Summary: Harry's true destiny was awoken, and it granted him the ability to finally say "Enough". MoD!Harry 1995/1996 School Year

Rated: T

Genre: General

Warning Tag: Major Character Death (they get better for a while); Referenced Agonizing Torture

The Last Enemy

The pain was excruciating. Harry felt his body contort, his muscles stiffen, and his limbs jerk uncomfortably on the debris-ridden floor as the evil spirit of Voldemort bleed into his mind. He felt loss, so much loss and pain that he has faced in his very short life. The feeling of hopelessness, loneliness, fear, and depression was worse than facing the dementors two years ago.

Harry knew it wasn't true, his life wasn't worthless, he wasn't alone in it, and he knew many people who cared and loved him. His friends, their parents, the Order… they were his family. Even the ones he'd lost were his family, and he knew they loved him unconditionally. He loved them, too.

Then, he felt it, a ripping sensation deep in his chest and skull. It was violent, it burned and sent fire through his heart, his mind, his veins. It was like his soul was being ripped to shreds. His scar seared in pain, and it was becoming too much to bear.

Maybe dying wouldn't be so bad, especially if it meant preventing more people he loved and cared about from suffering and dying. If it stopped Voldemort from going on a manhunt for him, maybe, just maybe, he would spare the others.

He felt himself slip from this world then, the pain becoming too much, it was the last thing he remembered feeling aside from the love and hope he held onto for the living.

His eyes yes fluttered open once the pain stopped, Harry shielded them from the whiteness of the area he was now in. Three silhouettes stood nearby in the outline of Kings Cross and he quickly got to his feet, recognizing his parents and Sirius immediately.

"You're all…" He put a hand on his chest then, feeling the soft fabric of his shirt and the faintest thrum of his heart. "Am I dead?"

Sirius shook his head. "No."

"Only lost, sweetheart," Lily assured.

"It is not your time yet, son," James said.

Harry approached them, reaching his hand out to them only to feel nothing when his mother's hand touched his and went through it. He swallowed, fighting the tears.

"I don't know what I am supposed to do."

"You are so strong, and so brave," James said, brushing his invisible hand over Harry's hair.

"Voldemort no longer has a hold over you. You can go back and finish this once and for all knowing that everyone will be safe from his wrath," Lily informed, seeming to know more than he was led to believe.

"I don't understand," Harry said, scanning the three. "Why can't I stay with you?"

"You are not meant to be on this side, my boy," Sirius said. "Fate has other plans for you."

"It is time for you to go back, but know he cannot harm anyone anymore, not even you," Lily said, hovering her hand over his face before wrapping an arm around James.

"We will always be here for you," James said, placing a hand over his own heart.

"We love you so much, Harry."

Sirius stepped forward then and pressed his hand against Harry's chest. Unlike his parents' spirits, he could feel his hand push against him, forcing him back. Harry couldn't stop himself from falling backward, and he closed his eyes and braced for an impact that didn't come.

Instead, a bony hand caught his arm and stopped his fall. Harry opened his eyes to see the very bright Kings Cross station melt into darkness. A dark cloaked figure now stood before him, one hand gripping his while the other wielded a scythe.

"I have been waiting for you, Master," the being said, releasing him in order to bow. "You have finally been Awakened."

"Master?" Harry couldn't see much of anything, but was able to faintly make out a bleaker version of Kings Cross in the shadows surrounding him. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"You are in what is known as the In-Between. I am your servant and spirit guide, those before you have called me the Reaper," the being said.

"And what am I?"

"You're the Master of Death."

Harry stared at the cloaked being in disbelief. What did this mean? He had heard the story of the three Hallows from Luna once, but he thought it was a simple kids' story. Luna, however, seemed to know something he didn't, but it seemed like everyone knew something he didn't about himself.

"There is an imbalance in the living world, and it is your responsibility to correct it, Master," the Reaper continued. "Otherwise both worlds will suffer. But first, you must retrieve your lost possessions."

He reached his skeletal hand out to Harry, and he immediately stepped back. "What are you doing?"

"I need to give you the Knowledge, Master, so you will Know what you must do."

Hesitant, Harry gave a nod and allowed the Reaper to place his hand on his head. The overwhelming feeling of memories from ancients past to the beginning of life itself flooded him. Before he knew it, he felt that pressure on his chest again, pushing him backwards to fall into the nothingness.

His body ached, tremors coursed through him as his eyes fluttered open and a groan escaped him when he tried to move. The pain was dulling away, but he felt lighter and more complete than he ever had before. Memories came flooding in, memories that were not his own. They were Tom Riddle's, the images of ancient objects flashed through his conscience: a cup, a locket, a ring, a crown, the journal, and a snake. They held significance to him somehow, and they were relatively well hidden in meaningful locations. Somehow Harry knew he had to find these items and cleanse them of the evil imbued in them.

Harry felt strange, powerful even. It was like he became more aware of his magic, more intune with it, and he liked it. Harry shifted upright, catching the attention of Remus who was at his side immediately, shortly followed by Dumbledore.

"Harry? Merlin, you're still alive thank the gods," he whispered, helping Harry roll onto his back. "Are you alright?"

"I feel… strange," Harry whispered, grabbing at his chest where his heart barely thrummed.

"You must stop him, Harry," a voice whispered in his head.

He nodded and looked at Remus. "I know what I have to do to stop him."

Before Remus could question this, Harry sent a silent disarming spell at Dumbledore. The Elder Wand flew from the man's hand and landed in Harry's before a black portal appeared below him and swallowed him right in front of Remus and Dumbledore.

Using the memories pulled from Voldemort's mind, Harry had found the four remaining artifacts that held fragments of Voldemort's soul in them. He stood on the cliffside in the middle of nowhere, the objects laid out before him. The Reaper was beside him, and both were standing with a foot in the living and one in the In-Between realms. Kneeling down, Harry pulled each piece of soul out and handed them to the Reaper where the pieces fused together. When he picked up the ring, he snapped the stone from it and held it in his palm.

"Found the last Hallow," Harry said, tucking it into his pocket.

"Good," the Reaper said, "But this soul is incomplete. Do you know where the rest are?"

"I will." Harry hovered a hand over the broken spirit resting in his assistant's hand.

His eyes went dark then, searching for Voldemort. He was easy to find with the Path of the Dead following his every move.

"A Path," the Reaper had explained, "will mark those who have inflicted unneeded death on the world. They are to guide you."

The vision of a large manor was all Harry needed before he stepped through the portal that would place him in front of the man he sought. Voldemort's pet snake was draped over his shoulders as he sat in the throne-like chair placed at the center of the far wall. There was no one else in the room, and Harry made sure to keep it that way by sending the shadows under his command to bar the doors.

Voldemort was on his feet now, the snake hissing threateningly as it made its way down to the floor and toward him.

"Just who I was looking for," Harry said. With a swish of his new wand, the snake was pulled to him and pinned to the ground at his feet.

He knelt down and his hand turned black when he touched the snake's head, sinking into her head before pulling out the fragment of soul that lingered there. He handed it to the Reaper where it fused with the rest. Harry released the snake and the creature fled, free of its possessor.

"What is this? You were dead!" Voldemort hissed, finding his voice that was laced with shock. "What did you do to Nagini?"

"I freed her from you," he said simply, nodding in agreement. "And correction: I am Death, all thanks to you for giving me that needed nudge to trigger my Awakening."

Voldemort looked completely outraged by this. "You cannot beat Death!"

"And neither can you."

"Avada Kedavra!"

The spell Voldemort cast ricocheted off Harry and right back at him. The green spell struck him square in the chest and he crumpled to the ground. The Reaper appeared at Voldemort's side, collecting the remains of the soul that lingered in the body and reunited it in the blackened spirit resting in his skeletal hand.

"I will take him where he belongs now, Master," he said. "All those who were forced to die under his hand have been spared. There will be no more death inflicted from him or his followers anymore."

He gave Harry a bow before being swallowed into the nothingness. Harry felt himself separate from his body then, his mission in Life complete. He watched as his own body fell to the ground, the flesh he no longer needed to survive strpped away. Wrapping himself in his cloak, Harry knew it was going to take some time to come to terms with his new life.

The Death Eaters and other followers of Voldemort were seized and captured within the year after he fell. Harry lurked in the shadows and watched his friends—family—mourn him, watched them celebrate the victory of being freed from Voldemort's wrath, and watched them grow and have families of their own. Remus had a beautiful little boy, the Weasleys held a lovely wedding for Bill and Fleur, Minister Fudge was removed from office due to his negligence and Kinglsey took over to right the wrong until Hermione came of age. She caused even more waves in the Ministry. The ripples in the water eventually stretched out over Hogwarts, where negligence and mishandling from those in positions of power were no longer overlooked, either.

Harry watched the years pass on. Ginny became a professional Quidditch player with the Holyhead Harpies, Ron became a Quidditch Announcer and Reporter, Hermione the Minister of Magic. Even Malfoy straightened up and had a respectable family of his own.

There was always going to be evil in the world, but Harry's sacrifice in life meant that it had a new Master to keep it controlled. The balance was restored.

Originally Written For:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)

Monthly Challenges for All

The Houses Competition

Originally Written: May 2019
Word Count: 1,873