It was over; he knew it there was nothing left but the dirty deed itself. It was a selfish request he knew but he wished it could have been one of the countless times that he had been saved, that way no one else would have had to die for him, know he knew that is where this all lead to. Or even taking a curse for someone else was more preferably than walking to the proverbial guillotine…He envied his parents death now. This cold –blooded walk to his own destruction would require a different kind of bravery. But this almost felt cowardice and easy out opting not to fight but just handing himself over.

As he walked past the Great Hall he didn't see any of Weasleys or Hermione, he didn't see any of the Shinobi but he never really expected too, Naruko had told him that her mission was over. He didn't even see Luna but he did see Neville. And a crazy idea came over him, there were three wizards that knew what had to be done but soon one of them would be dead so he should make sure that someone else knew.

"Neville," Harry whispered, causing Neville to jump.

"Blimey Harry, you nearly gave me heart failure…where are you?" he asked looking around. Then Harry removed the cloak, but just enough to show his face.

"Neville, I need you to do something and it is very important…Ron and Hermione already know about it but it they don't have the chance…I need you to do it."

"Okay… what is it?"

"I know Voldemort's snake?" Neville nodded, "I need you to kill the snake, can you do that?"

"Yeah, but what about you… you aren't going to hand yourself over," Neville said frowning slightly.

"No don't be stupid there is just something I need to do, I will be back as soon as I can," then Harry put the cloak back over his head and headed off.

From the top of the castle he was being watched by two Shinobi, "this is troublesome…should we stop him?"

"No… let him go this is something that he has to do for himself," Naruko said her eyes fixed on Harry as he walked towards the Forbidden Forest.

"So you are just going to let him go to his death, in the best of circumstances it will be difficult for him to defeat Voldemort, and he is going to face him along with all his followers," Shikamaru said in his lazy tone but he was watching her thru the corner of his eyes.

"What would you have me do," she asked looking at him.

"You could always stop him," Shikamaru answered, "he is not ready to face him he will die."

"Snape-San believes that he is ready, and he believes it himself and if he runs now…then he may never be able to do what has to be done," Naruko said.

"And what is that…to die?"

"I believe so, Snape-San never told me directly but last year he started to act a little strange…it was after a meeting with Dumbledore…I already knew that Snape was to kill Dumbledore and he was acting similar to how he did on that occasion which led me to believe that he had to do something he really didn't want to do…and then my beliefs were confirmed when he ended my mission during the battle."

"This is troublesome…but what are you planning?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked with an innocent look on her face.

"I know you too well…you never let people get hurt if you can help it…even if it goes against the mission…so what are you planning?" he asked dropping all pretenses.

"Shika-Kun I want to thank you for everything you have done for me…you have helped me thru some of the most trying points in my life."

"Naruko what the hell are you planning?"

"Shika-Kun…do you think I would have been a good Hokage?"

"You can still be Hokage."

"Do you really think so?" she asked looking up at the sky full of storm clouds. "The calm before the storm…how bad do you think it will be?"

"It will be bad…but like all things it too will pass," Shikamaru said looking up at the sky.

As Harry made his way thru the forest he felt the cold chill that he knew meant was Dementors but he didn't have the strength to do anything about it. At the same time he thought that he would not be able to go on, and he knew that he must. The long game was ended the Snitch had been caught it was time to leave the air…the Snitch. His nerveless fingers fumbled for a moment with the pouch at his neck and he pulled it out.

I open at the close. Breathing fast and hard, he stared down at it. Now that he wanted time to move slowly as possible, it seemed to have sped up, and understanding was coming so fast it seemed to have bypassed thought. This was the close, this was the moment.

He pressed the golden metal to ho his lips and whispered, "I am about to die."

The metal shell broke open. He lowered his shaking hand raised Draco's wand beneath the Cloak, and murmured, "Lumos."

The black stone with its jagged crack running down the center sat in the two halves of the Snitch. The Resurrection Stone had cracked down the vertical line representing the Elder Wand. The triangle and circle representing the Cloak and the stone were discernible.

And again Harry understood without having to think. It didn't matter about bringing them back, for he was about to join them. He was not really fetching them, they were fetching him.

He closed his eyes and turned the stone over in his hand three times. He knew it had happened, because he heard slight movements around him that suggested frail bodies shifting their footing on the earthy, twig-strew ground that marked the outer edge of the forest. He opened his eyes and looked around.

They were neither ghost not truly flesh, he could see that. They resembled most closely the Riddle that had escaped from the diary so long ago, and he had been memory made nearly solid. Less substantial than living bodies, but much more than ghost, they moved towards him, and on each face, there was the same loving smile.

James was exactly the same height as Harry. He was wearing the clothes he had died in, and his hair was untidy and ruffled, and his glasses were a little lopsided, like Mr. Weasley.

Lupin was younger, and much less shabby, and his hair was thicker and darker. He looked happy to be back in this familiar place, scene of many adolescent wanderings.

Lily's smile was the widest of all. She pushed her long hair back as she drew close to him, and her green eyes, so like his, searched his face hungrily, as though she would never be able to look at him enough.

"You've been so brave."

He couldn't speak. His eyes feasted on her, and he thought that he would like to stand and look at her forever, and that would be enough.

"You are nearly there," said James. "Very close. We are…so proud of you."

"Does it hurt?" the childish question had fallen from Harry's lips before he could stop it.

"Dying? Not at all," Lupin said. "Quicker and easier than falling asleep. And he will want it to be quick. He wants it over."

"I didn't want you to die," Harry said. These words came without his volition. "Any of you… I am sorry… right after you'd had your son…Remus, I'm sorry."

"I am sorry too," Lupin said. "Sorry I will never know him…but he will know why I died and I hope he will understand. I was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life."

"You'll stay with me?"

"Until the very end," James said.

"They won't be able to see you?" Harry asked.

"We are a part of you," Lily said, "invisible to anyone else."

Harry made his way to face his fate those who loved him the most at his side. It was strange those amongst the living felt to him to be the ghost so far out of his reach. So many things left unsaid. Harry followed a couple of death eaters to place that Voldemort was waiting for him. As Harry made his way to the clearing he dropped the stone but he didn't pick it up he kept walking.

"No sign of him, my Lord," Dolohov said.

Voldemort's expression did not change. The red eyes seemed to burn in the firelight. Slowly he drew the Elder Wand between his long fingers.

"My Lord…" Bellatrix had spoken: She sat closet to Voldemort, disheveled her face a little bloody but otherwise unharmed. Voldemort raised a hand to silence her, and she didn't speak another word, but worshipful fascination.

"I thought he would come," Voldemort said in his high clear voice, his eyes on the leaping flames. "I expected him to come."

Nobody spoke. They seemed to as scared as Harry, whose heart was now throwing itself against his ribs though determined escape the body he was about to cast aside. His hands were sweating as he pulled off the Invisibility cloak and stuffed in beneath his robes with his wand. He didn't want to be tempted to fight.

"I was, it seems…mistaken," Voldemort said.

"You weren't." Harry said it as loudly as he could, with all the force he could muster; he didn't want to seem afraid.

"Harry! No!" He turned to see Hagrid who was bound and trussed, to a tree nearby. Standing closest to him was Sirius.

"Harry what are you doing?" Sirius asked his face void of emotion but his voice had the settle hint of panic.

"NO! NO! HARRY, WHAT'RE YEH…?"

"QUIET!" shouted Rowle, and with a flick of his wand Hagrid was silenced.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort said softly. His voice might have been part of the spitting fire, "The Boy Who Lived."

Then he raised his wand there was a flash of green light and there was nothing but darkness.