A/N alright I have been sick for awhile and during that time I reread the harry potter books and something caught my eye at the end of the fifth book. The exact wording of the prophecy says Vanquish not kill, it also says that either the dark lord or the prophecy child must die. It never says anything that Tom Riddle or Harry Potter will die. This is my take on an alternative view of the prophecy. What if the power Harry possesses isn't Love but the ability to forgive?

Vanquish 1 to defeat in battle, to defeat an opponent or opposing army in a battle or fight 2. To prove convincingly superior to somebody in a contest, competition, or argument 3. To overcome suppress or subdue an emotion feeling or idea.

Vanquished

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, Born as the seventh month dies. And the dark lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. And either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.

"Those are a bunch of fancy words aren't they? Just an incoherent mangled rhyme. Too bad that mangled mess of human speech has governed my life from the moment I was born. Who am I you ask? I am Harry James Potter the chosen one of the prophecy. I was cursed with both a scar and a destiny. Forced to carry a burden no child should ever have to know.

My family was taken from me before I was old enough to talk. The one responsible tried to kill me as well and failed. He burdened me with this scar on my forehead and the prophecy hanging over my head. Dumbledore however well he did the next condemning. He left me with my Muggle relatives. While he might have had my best interest at heart he should have looked closer.

I was never physically abused beyond a slap or a kick now and then but the neglect ran deep. I slept in a cupboard, got one meal a day, and was worked harder then a house elf. I was never shown love or compassion, I came dangerously close to just shutting down entirely.

Then my first Hogwarts letter and I thought I would be away from the constant harassment. I was soon to discover that I was never just Harry I was the boy who lived. In the wizarding world I was just a different kind of freak.

I had a few friends but no one I could trust with my hopes, my dreams, and my fears. Everyone in Gryffindor expected me to be the brave lion and save them all. They didn't want to hear about their savior being afraid of the dark or small spaces. I still wonder to this day what would have happen to me if I had let the hat put me in Slytherin.

I still get to laughing about the time Dumbledore told me that the power I had over the Dark Lord was love. Well even the headmaster doesn't know everything. I can't love. I was never shown it as a child and I just kind of hardened myself against it. No I can't love nor can I forget. My one power the thing that truly keeps me human is my ability to forgive. I can forgive a person just about any transgression. I won't forget it happened but I will never hold it against you once you have come clean.

After I had calmed down from the high emotions of that night. I looked at the prophecy again and caught what Dumbledore had missed. The prophecy said vanquish not kill. It didn't say we had to die it just said no one else could kill us. Tom riddle and Harry potter could survive. The Dark Lord and the Chosen One could not. One of us would be vanquished alright but that didn't mean we had to leave this earth.

Suddenly a lot of things began to make sense. For years the dark lord had been trying to get me to join with him. Why would he do that instead of just settling for killing me if there wasn't another option? Voldemort had known all along we didn't have to die. He was working as hard as he could to make sure it was the Chosen One who was vanquished.

Well two can play that game. I began to work towards the goal of killing Voldemort and bringing back Tom Riddle. It all came down to one thing I had to be able to give forgiveness and he had to be able to take it. Voldemort had to truly wish for forgiveness for my plan to work.

My plan was deadly simple challenge Voldemort to a duel and put fear back into him. Once that happens I am going to use Legilimency to force myself into Voldemort's mind. My goal was to remind Voldemort what the world had to offer the way it was. If all went well forgiveness would be exchanged and one or both of us would be vanquished forever.

My plan would never work if I couldn't get Voldemort to fear something. As I grew stronger in physical and magical strength I researched the boy Tom Riddle who became Voldemort. The more I understood about the change over the better chance I would have of finding out what Voldemort feared.

It took me three years to become fully prepared. I was strong enough to take on a squadron of aurors without breaking a sweat and I knew what Voldemort feared. It was so simple yet so unexpected most people would have never found it. In fact I wouldn't have if it hadn't been for my own upbringing. Putting that together with what I learned about Tom Riddle I found the answer. Voldemort was actually afraid of abandonment. His greatest fear was being alone.

He wanted to control the wizarding world so he would always have people around him who answered to him. He hated muggles because in his warped perception it was his father's abandonment of his mother and him that ultimately led to her death and his placement at the orphanage. The orphanage where they beat him and neglected him. He learned how to fight to survive and when he went to Hogwarts he turned that survival instinct into something he could use to wipe out his perceived source of pain. In both of our cases the source of pain came from Muggles. It was how we dealt with our individual feelings that made the difference. I forgave the muggles for their behavior out of fear and ignorance. Voldemort let his pain fester and grew into a morbidly corrupted sore spot that he spent decades searching out a cure for.

Hopefully I can give him that cure. We both needed the peace forgiveness would give. In giving my forgiveness to him I prove I am stronger then my upbringing and by accepting it he would prove even the darkest of souls can change.

I could feel our meeting drawing near just the same as he could. We both knew this would be the final confrontation how I would end would come down to a single choice. A choice that would shape history into something totally different no matter which way the decision went. Just the fact that there would be a choice was amazing.

Harry slowly prepared for battle. He knew there would be fighting and death on this day he just hoped it could be kept to a minimum. He just needed to get to the Dark Lord and then the rest would be up to destiny. Creeping out of my home I went off in search of my quarry. Completely alone no armies no fanfare just a dark cloak and concealing shadows. I kept my hand on the comforting weight of the sword strapped to my belt. Getting past Hogwarts wards I apparated. I didn't have a set coordinate instead I let the connection my scar gave me to Voldemort to take me to him.

I landed in a room with sword drawn realizing I had managed to catch the Dark Lord alone. Perfect. Voldemort pulled out his wand brother to my own. He was about to cast a spell when he remembered that bit of information and began to wandlessly duel with me. I put away my sword and retaliated with my own wandless magic.

We dueled silently I guess fate was weighing heavily on us. It just didn't seem right for either one of us to break the silence to exchange petty insults when we were fighting for survival. I hadn't been in hard training for years to back down easily. Voldemort had spent too many years having his minions do all the hard work that he might be powerful he tired quickly.

I felt his fear rising, the situation had played into my hands nicely. He had been caught alone his biggest fear. He still fought just as strongly but I wasn't feeling for physical weakness I knew we were on equal footing there. No I was watching his mind. With every minute we dueled and no one came to his aide the walls in his mind began to weaken.

Every second was nerve wracking as I kept fighting the longer I fought the more difficult it was to concentrate. I was putting too much into my search of his barriers that I moved too slowly to dodge a spell. He managed to bind me up and I fell heavily to my knees. He had his hand poised above my head to say a curse that would end my life when it happened.

In his one moment of total elation I broke through his mind shield and began the second phase of my attack. I showed him scenes of the world today as I had watched. I showed him what true companions and friends were. I showed him scenes of bravery and loyalty you cannot hope to gain through fear and pain like Voldemort had attempted.

After ten minutes of this I felt my bindings loosen just a fraction, but it was enough for me to wriggle loose. I stood and offered my hand and spoke my first words to him other then insults and spells. "I forgive you Tom riddle. It is now up to you. Do you forgive yourself?" I asked simply ready to face the fact I could be wrong and these would be my last words.

The next few minutes stretched into an eternity. I thought I would go insane with the weight when the choice was made. My opposite in every way, reached out and took my hand. When I gathered enough courage to look up I saw the first signs of a new era. Tom Riddle's eyes once angry crimson had become deep midnight blue.

We are now both on the run. He did kill dozens of people and I am wanted for helping him. There is no romance in our relationship I am showing him how to live again with a true companion. Not the sniveling death eaters that either feared him or envied him.

I just can't seem to bring myself to care what the rest of the world thinks. I have achieved my goals and if anyone in the future ever bothers to ask what happened to Voldemort I will tell the truth. Lord Voldemort the flight of death has been completely and utterly vanquished."

A/N ok this story was written under the effects of chocolate, anger, hard rock and metal music, anger, caffeine, anger and did I mention anger. I was in one of my bad moods again so I decided to write rather then my usual methods of release. Please review and tell me how this turned out my writing style changes when I am under the influence of different emotions.