knights all joined his side. The two Potters were alternating from examing the disappearing corpse of Voldemort and their son from the future. They were clearly confused. But Lily smiled brightly. "You came back...to save us,"

"No," Harry replied honestly. This upturned the expressions on the Potters' faces. "I came to save them," Harry motioned to Hermione, Neville, and Astoria. "Voldemort created a new timeline tonight. One where I died and he took over the entire world. And other worlds. His forces were beginning to overrun my world. So I came back to end it and restore the original timeline,"

James took a deep breath, uncertain what he meant. "I...original timeline?"

"Where you two die tomorrow night. And I survive the killing curse thanks to the protection of my mother's love," Harry explained. Lily and James both exchanged horrified looks, but Harry stepped forward. "Voldemort will attack tomorrow night, having heard nothing about this night. When he does, the two of you must be in that cottage. James has to die on the base of the stairs. Lily has to die protecting me. And I have to reflect the killing curse back onto Voldemort. Only when his body is dead and his shade is all that's left will the original timeline be restored," At their still uncertain expressions, Harry continued. "Voldemort goes on to take over four hundred Earths. Killing almost four hundred Harry Potters. You can save all of them and trillions of people with two noble sacrifices,"

"You...want us to die," Lily spoke, clearly heartbroken.

"I do. Not for personal enjoyment, or for revenge, or whatever. But because I understand that your deaths and my survival are the keys to reviving the old timeline," Harry replied.

"What about Harry?" Lily asked, bobbing the distressed infant in her arms. "Where will he go?"

"To the Dursleys,"

"Absolutely not!" James exclaimed. "Why not Sirius? Or Peter? Dumbledore? Or even the Longbottoms?"

"Sirius will be arrested and sent to Azkaban Prison for the "murder" of Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles, though he will be innocent. Peter Pettigrew will betray you and offer your location to Voldemort. He'll go into hiding as a pet rat. Dumbledore will be unable to take Harry in. And the Longbottoms will be tortured into insanity by Death Eaters six days from now. But most importantly, the Dursleys were chosen due to their blood relation to you, Lily," Lily's eyes shot up in realization. She was as quick as Hermione. "The love protection you place on baby Harry tomorrow night will be built upon your blood. The blood you share with Petunia. When Dumbledore constructs wards around the Dursley home for our protection, he'll use that protection to fuel a blood ward. Harry will be protected from Voldemort and his forces until he turns seventeen. By then, he'll be able to take care of himself,"

"Ok...ok...what about You-Know-Who? Will he be dead tomorrow night?" questioned James.

"No. He'll live on in a shade kept alive by Horcruxes. But don't worry, my final act in this universe will be to kill him in the future. That will end it all once and for all," Harry replied.

"Ok...we'll do it. We'll stay," Lily decided. James - though visibly hesitant - gave a nod in agreement. After a minor discussion, the Potters returned to their cottage, leaving Harry to repair the damage done to the cottage and the street. Harry turned to Hermione, Neville, and Astoria. "This is your destination," Hermione moved to object, but Harry lazily raised his hand to stop her. "This is the most logical place to stay. If it all goes well, the old timeline will return and life will be easier for you. After tomorrow night, Great Britain will stand in relative peace for thirteen years. You'll be able to raise your daughter in peace until she goes to Hogwarts. And once she's there she'll be safe. But most importantly, you won't risk being confused for your younger selves. You can chalk it up to coincidence, seeing as you're twenty years older than them. The most you'll get is a comparison to your mother," He motioned to Hermione. "Your father," Harry motioned to Neville. "And your mother," He pointed to Astoria. "It makes the most sense for you to remain here,"

"I...he's not wrong," Neville told Hermione.

"No...he's not," Hermione replied. "But where will we go? We have no money. Nowhere to live,"

Harry opened a pouch on his side, reaching in to remove a shrunken chest. He handed it to Hermione, who examined it carefully. "It's filled with ten million galleons and a copy of my personal library. You'll be able to live off that for a long time. And you can go to Dumbledore. Despite the Potters' worries about him, he's a kind and caring man who will understand your dilemma. Don't hide anything from him and be truthful. He'll help you find a home to live in, and he'll hopefully let little Rose attend Hogwarts. She'll start Hogwarts with your younger self Astoria," Harry explained.

"This is...too much," Hermione spoke. "You've already helped us more than enough,"

"Hermione...I can never repay you for the help you've given me in my life. Even if you don't remember any of that. It's my turn to repay the favor by helping you," Harry said with a smile. With that, Harry motioned towards himself, and all those in MJOLNIR armor stepped forward. El, Alyssa, and Val grabbed hold of him, with the members of Echo Squad and the remnants of Tango Squad grabbing hold of one of the three women. Harry focused on the twelve people holding onto him, as well as himself and Athena, and they all disappeared in a flash of bright blue light.


June 18th, 1996 | Department of Mysteries, Ministry of Magic, London, Great Britain | Earth-2

Harry landed on his feet this time, something that was new for him and the other armor-clad members of his group. He was alert instantly, raising his rifle to fire on the few Death Eaters that stood in front of them. They were in the Time Chamber of the Department of Mysteries. Not far from the Veil room. Harry led the group away from the room and into the circular room full of doors. He remembered the pattern used by him and his friends to this day, and he stepped through one of the doors. It dropped them straight into the Veil room, where they were met with a very familiar scene. The battle that had resulted in Sirius' 'death' and Harry's jumping into the Veil. The younger Harry and Sirius were fighting Lucius Malfoy and another Death Eater.

The fight was exactly the same. Except for the presence of three individuals. A young girl fighting alongside the young Neville. And two cloaked figures fighting alongside the Order of the Phoenix. Harry identified them easily. Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and Rose Granger-Longbottom. They had integrated themselves into this timeline, and it seemed the young Harry had befriended their daughter Rose. Something Harry found odd, seeing as he didn't remember anything about her. But he focused on the fight. He was waiting for Bellatrix to arrive. She would fire a spell at Sirius - sending him through the Veil - before leaving the scene. If Harry followed her, he would find Voldemort.

With the armor-clad group hidden behind disillusion charms and invisibility camouflage, they all waited patiently for the fight to the finish. And it did finish, fairly quickly. Bellatrix appeared not far from Harry and the group, firing a curse right at Sirius, who fell back into the Veil. Harry was forced to watch his past, his eyes fixed on his younger self. He dived right into the Veil, being held back from the portal by Dumbledore and Remus, who each grabbed a hold of his ankles. They tried pulling his younger self out of the Veil, but to no avail. Hermione - the older one - ran forward, grabbing hold of his belt as she too began to pull. Harry frowned. Three people. He remembered Dumbledore and Remus pulling him, but he had never identified that third set of hands that had grabbed him.

It was all coming back to him now. The timeline - while the same as before - had changed so slightly that his mind was beginning to fill in the blanks. Harry remembered Rose. He remembered meeting her in his third year. She supported him in his fourth year alongside Hermione and Neville. And here she was in his fifth year, fighting alongside him. Harry remembered Hermione, a motherly figure to him just like Mrs. Weasley had tried to be. And Neville. He had been like a surrogate father to Harry before he met Sirius. All of the blanks were being filled, and Harry remembered everything. It was...weird.

"Sir, she's getting away," Alyssa spoke, motioning toward where Bellatrix was retreating back into the darkness. She was headed for the Atrium. Harry took off at a sprint after her, disillusioning his armor so that it appeared to everyone else that he was in nothing but normal clothes. He pulled out his holly wand, dashing up the steps four at a time before exiting the stairwell into the atrium. Harry ordered the others to stay behind, his legs carrying him right into Bellatrix. His superior speed slammed him right into her, sending them both into the ground.

"Get...off me," Bellatrix exclaimed. Harry didn't bother listening. He drove his hard-light knife into her side and wasn't surprised when a curse slammed into the back of his transparent armor. He spun around quickly, coming face to face with Voldemort himself. The man was wearing his classing short-sleeved cloak, and he was carrying his wand. His eyes widened in disbelief. Either because he had witnessed a killing curse being stopped in mid-air behind Harry, or because Harry Potter was alive and well killing his subordinate. Harry wasn't sure which, but he didn't particularly care. Voldemort sent another killing curse at Harry, but this time it didn't reach him. The headless golden statue standing on top of the fountain sprung forward, leaping off of its place before landing on the floor between Harry and Voldemort.

Harry spun around. "Dumbledore!" Voldemort exclaimed. And it was Dumbledore. He had arrived and was now moving to place himself between Harry and Voldemort. Something Harry found completely unnecessary. But thanks to the glamour around his body, he appeared as he did when he was fifteen. Both Voldemort and Harry were fooled. Tom fired another killing curse at Dumbledore but was unsuccessful due to Harry stepping in front of the curse. It hit his armor with no effect, further stunning the two wizards.

Dumbledore recovered first. "It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom," said Dumbledore calmly. "The Aurors are on their way -"

"By which time I shall be gone, and you dead!" spat Voldemort. He sent another Killing Curse at Dumbledore but missed, instead hitting the security guards desk, which burst into flames. Dumbledore flicked his own wand, forcing Voldemort to conjure a shining silver shield out of thin air to deflect it. The spell, whatever it was, caused no visible damage to the shield, though a deep, gonglike note reverberated from it, an oddly chilling sound..."You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?" called Voldemort, his scarlet eyes narrowed over the top of the shield. "Above such brutality, are you?"

"We both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom," Dumbledore said calmly, continuing to walk toward Voldemort as though he had not a fear in the world, as though nothing had happened to interrupt his stroll up the hall. "Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit -"

"There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!" snarled Voldemort.

"You are quite wrong," said Dumbledore, still closing in upon Voldemort and speaking as lightly as though they were discussing the matter over drinks. "Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness -" Voldemort decided that he wasn't interested in their delightful chat any longer, and threw another killing curse towards Dumbledore. Harry acted quicker than the older wizard, tossing a piece of debris toward the green light while also throwing another more powerful object. A knife. Not his hard-light knife, but a regular one he stored on his hip. The debris shattered upon impact with the killing curse, and the knife slammed straight into Voldemort's right lung.

He fell with a loud yell, slamming onto his back while his wand went flying. Harry knew the moment had come. He closed his eyes and examined Voldemort's broken and blackened soul. It had seven bonds. Six connected to this Earth, another connected to the Harry that was now being taken by Umbrella. Without hesitation Harry cut the bonds, severing Tom from immortality. It was done. This was it. Harry opened his eyes once more and slowly moved towards a now hysterical Voldemort. Dumbledore rushed forward. Trying to grab Harry only for his hand to hit the transparent suit. Dumbledore removed his hand but spoke nonetheless. "Harry. You cannot kill him. It isn't the -"

"It's the only way, Albus," Harry spoke. He removed the glamour and concealment charms, allowing his suit to appear once more. Dumbledore reeled back in shock at the appearance of the now 7' 1" armored Harry, unsure of what to do. Voldemort too tried to crawl back in fear. But Harry had planned for this. He had thrown down anti-apparation ward runes the moment he entered the Great Hall, as well as anti-portkey wards. Tom wouldn't escape this time. Harry reached down, grabbing the man by the throat, hoisting him up so that Tom's feet dangled a couple of feet off of the floor.

"H-Harry! You must stop this!" Dumbledore explained. It was then that the members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived, as well as the children. They all gathered to watch as Harry pulled off his helmet, revealing his face once more. Their eyes all widened in shock at his appearance, as well as his larger height. Harry turned to face the fireplaces within the atrium, where green lights were spreading. The Ministry workers began to pour out into a massive crowd. One led by Minister Cornelius Fudge. At the sight of Harry and the flailing form of Voldemort, the Minister gawked.

"Minister Fudge. Is this the proof you need that Voldemort is alive?" Harry asked, still gripping the back of Voldemort's neck. "IS THIS WHAT YOU NEED?!" He yelled, startling everyone in the room.

"W-W-What is this, Mister Potter?" Fudge asked.

"This is a demonstration of your incompetence, Cornelius. This is proof to every single person who was willing to shove their face in the sand instead of believing the truth. This is proof that the war was real and imminent. So imminent that Voldemort invaded the Ministry itself tonight. And none of you knew. None of you were here. If it hadn't been for the intervention of myself, my friends, and the Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry might have fallen into enemy hands tonight. And it would have been your fault, Cornelius,"

"Preposterous!"

"You still don't get it, do you, Cornelius? This isn't about you. Or me. Or anyone else here. It's about the entire system. We're stuck in the past! We use quills and parchments while the no-maj use computers that can think like humans! I've seen what revealing the magical world to the no-maj can do for both communities, because I've lived it!" Harry shouted. "And it all starts in moments like these. Radical moments that can take place in moments. A single event that pushes the world into a new era. One filled with peace and advancement. And that moment is now," Harry threw Tom down face-first into the ground, before raising his foot. Many screamed, knowing what was about to happen. With enough force to kill an elephant, Harry stomped down on the Dark Lords' head.

Fragments of the man's brain flew everywhere, and his skull was reduced to nothing but tiny fragments. Voldemort was dead. There were screams of horror throughout the crowds, and Fudge crumbled to his knees. He was in stunned shock. But Harry wasn't done. He stepped up to Cornelius, who tried to back away in fear. But he wouldn't go far. Harry grabbed his chin and hoisted him up to his feet. "Kingsley Shacklebolt!" Harry exclaimed, searching the crowd for the man. The Auror was behind Harry with the members of the Order. But he stepped forward immediately. He stepped to Harry's side. "Now listen here," Harry announced, addressing the crowd. "Cornelius Fudge is no longer the Minister of Magic. That role will be filled by Kingsley here. If anyone objects, speak now,"

As Harry suspected, no one made a noise. "Very good. Cornelius," Harry addressed, his grip tightening on Fudge's chin. The man whimpered in fear. "Will you pass on your role of Minister for Magic to Kingsley Shacklebolt?"

"Y-Y-Yes!" Cornelius shouted, clearly in pain.

"Good. And Kingsley Shacklebolt, do you accept the position of Minister for Magic?" asked Harry.

"I...suppose so, Harry,"

"This is a yes or no answer, Kingsley," Harry told him.

Kingsley frowned but gave him a nod. "Yes. I accept the role,"

"Good. Here this!" Harry shouted, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "From this day on, the Ministry will be the first world government to protest the Statute of Secrecy. And you will do so with the use of my memories. As I said before, I've lived in a world in which magicals and the no-maj live together in harmony," Dropping Fudge to the ground, Harry turned to Kingsley. He looked the man in the eyes and easily broke through the man's Occlumency shields. Once within Kingsley's mind, Harry began to dump everything there. The escape of Peter Pettigrew, the innocence of Sirius Black - though this didn't mean much seeing as Sirius was gone -, the revival of Voldemort the first time, and everything regarding the joining of magical and no-maj culture in Harry's universe.

When Harry removed himself from Kinglsey's mind, the man took in a long deep breath, stumbling backward into Nymphadora Tonks, who helped steady him. "Use those memories, Kingsley. Bring this Earth into the future," Harry told the man, who was watching him in disbelief. Turning towards the shadows of the room, Harry called out the rest of his armored friends. They exited the shadows, startling many. "We're leaving now. But I've created a bond with this world. If I sense that what I've instructed you all to do here today isn't done, I will come back and do it myself. This is a warning," It was a lie of course. He hadn't discovered a way to connect to or bond with a world. But it seemed to scare them enough to agree with him. And then with a flash of bright blue light...they were gone.