Disclaimer: I'm afraid that my limited brain capacity would never allow me to produce such a wonderful concept as Harry Potter, nor would my finances allow me to buy him. Therefore, I regretfully state that I own neither Harry Potter, nor any other characters that you may recognize. I'm not even sure if I own the plot.

Note: I'm assuming that you already know the basic story of Harry Potter from books 1 through 5.

'Italics' stand for thoughts/letters or text

Chapter Nineteen: Freedom

Day Eight, Afternoon:

"Mr. Potter?"

Harry turned away from his reunion with his friends and looked questioningly at the witch behind him. "Yes, Madam Bones?"

"May I have a word with you in private?"

"Um, sure." Shrugging apologetically at Ron and Hermione, Harry followed Madam Bones into a small room, presumably someone's office.

"Sit down," Madam Bones invited, motioning to a chair. "Don't worry; you're not in trouble. I just wanted to ask you some questions."

"Er, okay," Harry agreed uncertainly. "What do you want to know?"

"You said in the trial that when asked to take the Mark, you agreed because you were surrounded by Death Eaters. Is that right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now, my question is, why were you in this situation? Were you kidnapped?"

"N-not exactly," Harry stammered, not knowing what to say.

"Mr. Potter, I need to know. The other members of the Wizengamot are going to demand an explanation soon."

Dumbledore saved Harry from having to answer by entering the room at that moment. "Amelia, how are you today?" he greeted her. "Is there a problem with Mr. Potter?"

"I'm fine, Albus, thank you," Madam Bones replied. "No, there's no problem. I just wanted to clear something up. Perhaps you could help explain how Mr. Potter here ended up in You-Know-Who's presence once again?"

"Ah. Well…that is a bit of a delicate matter," Dumbledore said carefully. "To put it simply, Mr. Potter was removed from his location against his will and brought before Voldemort."

Madam Bones raised an eyebrow. "Do you know who removed him?"

"Yes. The person at fault has been taken care of," Dumbledore assured her.

"And what happened after that? How did Mr. Potter escape?" Madam Bones wanted to know. "I take it he was responsible for the explosion that killed three dozen Death Eaters?"

"Indeed."

"What about You-Know-Who?" Madam Bones demanded. "Is it true that he's gone? The Minister — excuse me, ex-Minister — wouldn't give me a straight answer."

The twinkle in the Headmaster's eye intensified. "Voldemort is indeed gone, Amelia. Cornelius was trying to hide the information, so I decided to wait until after the trial to announce it."

"We need proof," Madam Bones pointed out skeptically.

"I have a Pensieve memory," Harry offered, drawing the witch's attention back to him. "Will that be enough proof?"

"I believe it will be," Madam Bones approved, a barely concealed joy in her expression, as she contemplated Voldemort's defeat. After a moment, she looked at Harry. "That was all I wanted to know, Mr. Potter."

Recognizing the dismissal, Harry headed for the door, but turned back when Madam Bones called his name again. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Mr. Potter…thank you," Madam Bones whispered sincerely.

"I…really…I didn't really do anything," Harry stated honestly, but the elderly witch merely waved his words aside.

"You had the courage to stand up to that monster. If we had all had that same courage, maybe this war wouldn't have lasted this long. At any rate, you have my deepest gratitude for what you have done."

Not knowing what to say, Harry nodded in acknowledgement before leaving the room. Outside, Ron and Hermione tackled him.

"Why the serious look?" Ron demanded. "You-Know-Who's gone, and you're free, Harry!"

"Free?" Harry repeated quizzically. Slowly, a grin spread across his face. 'I'm free,' he thought to himself in disbelief. 'Free from the Prophecy at last…I'm free!'

Throwing his head back, he laughed and walked out of the courtroom.