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Chapter 20

Dumbledore was shocked at Harry advocating for the use of the Dementor's Kiss. He was going to object to it on principle but then thought about it. Nothing he or Harry said could save Peter or Junior from that fate, that had been the law ever since the British ministry had started using Azkaban as a prison. It was part of the treaty they had with the Dementors, there were certain crimes that had to be an automatic Kiss sentence. As for Tom, there was no hope of saving him, he had progressed so far down the road to darkness that his very existence was an affront to the natural balance of both magic and nature. Also, while it may not solve the problem permanently, it would be a major setback as the part of Tom with the most knowledge and experience would be gone. The remaining portions would only know what they knew when they were separated, so whatever they learned since is separated from what the main soul had learnt. But that couldn't be the right answer, could it? Dealing with Tom's darkness was supposed to be countered by light magic and acts of love, not by one of the darkest creatures that magic ever spawned.

Dumbledore almost considered that Harry had gone dark, with what he had done to the Malfoy heir and now to Voldemort and his Death Eaters. It was as if Harry was trying to be as destructive as possible while staying just inside the law. When dealing with young Draco, Harry had shown mercy too, giving the boy a path to remain out of Azkaban and a way to keep his family alive. And even now, as Harry stood there convincing the minister to call for a few Dementors to meet them outside the gates to Hogwarts, he stated that 'He' wouldn't allow the monsters onto the school grounds. And all the time he was comforting Miss Granger, someone that it was clear Harry loved. Dumbledore was staring at what, to him, was something he thought was impossible. Harry was a true contradiction, dark and light, and Dumbledore had no idea how to deal with that.

Harry found that Fudge wasn't that hard to convince, especially as there were more than a few Wizengamot seat holders watching the the final task who had come over to see what was going on, and who had recoiled in horror hearing Harry explain that the child was in fact a homunculus that was housing what was left of the spirit of Voldemort. Fudge would much rather that headlines read that Voldemort was defeated than accuse him of not taking decisive action, so he sent Kingsley to retrieve a Dementor. Harry, who was floating the three prisoners in front of him, was surprised by the number of people who were following them. Of course, Sirius who had joined them not long after Hermione, but three members of the Wizengamot also came to act as witnesses and a few members of the public decided they wanted to see this for their own reasons. Harry thought they were out of their minds; if he could be anywhere else while this was happening he would gladly take the opportunity. The only student apart from Harry who was with them was Hermione, a few others had tried to follow them but Professor McGonagall rallied the teachers and they collectively put their feet down and sent the rest of the students to the castle. Dumbledore and Snape were the last two to go with Harry and the minister.

They got to the front gates long before the two Aurors got there. The group stood around in silence as they waited, almost as if magic itself had decided to cast a silencing charm on the whole area. Harry had once read a line in a novel Hermione had lent him, "the quiet was so silent that it was screaming at them". At the time, Harry had thought the line pure fantasy, a writer trying to be poetic, but as the minutes ticked by he was forced to reconsider that idea. Suddenly, there was a rush of wind and Kingsley returned via portkey with Amelia Bones, the head of all the departments that made up the D.M.L.E. Harry could understand Kingsley going to her to cover his ass, Fudge had basically just signed off on an execution without a trial. While it wasn't a true execution, because Voldemort still had a Horcrux out there, there was no way for the minister, Kingsley or Director Bones to know that. And even though Harry didn't think there would be any backlash over denying Voldemort his right of trial, it was normal they would want to check.

Harry conjured his Patronus and he and the other witnesses retreated back into the warmth and protection the stag offered from the tall robed figure that had arrived with the two Aurors. Almost everyone there looked shocked at Harry casting such an advanced spell, except Hermione (who had seen his patronus plenty) and Dumbledore (who already knew time travel was involved). Kingsley revived Crouch and forced some Veritaserum that the director had brought with her down his throat. She asked him how it was that he had escaped Azkaban, but more importantly had him confirm the identity of the other two. Once it was confirmed that Voldemort was in the homunculus, Crouch went on to describe how Bellatrix and Pettigrew had created the homunculus for Voldemort's spirit to inhabit.

Harry thought it was going to be the execution that upset him, but it was the description of the torture and murder of seven 'innocent' muggles that reintroduced Harry to the cereal bar and Lucozade that he had consumed in the maze. Hermione, who looked just as sick as Harry felt but who had managed to keep from being sick by virtue of having not eaten recently, pulled out her wand and cleaned up the mess and hit Harry with a very welcome breath freshening charm. The last question Crouch was asked he was unable to answer, when asked where LeStrange was he simply said "I don't know."

They didn't bother reviving Wormtail or Voldemort, and Harry stunned Crouch before he was given to the Dementor. When Director Bones asked Harry why he had done that, he replied, "It's all well and good to execute the man, but there is no need to torture the man with fear first." A few looked like they wanted to protest, but Dumbledore and Bones both just nodded at Harry. It was obvious the two of them understood what he was saying. They all watched as the Dementor picked up Crouch with one hand and pulled his hood back enough so that Crouch's head was able to slip into the folds. There was a bleak glow of pale light and the dementor released Crouch Jr, who collapsed back to the floor.

Director Bones hit Crouch with the Reenervate spell but Crouch didn't move, so she hit Crouch with a stinging hex. There was a small flinch from the sudden pain, but apart from that nothing. There was no Crouch Jr any more, just an empty shell. "The sentence has been carried out. Bartemius Crouch Jr has passed from this world," said the director, the words having some ceremony to them. Harry suddenly had a thought and was glad that Voldemort had been stunned; the last thing they needed was for Voldemort to flee his current body and dive into Crouch. Harry wasn't sure but he guessed that without a soul of its own, Crouch's body would accept Voldemort in a way Quirrel's body never could.

Once they were done with Crouch, they moved on to Peter Pettigrew. The only real difference here was that Sirius got the mad look in his eye that Harry had only seen once in the previous timeline, in the Shrieking Shack when Harry still believed that Sirius was the one to sell out his parents. Harry knew that the man would flip flop back and forth for probably the next month, on one hand happy that the betrayer had been dealt with and the other morning the loss of his old friend 'Wormy'. Harry could understand that, the reason betrayal hurt so much was because you still had all the positive memories and feelings that were now tainted. Peter Pettigrew passed in the same manner as Crouch Jr. and Director Bones once more checked the living but lifeless body before making the pronouncement.

For all the anticipation in the crowd of witnesses, Voldemort's execution was almost exactly the same as the previous two, with one notable exception. When the Dementor sucked out what was left of the soul, the light that glowed for about a second during the kiss was blood red instead of the silvery white that had come from everyone else. As the light flashed Harry felt his scar burn, only for a second but it was still the worst pain he had felt since coming back in time. He winced and caught Dumbledore giving him a knowing look. Director Bones once more did her test but when it came to pronouncing the death of Voldemort she hesitated. Harry realised what it was and so gave her what she needed. "Tom Riddle. That's his legal name."

Whispers broke out among the crowd as Harry casually gave out one of the biggest secrets in the country, but Director Bones ignored it and made her announcement. "The sentence has been carried out. Tom Riddle has passed from this world."

As soon as the director had finished, Harry had what must have been the weird experience he had ever had. He had a flash of memories but each one was less than a second long and had a person saying a single word before moving to the next. - My. Task. Is. Complete. I. Will. Return. Now. - Suddenly the dementor disappeared, sinking into the shadows. Harry realised that this must be how the Dementors communicate, a combination of Legilimency and making you relive your memories. It was both strangely interesting and disturbingly creepy.

-ϟϟϟ-

After everyone had left, Harry found himself in a room he didn't recognise, sitting on a sofa with Hermione's arms around him. The last thing he could clearly remember was asking Hermione if he was a bad person. He tried to remember how he got from the hallway where he asked that question to an unknown room that looked rather comfortable, with large French windows that were open to let a cool breeze to tackle the summer heat. The only other thing he could say was he thought he saw Hermione walking up and down the seventh floor corridor - The Room of Requirement.

Harry turned to look at Hermione and found she was looking at him in concern. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" Hermione's voice was soft and she was being careful like she didn't want to spook him.

Harry told her about what he did, how Krum had called him cruel for using fire and not using the killing curse. How he had killed the snake by letting it bleed out from his wounds and how he had fed people to a Dementor. He hadn't just let the law deal with the three prisoners, he had actively encouraged the Minister of Magic to have all three kissed with no trial or them having any chance to defend themselves. Not just killing them, their souls were eaten, destroyed as far as wizards could tell. He had taken part in the destruction of souls, knowingly, willingly. He was a monster now.

Hermione strongly disagreed with that. "Harry, you are not a monster. You are one of the best people in the world. Ten years ago when I had to leave you to go after Quirrell on your own, I said you were a great wizard Harry. You have spent the time since then proving me right. Monsters don't feel like you do right now. Monsters have no remorse for killing people. You feel bad for killing those that clearly are monsters." Hermione hugged him closer, pulling his head onto her breast as she tried to sooth his heart.

"But I had people killed, Hermione. How am I ever going to be OK again?"

"With time, Harry. Maybe try talking with people who have been where you are right now. Maybe someone like Mad-Eye, I'm sure he had to kill in the blood war."

"I'm not sure Mad-Eye is a good person to copy here. The mad part of his name has nothing to do with his eye, after all." Harry quipped.

It wasn't that funny, but Hermione laughed anyway as it broke the tension a little. "Maybe he is a few fingers short of a trifle, but you wouldn't call him a monster would you?" Hermione pointed out.

He had to give her that point. Of all the things that you could say about the man, the only part of him that you could call monstrous was his appearance. "But what if this is only the start? I still need to deal with LeStrange and what is left of Tom. Plus we still need to decide what to do with Snape. What if this is just the tip of the iceberg? What if I became nothing but a killer?"

"That would never happen, Harry," Hermione said. He tried to say something but she put her finger on his lips. "Just listen for a moment, Harry. "There is so much more to you than some Chosen One. You love flying, you want a family and a real home. You are great with magical creatures, you are a great teacher. You are so much more than you give yourself credit for. We just need to get past some obstacles before we can start building the life we want to have. And I promise you, if you ever start to forget I will be right there to remind you who you are and why we are doing this." Once Hermione finished talking she climbed into his lap so that she was facing Harry, her legs either side of his, and she leaned down and claimed his lips with hers.

She knew that what he needed right now was a distraction, and a reminder that the world was not some joyless hellscape, that hope and happiness were still there. As she kissed him, Hermione started to unbutton Harry's shirt. This life had been good for him, especially physically; without being sent to the Dursleys every summer to be half starved, Harry had been able to fill out with a bit of muscle. Plus, with his training for the Triwizard Tournament, that muscle (while lean and wiry) had enough definition that Hermione felt a small thrill as she ran her hands over them. She could actually feel as the stress and tension started to leave Harry as his muscles started to relax.

-ϟϟϟ-

It hadn't taken Fudge long to get the story out to the papers, it was in a special evening edition of the Prophet the very next day. The story, written by Rita Skeeter, heaped praise on both Harry and Minister Fudge: Harry for winning the Triwizard Tournament and defeating Voldemort again at the same time, and Minister Fudge for his quick and decisive handling of the situation. The article also mentioned what happened to Crouch Senior. He was sent to a secure ward at St Mungo's for evaluation after being the victim of the Imperius curse. Unfortunately for him, as soon as the healers decide he is fit, he would be facing charges for assisting in a prison escape and prolonged use of an Unforgivable curse. The speculation in the paper was that Crouch will probably avoid the Dementor's Kiss for the charges due to his long history in the Ministry, but that he would probably face the life sentence in Azkaban for his crimes. Harry wasn't sure how he felt about Crouch Senior. On one hand, he had broken an unrepentant Death Eater out of prison, one responsible for torchering Neville's parents into insanity. But it was his son, Harry could at least understand why the man had done it.

Harry had once again become infamous inside Hogwarts, he couldn't go anywhere without the whispers following him around. The first time he had walked into the hall after the Prophet had published the story, almost the whole school had stood and clapped for him and people kept coming up to him and thanking him for what he had done. Often the people thanking him would tell him a story of a family member that they barely remembered or that they had grown up hearing stories about who had died in the blood war. The more they thanked him, however, the more hollow Harry felt. Hermione had helped him get over the hump that had developed because he had helped kill three people. He wasn't okay with what he had done but he was improving. However, he knew that it wasn't over. Voldemort still had one more horcrux, and Harry had no idea where the cup was located. The war wasn't over yet, but people were praising him like he had won.

The one handshake Harry was happy to accept was the one from Neville. Harry's roommate had come up to him in the dorm room the night after the paper had published the story and thanked him, telling Harry the story of what had happened to his parents. Harry just listened as Neville told him the story, all the time thanking him for dealing with the man who was eventually one of their killers.

During the last couple of weeks of term, Harry had taken to hiding from everyone but Hermione in the Room of Requirement. It was easier to hide away (especially when he didn't have classes to attend) than to put up with all the whispering. While most of the whispering was more positive (at least if you consider 'Oh Merlin, there goes Potter, isn't he amazing?' to be positive), there were still a few who definitely were not members of the Harry Potter fan club. While a lot of them were in Slytherin, there were some people in every house that were shooting him dark looks and were saying things in harsh whispers when they saw him. That's not to say that all of Slytherin was bad; a number of the green-robed students came up to him and thanked him for what he had done. He just hoped that over the summer everyone would calm down and he could go back to the more quiet life he had enjoyed since coming back in time.

Yeah, and he better get started on practising using the Wingardium Leviosa spell on large heavy mammals, because the wizarding world would treat him normally when pigs fly.

-ϟϟϟ—

Bellatrix LeStrange stepped into her vault and her eyes fell on the chalice that her master had entrusted her with. Her master had sent her to retrieve it as he would need the restorative magics that the cup processes to speed up his full recovery after he finished his restoration ritual.

The hardest part had been getting into Gringotts without being seen. Well, that and not killing the goblins for taking so long to verify her identity because she had no idea where her old vault key was after all these years. The goblins, filthy creatures that they are, at least only cared about their contracts and how you behaved in their bank. You could murder half the world, and as long as you followed your agreements with them and behaved in their bank, then they didn't care what you had done.

Bellatrix picked up the chalice from the pedestal she had placed it on, a treasure of her master's deserved pride of place in her vault. As her hand closed on the golden metal, she could feel the power of her master humming inside it. She ran her finger over the badger that was engraved into its surface and frowned. The badger engraving was the only part of the artefact that had never felt like her master's power. It was almost as if that one part of it had refused her master. She wanted to destroy it for refusing him, but his instructions had been clear. She was to protect the artefact at all costs and his word was law.

Her prize in hand, Bellatrix also collected a mokeskin pouch from a drawer of them and stuffed it full of gold, as a sack of gold was always useful. She returned to the goblin that was waiting nervously next to the cart. The disgusting little creature was annoying, but killing it would just cause problems that she couldn't deal with alone. "Take me back up NOW!" she ordered.

The goblin bowed deeply to her. "Right away Lady LeStrange."

As they travelled up the tunnels, Bellatrix drew a small flask from her handbag and finished off the second half of the potion just before they arrived at the main floor of the bank. It was a woman in her forties with short blond hair that stepped out of the cart and left the bank. Bellatrix had an appointment with her master she was running late for. She had been devastated when she returned to the graveyard and found that her master hadn't been restored, but she was absolutely distraught a few days later when she managed to get an old copy of the Daily Prophet. Discovering what the Potter brat and the bumbling fool of a Minister of Magic had done had almost broken her. At least, until she felt her master's magic in the cup. There were old stories about becoming immortal, even children's tales about such a feat. The Warlock's Hairy Heart had never been a favourite of hers, but if any wizard could figure something like that out it was her master.

With those thoughts to keep her calm, Bellatrix LeStrange was able to recall some instructions her lord had given her if something like this were to happen. So she got everything she needed.

An atheme. She looked at the ritual dagger in her hand. Check.

A stone altar that had been in use for at least 250 years. The country was full of really old churches; she had just picked one suitable for her needs.

The heart's blood of a virgin. The stupid muggle teen on the altar had provided that, just a dumb teen who had followed her at the prospect of losing the very virginity that was the only thing that made him a use to her.

Bellatrix squeezed the boy's heart, milking the blood into the chalice. "My lord, my master, my love, may you return to us. With this you shall rise more powerful than ever before." Bellatrix recited to herself, before picking up the chalice and drinking the heart's blood in one swift gulp.

A/N

A few fingers short of a trifle - this is part of a British turn of phrase when calling someone crazy, the idea is that you pick something and say something is missing from it. For example: a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic, a few grapes short of a fruit salad, or a few crumbs short of a fruit cake. While food is the most commonly used medium for this type of phrase, you can use anything. The fingers in the trifle refer to fingers of sponge cake that layer the bottom of a trifle.

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