A/N: Well, here is an ending of sorts. There WILL be at least one (and possibly two or three) epilogues. Yes, this is the fic that just won't end! I always hate it when fics end…at the place where this one ends. I don't want to reveal too much! Read and enjoy.

And THANK YOU to all of the loyal readers who have kicked my ass into gear more than once during this long journey. I appreciate every single review that has been left. You have all inspired and guided me more than you could know.

I promise to get the epilogues posted ASAP. Of course, I haven't written them yet, but I at least know what I want to have happen!

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LAST TIME…

"Shall we end this?" he asked, stepping closer and holding out his hand.

"Yes," Tallis said firmly, meeting him step for step. "From the ashes we shall create a new world."

"So may it be," Voldemort said with a smile

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Chapter 71

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"You cannot mean to do this!" Bill gasped, staring at his lover in horror.

Tallis halted his step toward Voldemort. "Why?" he asked simply.

"You can't do this," he begged. "You…you forgive everyone. You can't turn, just because of your Aunt and Uncle."

Tallis sneered at him. "Just because? Just because? You act as though they took away my favorite toy, or refused to buy me candy. The muggles tore every shred of dignity from me. They destroyed me. They not only stripped me of my humanity through their barbarity but they delighted in their every pain-inducing action."

"But you cannot mean to—"

"For years I have had this pressing on me without being capable of speaking of it to a single soul. The shame and silence were forced on me by the very creatures who sought my destruction. I have endured their punishments…their pleasure again and again while knowing that I was strong enough to tear them to pieces, yet too weak to fight back. Now the strength has come to me, and you would deny me this right?"

"Then do it. Kill your family. You know I would hardly stand in your way," he pleaded, his eyes shifting to Severus for a brief moment. "But the other muggles? You can't possibly be in your right mind," he finally whispered. "You can't possibly mean to kill all of the muggles."

"My family," Tallis said acidly, "were not unique among muggles. They are savages, all of them. Do you truly believe that the other muggles did not know what happened in that house? Do you?"

Bill shook his head slowly.

"They are nothing better than animals, and they shall be treated as such. Voldemort has given me the strength to fight against my prior captors. He has given me the strength to open my eyes." He turned back to Voldemort, the pride shining from his eyes. "I have been reborn."

Voldemort smiled down at him. "This rebirth is true," he murmured. "I thought it to be so before…you seemed sincere…but I harbored my doubts. Such a change."

"You, my dear friend, are responsible for it all. You have given me strength, and the ability to fight for what is right. You have allowed me to fight for myself. Without you, I would never have been able to see muggles as they truly are."

"And you understand the crusade," Voldemort said factually.

"This has never been about the muggles," Tallis said knowingly. "This war is of far greater import. Muggles are but a stumbling stone on the way to greatness. Standing together, we will eradicate them, and we will move on to build a greater world."

Voldemort's smile grew. "My young heir," he said proudly. "Come, it is time for truce."

Tallis nodded solemnly and stepped closer. "May our alliance be the last such that this world needs. May the wizarding world never be in such a situation again, that two men must unite in order to save it."

"We will change the world," Voldemort whispered, extending his hand.

Tallis stepped closer, his small hand still close to his body, not yet willing to shake his new ally's hand.

"To the end," Voldemort said.

"To the end."

Tallis reached for his enemy's hand with his right hand, shaking it firmly.

Voldemort's smile stretched across his face as he shook hands, sealing the alliance.

"My Lord," Severus said softly from his left side.

Voldemort turned his head slightly to look upon his servant.

Before he could even lay eyes upon his potions master, Tallis gripped his hand more tightly, lifting his left hand up to caress Voldemort's cheek.

"Aveda Kadeva," he whispered.

As he whispered the words, he released all holds on his magic, all of the thin barriers that he had placed upon his tattoos to prevent him from killing everything he touched. As he whispered the deadly words, he turned his very body into a killing curse, the green light shining from his eyes as a blinding silver light emanated from every pore of his body.

The hand disappeared from his own blindingly-glowing hand. The fingers slipped from his grasp. The cheek fell from his fingertips. Tallis stood alone, all contact with the outside world torn from him as he shone still.

His control hung in the balance for an unending moment, as his mind fought to take control over the crackling, dancing power that skittered along his skin. The urge to give in to the power, to seize it, to become it, was overwhelming. He stood alone, and he gloried in the strength.

In his mind's eye, worlds flashed before him, each more glorious and more terrible than the one before. He saw himself, leading an army of wizards, each one marching mindlessly behind him to whatever fate decreed. He saw himself, seated in a throne as supplicants bowed before him, eager for his beneficence. He saw himself, stepping on the neck of his enemies, those who refused to bow down of their own will.

With a jolt, he recognized the man who stood at his side in each one of these visions. His own Bill stood there, unblinking, as Tallis moved through these dream worlds. His Bill. Tallis felt the magic begin to recede, and sanity regained some semblance of a his in his mind.

Bill standing beside him as he slaughtered one who defied him. Bill standing in front of him him, catching a traitor's blood in a deep bowl. His Bill standing to his side as he issued orders to burn down a school.

Bill. His Bill would not tolerate such a tyrant. His Bill would never stomach such a creature as he had seen in his mad visions. He drew the magic back into his body some more, feeling the magic shaking at the confines of the barriers he had long ago built.

The visions fled more quickly now. A cool breath and a deep sigh of relief signaled the proper restoration of Tallis' internal balance. He drew more quickly on the power now, pulling back the deadly, silver glow. Yes, yes, he thought as he regained hold on himself. This is how it should be. This is the way that he was meant to be—this is who he was. Balance restored itself slowly, and the last traces of the visions fled.

As the light receded, Tallis blinked his eyes, trying to regain his sight. He stared down at his hands in shock, unable or unwilling to look down and see what had become of his enemy.

"It is done," his father said softly from his right shoulder.

Tallis nodded stiffly. "Is it certain?"

Severus moved closer to the corpse. There was no need to bend toward the rapidly decaying body to ascertain death, but he did so anyhow so that his son could be spared the grotesque duty. "The Dark Lord is deceased. His soul is no longer on earth." He slid his wand out from the holster quickly, and performed a silent incantation. "His body cannot be resurrected."

Tallis nodded once more, still staring at his hands. "Thank you. Thank you, Bill," he said softly.

Bill shrugged his shoulders, trying to ease the strain. Severus moved toward him to release him from the chains. "I know it wasn't part of the plan, entirely," he said, rubbing the feeling back into his wrists. "He didn't seem completely convinced before."

"You were right. I rushed it," Tallis said, his eyes still firmly planted on his hands. "I nearly destroyed us all. If he had harbored any doubts…"

"But he didn't, in the end. You had him completely convinced."

Tallis did not mention the fact that for a brief moment, he had nearly convinced himself. He drew back a shudder as the visions flashed once more before his eyes. To have so narrowly escaped such a fate…

"It was just as you said," Bill said, moving toward Tallis. "Never underestimate Voldemort's love of spouting off on his own cause. The only thing the fuck liked more than pureblood superiority tirades was an equally impassioned tirade by one of his own. You were brilliant," he whispered, standing as close to his lover as he dared.

"We need to leave," Severus said, eyeing the door nervously. "More Death Eaters might come. We were uncommonly lucky to have only encountered the few that we did."

Tallis nodded, but made no move to leave.

"It is over," Bill said quietly, reaching out a comforting hand and then removing it at the last moment. "It is over," he repeated. "Take off the protection spells."

Tallis froze for a moment, before nodding his assent and whispering the parseltongue release spell.

Bill ran his hand over Tallis' cheek gently. "We're safe now," Bill whispered in his ear.

"He took you from me," Tallis whispered. "I would destroy a world to get you back."

"And I would fight the world to get back to you," Bill said soothingly. "And here both of us are. There is nothing to fight anymore. We are safe," he whispered.

"I nearly destroyed it all," Tallis said, his voice cracking. "I nearly messed it all up. One little thing went wrong and I could barely function."

"The plan worked brilliantly," Bill said, trying to draw Tallis' attention away from his fear.

"I didn't plan for that. You weren't supposed to be there," he said, turning tearful eyes toward the chains. "You were supposed to be at my side," he argued, before flinching at his words. Merlin, would those words ever be the same for him again?

"It worked," Bill murmured. "We are all alive. We can ask for no more than that."

"Gentlemen," Severus interrupted. "The magical backlash of that spell will have drawn the eye no only of the Death Eaters but of the Ministry. We will be surrounded soon, by our enemies and by those who would try to unmask you," he said to Tallis. He knew that if his son was caught here, standing beside Voldemort's body, his identity would no longer be in question as the world would know him to be Harry Potter. All of their work would have been for naught, and the ruse would end.

"We must leave," Tallis agreed, finally waking up from his stupor.

"Can we apparate?" Bill asked wearily.

"Not without leaving behind some trace of our signatures," Severus said. "We must leave the grounds, at the very least, before we apparate. The further away that we can get the better."

Bill nodded. "I'll not get far," he said, still wincing as he attempted to bring the feeling back to his battered body. "I can make it further if I transform."

"A lion in Wales?" Severus asked dryly. "I'm sure the muggles will hardly notice."

"Not all of us are as lucky as you," Bill said with a smirk. Without another word, he shifted into his animagus form. A magnificent tawny lion stood next to Tallis.

Tallis shifted as well, his tiny ocelot capable of standing beneath the lion without even bending his head. The ocelot rubbed his head against the lion's leg, as much a hug for strength as for comfort. Severus nearly smiled, and then realized with a jolt that his reason for fighting his emotions for all of these long years was now gone. With a burst of laughter, he too shifted, his laughter turning into a joyous bark as a large Doberman joined the pack.

Taking the lead, Severus guided the other two from the room, seeking dark hallways and abandoned corridors to escape without notice. They moved swiftly through the building and onto the grounds, rushing for the wooded land that surrounded the vast open space.

Loud cracks indicated the presence of other wizards. The Aurors swarmed the building, all of them ready for battle, unaware of the great discovery within. The untrained ran immediately into the building, while those with more experience took a moment to take in the surroundings.

Kingsley Shacklebolt turned toward the trees for a brief moment, collecting his wits for the battle ahead of him. His eyes were immediately drawn to the brilliant green eyes that were glowing in the dark of night.

He took a step forward, unable to stop himself. "Harry?" his whispered.

Tallis blinked slowly at Kingsley, his hair standing on end in fright. After all of this, after all that he had done, it truly was over—the charade would end, and the world would know that Harry Potter lived. He shuddered at the thought of it.

He calmed as he felt Bill's strong legs move to either side of him, the lion standing over him in protection.

Kingsley's eyes swung up to meet the amber eyes of the lion, poised to fight. A low growl drew his gaze to the Doberman who stood at the lion's right side. He nodded in understanding. "Thank you," he whispered.

The animals melted into the night, disappearing into the trees to be seen no more.