"How is this possible?" The minister of magic seemed to speak for everyone as he looked at the recently released Harry Potter who had just brought You-know-who's dead body in the middle of the crowded Ministry of Magic.
"Well, after I got out of prison for a crime I did not commit, I decided to go on a little mission. That mission consisted of me killing Voldemort. Since none of you have been doing shit to stop him, I thought I should give it a try. I am the boy-who-lived and it was expected of me before I went to Azkaban that I would eventually kill the dark lord. Obviously, it worked out. The dark lord is dead. Would you believe that It was particularly easy to kill him?" Harry said with a cheeky smile that did not seem to please the majority of the people present in the ministry.
"But, how? How did you defeat him? We're tried for years. He mustn't be truly dead." Dumbledore who Harry had not even spotted in the crowd said with a baffled expression on his weary face.
"I guess you didn't try hard enough, did you? This where you are wrong. Your order was incompetent. Non-lethal spells and a barely there resistance wasn't going to do the job. Immediate and lethal action should have been your preferred way of fighting. I do have to thank you for destroying three out of the seven horcruxes Voldemort had. It really helped me kill the bastard. Yes, I do know about Tom's dirty little secret. Luna was nice enough to tell me about it after she heard a little conversation between you and Hogwarts' resident potion's master. She was able to destroy one. The diary had already been destroyed. There were two left and I destroyed them. Voldemort is indeed really dead. Nice little piece of information for the department of law enforcement, all the death eaters are staying at Malfoy Manor." Harry finished his statement with a proud smirk as he watched Dumbledore pale and the minister start to take action.
Harry watched as the minister of magic seemed to rally all the aurors for a big mission. The wild haired young man was done with fighting. The trained people could do the rest of the work. Harry was stuck in his thoughts, but came back to reality when he heard a voice calling out for him.
"Mr. Potter, thank you for the information. Our aurors are preparing a raid on Malfoy Manor to capture all death eaters present in the manor. You will be asked to stay for the trials of multiple death eaters since you did kill You-Know-Who. His body will be brought to the Department of Mysteries for research and confirmation of his death." The minister did not seem to be finished, but Harry interrupted him nonetheless.
"Let me stop you right here, Minister. There is no way Voldemort's remains will be brought to the Department of Mysteries for research. I do not trust anyone in this building. I wouldn't be surprised if there were undercover death eaters in this very room or in the department. I will make the job easier for you." Harry responded as he threw a fire curse at Voldemort's body, burning it to ashes in a few seconds.
"Mr. Potter, that was completely unnecessary." The minister said with a grim face as he looked at the Dark Lord's ashes on the floor of the Ministry,
"Minister, it was completely necessary. This way, no one can even try to bring him back to life. I will be present for the trials, just give me the date and time." Harry smiled coldly as he spoke back to the minister.
"I see your point. The trials will be held in two days time at noon in courtroom ten. I am sure you will remember the location." The minister said with a smug expression, referencing Harry's earlier trial in the same room.
"Of course. Now, I will take my leave." The boy-who-lived immediately apparated out of the ministry with an almost soundless pop.
Noticing everyone staring at him, the minister of magic spoke again.
"What are all of you looking at, go back to work. Aurors with me."
All aurors present in the lobby, including Ron Weasley, followed the leader of the wizarding world towards the department of law enforcement.
—
Later in the same day, an enormous team of the ministry's best aurors apparated directly on the grounds of Malfoy Manor, surrounding the imposing mansion. The wards seemed to be intact, indicating the presence of people inside the domineering house. Luckily, wards would not stop a Ministry approved raid. Certains artifacts were made especially to break wards of any kind without alerting the people behind the wards. Those artifacts were extremely well hidden and their existence practically unknown to the rest of the magical population. In the wrong hands, those objects could cause chaos and imbalance.
The artifacts were put into effect and did their job most rapidly. In less than a few seconds, all the wards were down. The people inside were none the wiser and the aurors invaded the house. Unprepared for a raid, Voldemort's death eater, who were all present, were taken by surprise and easily captured. They were taken into custody and put into very secure holding cells. As the successful team of aurors that participated in the captures left the holding cells, Bellatrix's terrifying scream of rage could still be heard.
—
The next day, Harry had received the news that the remaining death eaters had been captured in a swift and very successful raid. Overjoyed by the news, Harry allowed himself to celebrate by happily dancing in his new house, a newly renovated Potter property that had been in the family for years. He then sat down with a glass of whiskey to really celebrate.
Despite his joy at the news, he was apprehensive of attending the trials tomorrow at the Ministry. As much as he wanted to see those criminals sentenced, facing the public who had loathed him for years was not something he looked forward to. He also knew that he would finally have to face Ron and Hermione, as they were part of the minister's inner circle. Azkaban had hardened him, almost to the point of complete numbness and insanity, but the betrayal of his friends was still so painful for him, even multiple years later. He still remembered the day of Ginny's death and the day of his sentencing. The expressions of loathing and disgust stamped on their faces still haunted him today. He knew they were going to try and talk to him before he could leave. The wild haired young man knew he would be unable to avoid it.
He finished his glass of whiskey, indulging in the burn that it left in his throat before standing up to go to bed for a hard day tomorrow.
—
Albus Dumbledore was concerned. Harry had been freed from prison, at last. The old man had always known that the boy was innocent. Nothing could have been done to stop his sentencing. No one would have listened to him at the time and the Weasley boy and Granger girl had both been convinced of his guilt, which served as ironclad ammunition for Fudge to send Harry to Azkaban. Dumbledore was unable to process that Harry had been able to kill Voldemort in such a short amount of time. He wondered how the Lovegood girl had been able to find out about the horcruxes and tell Harry about them. He should have never underestimated the slight blonde.
Maybe it was time for him to retire and take his rest. Tom was dead now, by Harry's hand and the war finished. With this information in mind, Dumbledore handed in his resignation as Headmaster of Hogwarts, the only position he still held. That day, Dumbledore vanished from the magical world and no trace was left from him.
—
Harry woke up the day of the trial with a knot in his stomach and a headache. This was not going to be a pleasant day. With multiple kinds of trials ahead of him, it was going to be a long day. He was not prepared to face the public, the death eaters or his former best friends. Nevertheless, he continued getting ready. Harry then apparated to the ministry for the painful day ahead of him.
He arrived in the lobby of the ministry a couple minutes before noon with a cold expression on his face. With a scarily blank face, a sharp suit, lean muscles and a clean face, Harry was unrecognizable. Because of his transformation, he was thankfully not hounded by the press and was able to make his way to courtroom ten. He arrived exactly at noon and made his entrance. He entered the dreaded courtroom which brought back a number of unpleasant memories. As he sat down on the cold seats of the courtroom, he was able to see Ron and Hermione at the Minister's side. Dumbledore was notoriously absent. Multiple aurors and ministry employees were present. The extended family of victims and death eaters also filled up the courtroom. As he finished his observations, the trials started.
Harry barely listened to any of the happening in the courtrooms. He was particularly uninterested. He watched as Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, Evan Rosier, Antonin Dolohov, Fenrir Greyback and many more were charged with horrid crimes, admitted to those crimes under veritaserum and were given horribly long sentences in Azkaban. According to him, they all deserved their punishments. It wasn't until the trial of Micheal Corner, a former Ravenclaw, that Harry began to take interest in the proceedings.
Harry was completely surprised to learn that Micheal was a death eater. He had been in Dumbledore's army before his imprisonment, so it was indeed a surprise to see him on trial. He remembered him as Ginny's ex-boyfriend and a little bit of a prat, but nothing more.
The boy-who-lived was completely shaken out of his thoughts when Michael Corner confessed as to how he became a death eater.
"And, how did you become a death eater, Mr. Corner?" The barrister asked.
"I was approached by Professor Umbridge in my fifth year. She was an undercover agent for the Dark Lord and taught defence against the dark arts at Hogwarts at the time. She approached me with a plan to get rid of Potter. She explained to me how she was going to find a way to torture and kill Ginny Weasley and frame Potter for the crime. Ginny had recently broken with me, we used to date. I knew she had broken up with me because of her crush on Potter. I decided to go along with the plan. I stalked Potter for days to memorize his movements. I found my chance when Potter and Ginny went together in the room of requirement. I entered immediately after them. I was able to stun Potter. I raped Ginny. I then tortured her with a cursed knife. I remember her begging for me to stop. It was exhilarating. I killed her with the killing curse. I loved watching the life slip out of her. She had no right to break up with me." Michael corner revealed with a monotone voice.
This confession shocked everyone in the courtroom. Harry himself was in absolute shock. He could feel the stares of practically all the people in the room on him. It was an uncomfortable moment, but also a moment he had been waiting for. He knew a death eater had killed Ginny, he just had never known which one. It was closure he did not know he needed as he remembered Ginny and her fierce personality. Her rapist, torturer and killer had finally been found and was about to be punished. He was able to see Ron's pale face in the crowd. After this revelation, Harry zoned out once again.
The trials were finished a couple hours later and Harry hurried out of the courtroom. The young man was trying to avoid certains individuals. However, this avoidance was unsuccessful as he heard a familiar voice scream his name. He quickly turned around to see Ron and Hermione running after him, trying to catch up with him. Harry decided to stop and wait. He could not avoid this conversation forever.
Ron and Hermione caught up with him. They were both out of breath and dishevelled. Harry stared at them as they tried to breathe normally again. Hermione then started to speak. Harry feared what was about to come next.
"Harry, we are so unbelievably sorry to have believed you to be guilty for what happened to Ginny. We want to apologize." Hermione said with a sad face.
"Yeah, mate. I don't know what went through our head at the time. We should have believed you." Ron nodded as he agreed with his wife.
"I don't accept your apology." Harry said after a moment of thought. He could see Hermione and Ron trying to speak again. He held up his hand for them to stop speaking and they did.
"My two best friends did not stand by me when I was accused of three horrid crimes I did not commit. They stood against me. I tried to tell you multiple times that I had been stunned and that I had no idea how Ginny had ended in that state. I gave you evidence, but you refused to listen, dismissing my words as the ramblings of a guilty man, You looked me in the eye as you both testified against me in court. In a court who held no regard for me, in a court that already believed me to be crazy and delusional, in a court that was essentially corrupt, in a court that respected no established legal proceedings and in a court that did not use tangible evidence to sentence me. You know which treatment I would receive in the hands of the ministry at the time. You were completely aware of how badly I was going to be treated and how completely unfair my trial was going to be. Yet, you still decided to testify and disbelieve me. You immediately decided that I was the suspect. That I would kill Ginny, someone who I viewed as a dear friend. I cannot forgive you for that. You sentenced me to nearly a decade in Azkaban, hell on earth." Harry finished speaking and took a deep breath.
"Mate, you have to understa-
"Harry, please liste-
"I don't have to listen or understand anything. I thought we were friends. This was not the first time you both doubted and betrayed me. However, it is the last time because I do not consider you my friends anymore and I never will again. I do not accept your apology and I do not forgive you. I doubt I ever will." Harry looked at Hermione's teary eyes and Ron's pale face. He did not owe them anything and seeing them nearly made him sick.
He turned around and made his way through the crowd, ignoring Ron and Hermione running after him. He apparated home, away from former friends and a two-faced public that had never hesitated to turn on him at the slightest whim.
—
Harry arrived in his peaceful home and immediately broke down in tears in the entrance hall. Seeing his two best friends again had been extremely painful, he still loved them, but he could never forgive them for what they had done to him. His suffering for the last decade had almost entirely been caused by their distrust of him. He could not go through that again.
He wanted to rest and take time away from the world. He wanted to build a new life and mourn Ginny, someone who he had loved dearly. He wanted peace. As the emerald eyed young man dreamed of a new life, a gentle breeze that smelt of freshly mowed grass, fruity perfume and freshly polished wood seemed to caress him. It was at this moment that Harry realized that this was Ginny's way of telling him that it was time to move on and find peace. Her murderer had been found and he could finally rest.
And Harry did just that. He deserved it after all.