"We'd love to see you at the ministry, Harry" Kingsley said
"Or perhaps taking up a position here at Hogwarts? We could do with a new DA professor" Mcgonagall offered
"Thanks...but I have something to do first...I need to prevent this from happening again" Harry said thoughtfully as he stared at the body of Tom
"Albus said- "the headmistress said but he interrupted
"Albus was wrong" he corrected her strongly, his eyes flicking over to Abe, who nodded "it wasn't down to magic or his genetics, it was neglect. Neglect that he perpetuated. Albus said that 'Help will always be given at Hogwarts, to those who ask for it.' he was wrong and a liar"
"what do you mean?" Hermione asked
"Tom asked for help, he didn't get it, Peter asked for help, he didn't get it, I asked for help, I didn't get it and some people...they screamed silently for help and no one did. I'm fixing that" Harry said determined
"it's...it's a good idea Mate" Ron told him smiling slightly, always so supportive and Hermione nodded her head
"anything you need, we'll be there" she vowed
"I need to arrange a funeral for him" Harry said gesturing to Tom
"you want to give him a funeral?" Ron demanded looking less supportive now
"his life was hardly a barrel of laughs Ron" Harry sassed "can at least let him rest in peace...despite what he did...we all just want some peace right?"
Ron looked angry for a moment, despite just being in a battle he was able to get the energy to argue before he sighed and deflated
"yea, I guess we do...do you want us to come with? Fred's being transferred to St Mungo's..." he trailed off
Harry shook his head "I'm sort of the only family that Tom has so I'll deal with it myself" seeing the disbelieving looks he added "I can handle it, I promise"
They nodded and filed out but he didn't pay attention to it rolling his wand thoughtfully between his hands as he stared at the man that had been the bane of his existence for so long.
"C'mon Tom, I know the perfect place for you" he said flicking his wand, lifting his body and covering it with a shroud. The body floated behind him as he left the abandoned classroom and headed towards the second floor. He ignored the awed looks he received, those not working on helping to reach out and brushing their fingers against his body, murmuring their gratitude and thanks for what he had done. The Boy-who-Lived who defied death yet again
"Hello Harry" Myrtle greeted him as he entered the bathroom
"hello Myrtle, how are you? The battle must have been scary" he replied kindly, Myrtle despite being a ghost and technically fifty years older than him was still a little girl that had been horrendously bullied. It had cemented the fact that he did not want to remain a ghost. The memory of the Hogwarts express and king's cross flashed through his mind again, but he was certain he had made the right decision.
He chuckled to himself.
How amusing it was that his unfinished business was to do with the land of the living and nothing to do with the fear of death, but death had never been scary to him.
"it was" she nodded her head importantly "but I helped, it's such a shame that you didn't become a ghost Harry, we could have shared my cubicle but I'm sure there will be plenty of more ghosts this evening"
"I'm sure there will be" Harry responded quietly a great sadness curling around his body as the thought as to whether he could have done better, saved more flashed through his mind. Maybe Collin would still be alive or Lavender or Ted Tonks or Remus...
So many lives. all for nothing.
He hissed the password and watched the sink open up, he leapt down the opened pipe the body zooming after him. a hovering light spell later and the duo silently moved through the pipes into the chamber of secrets, he paused slightly and picked up a rock that still had some blood on it, he smirked remembering how Ron had hit Lockhart with it.
He dropped the rock again and moved forward, hissing again at the secondary door, the snakes retracting as the door swung open. With a heavy sigh he moved into the room that almost became his final resting place when he was twelve, putting Tom with his beloved snake, he sat down resting his arms on his knees as he let the silence roll over him.
The room looked as if it had been flooded and debris was scattered around along with the corpse of a giant basilisk, he was shocked it wasn't more decayed perhaps the magic of it?
"just a little more Harry" he told himself, it'd been a lie he'd been telling himself since fourth year, that if he just battled the dragon it'd be over with and then if he just dealt with the mermaids, it'd be over with and if he just got through the maze, it'd be over with. The lie had long since turned to ash on his tongue, but it was all he had to cling to for a long time and it was now ingrained.
He started waving his wand, drying the room, fixing the debris back and polishing the room back to the previous glory that Salazar had imagined for his secret lair or whatever, he manipulated the floor to rise and transfigured into a stone casket and placed Tom in it another flick of his wand and a lid was placed on top, engravings of snakes carved into his final resting place.
he turned to the basilisk next, accoing a tooth before manipulating the snake around the tomb, the basilisk fierce as it hissed, protecting the final resting place of probably the most hated man in the wizarding world- maybe a fitting end for the line of Salazar, he didn't know. He gently tapped the nose of the basilisk and watched as it turned to stone spreading over the body and finalising its position forever.
Taking the tooth, he transfigured it into a plaque and attached it to the tomb. He carved the headstone in parseltongue, a fitting detail he thought.
'Tom Marvolo Riddle-
I can live forever"
"you will live forever but not in the way you thought you would. The name Voldemort will be remembered forever but not as the greatest wizard as a cautionary tale and a fool but most of all, I'll remember Tom Riddle, the boy that should have been helped" Harry promised him quietly "you were failed long ago and multiple times but in death you won't be. I'm sorry it came so late but never again"
"I want to buy some land, near the quidditch pitch and the black lake, somewhere near there on the grounds" he informed Minerva as soon as he sat down in the Headmaster's office who arched an eyebrow at him but didn't answer right away
"Hogwarts land can't be sold" Kingsley protested "not even the ministry of magic can buy land- Hogwarts remains free"
"make an exception, I'm owed a hell of a lot more Kings and this is the payment I demand" Harry retorted
"Why" Minerva asked
"Hogwarts is my home, it's home to all of us and to some it's the only home we will ever experience. Tom asked to stay here because this is the place, he was safe. similarly, with Remus and me and Severus and Peter. This was our safe heaven. No place safer" he answered swiftly "apart from grimuald place, I'm turning that into a home as well. If you'd like to avoid future megalomaniacs and blood wars, offer them a safe place"
"what do you mean?" Kingsley asked intrigued
"I'm turning grimuald place into an orphanage for those younger than Hogwarts age and when they receive the letter, they will age up into the home here" Harry said as he planned it out "we'll have quidditch tournaments and teach kids how to swim in the black lake and bitten children will have the shrieking shack to transform in- I can fix it up, and learn how to be an Animagus" he got more and more excited for it as he pictured it in his minds eye. He'd have the home here and Grimuald place hooked up by fireplace so the kids could still visit one another...make sure there was enough room for everyone. And it would honour Sirius while spitting in the face of his family, a smirk pulled at his lips Sirius would be rolling on the floor in laughter at the idea of a muggle born or werewolf kid sleeping in his parent's room. He had wanted to build a home for them when he was proven innocent. After the war there was orphans, Teddy immediately sprung to mind, he had to talk to Andromeda about that, about custody and visitation...
"oh, and Sirius" Harry added
"what do you mean?" Kings asked him
"Look, Kings" Harry heaved a sigh "we've fought together and as a person I trust you but now your the minister for magic and with the ministry? Them, I don't trust"
"so, you no longer want to work together?" Kingsley asked sharply
"I do" Harry rushed to reassure him "but I don't trust the ministry and they have a lot of making up to do to the country and to me...and to Sirius, I want him post humanly declared innocent, I want his name cleared and I want reparations that will go to my cause"
"the bounty on my head that can be paid to me-200,000 Galleons, the slander of my name, I want money for that- emotional damages you see. The less said about Umbitch and that fucking blood quill the better, oh, and seeing as how Sirius never received a trial...the kidnapping and torture of an innocent man for twelve years" Harry said flatly "after a year the bounty was 10,000 galleons so let's times that by twelve 120,000 and add on another oh, 50,000 for the trial and 20,000 because of pure incompetence"
"anything else?" Kingsley asked dryly but raising an impressed eyebrow "if it wasn't me you were swindling, I'd be proud, but you seem hellbent on bankrupting the ministry"
"oh, I imagine I'll need some help with law's I want pushed and permits and such like, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it" he promised "and you're the one representing the bastards that fucked me over, I'm just returning the favour and the better if I did corrupt the ministry, I imagine a parade would be thrown for me"
"I'll get right on it" Kingsley said
"see that you do, I'd hate to see what your ratings will be should the Boy-who-lived, found issue with the new world order" he replied with a saccharine smile "it's just politics Kings"
"sure" he said before sweeping from the room, he sat back in his chair and stared at the new Headmistress, slightly worried he was about to be scolded.
"have a biscuit Mr. Potter" Professor Mcgonagall offered him her biscuit tin
"thanks, Minerva" he replied happily biting into a gingersnap.
Grimauld Place had been cleaned up by Kreacher but there was a lot more to be done, while Hogwarts was being rebuilt along with the land markers put out for the home he was going to be built on the grounds. He had certain paintings- like Walburga removed and placed on a different black property. The rooms fumigated, dusted and cleaned out of personal effects. It was countless hours of running between the ministry, st Mungos, Hogwarts, and Andromeda. He was juggling so many different plates it was a wonder nothing was dropped. The nightmares helped to ensure he didn't sleep in and gave him eight hours of mindlessly staring at the ceiling, planning.
Grimauld Place had been renovated from a derelict and dark, gloomy place into a bright, happy and welcoming home for all.
Peverell's Retreat was what he'd named the house that had been built on the grounds of Hogwarts, the motto being 'et domus omnium' which translated to a home for all.
And that was the aim of both homes he had built, a home for all who came with no judgement or restriction, it was to get kids out of a toxic environment, to keep them safe and to provide a stable environment. Those eleven and above would go to Hogwarts and either stay at Peverell's Retreat or Grimauld place during the summer being watched over by the Hogwarts professor's, Harry was wrangled as the DADA professor as repayment which he didn't mind, he got to hang out with Neville who'd become the Herbology Professor.
But a year after the wall it settled into some semblance of peace, a lot had been lost during the war and families left broken. Some children had found other relatives while the vast majority were all alone but not for long because Harry took them under his wing.
Hermione and Molly had been a godsend, she'd managed to create files on all of the kids, what they had, what they needed, any allergies or conditions- such as Lycanthropy. Hermione was well-organised, detail-oriented and practical and Molly was used to handling a large family with military precision.
Fred and George were always good for babysitting duties and free entertainment for parties and the house elves that he paid- adored the children.
Harry laughed loudly as Rigel yanked on his hair, the little tyke on his shoulder's finding fascination with his wild black locks, he had been most upset that he had shaved his beard down to a scruff and he could no longer yank it.
"can we go swimming after dad?" Lily, his own biological daughter asked
"course, sweetie" he promised "we're having a picnic after the Qudditch game" looking overhead he spotted his other kids dangerously circling each other "RUBEUS! JACK! Behave!"
A broomstick separated from the pack and dropped down to his level "c'mon Potter they're just having fun"
"they can have fun when they're not trying to break their necks Fred" Harry retorted "why did I agree to let Victor near them?"
"because your spouse begged" Fred retorted cheekily
"true" Harry agreed shrugging his shoulders, causing Rigel to giggle loudly "Teddy is supervising, isn't he? He's a responsible lad but you look away for a second..."
"he's got it, he's the Hufflepuff head boy after all" Fred reassured before pouting "why don't you look to good ol' Uncle Fred and George for responsibility"
"because the last time I did so, which I'm putting the moment down to being sick as dog and temporary insanity, all sixty of my children received a gift basket from you and it was hell for over a month" Harry retorted
"they're Potters and we promised free inventory for Potters" George chimed in having joined the conversation, pulling out one of their string toys- Harry didn't have the heart to point out the toys they were inspired by was for cats- and dangling it in front of Rigel who reached for it in excitement.
"if you want to go down that road, you'll be bankrupt soon enough" Harry chuckled
"nah, Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, Potter's Pranking Emporium, Marauders Marauding Madness, Black Banditry Abound, Loopy Lupin Lunacy are bringing rivers of gold" Fred dismissed "thanks to our business partner"
"well, have to do something with my mountains of gold right?" Harry asked in amusement
"you could have had us as kept men" George winked at him
"yea, and then my Darling could rip your throat out" Harry said as he kept his eyes on his kids.
Harry never thought this was the life he would have ended up with, everyone expected him to follow the footsteps of Albus Dumbledore as his unofficial protégé, to be like Alastor Moody and hunt down evil wizards or to become the next merlin and usher in a new golden age, according to Rita Skeeter he'd done that however, but Harry didn't care for that.
In the past ten years he'd fought to see justice in the world and to keep peace and stability. He'd testified for Narcissa and Draco Malfoy, she had lied to Voldemort for him, and Draco was just a kid, as stuck as he was. He'd seen his godfathers named cleared and attended the funeral of every life lost in the battle- no matter their species or alliances, he learnt his lesson about that with Tom and Severus along with Draco. One of the more difficult funerals had been Colin Creevey, he figured he owed the kid and had a photo developed of the two them, signed it and placed it on his grave with a sticking charm.
"I'm sorry, it's so late Colin and- and- I'm sorry that I- "he choked on his apology
"it's alright Harry, I did what was right and I'll never regret it" Colin had informed him popping up from his grave while Harry had sputtered Colin had explained to him that he'd made the decision to stay at Hogwarts, he'd died protecting the school and it was his home away from home. He wanted to always protect it and as a Gryffindor he enjoyed having the protection of Hogwarts as his eternal duty. Harry had left that day a little lighter, the guilt not so oppressive and while he thought he'd always see Colin Creevey as an excitable eleven-year-old kid with a camera and a younger brother and a milkman father...he left that day seeing Colin as the young man who'd made the ultimate sacrifice to make the world a better place. He wouldn't let them down. He couldn't.
he attended trials and watched sentencing and stepped up into his duties as the last of his house, his friends doing similarly, he used his influence and power to encourage diversity and unity, to put pressure on passing laws in favour of rights for the oppressed and seeing that the blood war would never occur again.
He beamed at the sight of his loved ones mingling around the quidditch pitch, picking Rigel off his shoulders and watching him toddle towards Firenze with an excited squeal who scooped him up into his arms and did a quick lap of the Quidditch pitch.
"Hello 'Arry!" Hagrid greeted him
"hullo, Hagrid" Harry replied, "excited for the Potter Qudditch match?"
"tha' I am 'Arry yer playing?" Hagrid asked and Harry nodded with a bright grin
"Lily persuaded me she wants to see me dance in the air how can I deny her?" Harry said rhetorically as he picked up his beloved firebolt, as old as it was these days, it was the last gift he'd received from Sirius and he was still the undefeated champion of the skies.
He waved at Molly who was busy knitting sweaters, ever since he'd mentioned to her how he had felt when he was eleven years old and receiving that sweater, how it held a magic of its own...she'd made one for each of her considerable family- well over a hundred members strong. He swung his leg over the firebolt and shot into the sky. His heart light and unburdened as he was chased by his children.
He had found his home and finding home never felt better.