Harry had promised that everything would be okay, and him going to fight Voldemort would just be to buy them time. But Severus had felt right off that it wasn't a see you soon parting, rather a full on goodbye forever. Still, everyone assured it would be fine and Harry knew what he was doing.

All they had to do was collect their dead, heal the wounded and be ready for the next wave when Harry and Tom would show up and while they continued fighting, Nagini would be left unprotected for them to kill. However, it had been a while and out of nowhere, Severus admitted that he suddenly couldn't feel the bond between him and Harry anymore.

In the past, Harry would have closed things but Severus could feel it. This time, it was completely gone, according to Severus. Everyone knew what that meant. The only way to break their bond was by them, or death.

The pain Severus felt of the bond breaking and vanishing was nothing short of torture, worse than the Cruciatus curse and when Lily had been killed. Harry had been his soulmate and with him gone, Severus felt…Pain, heartbreak, and hollow like someone tore his soul from his body.

"I won't believe Harry is dead until I see his body!" Sirius refused.

"Sirius…" Remus remarked.

"Sirius, the ceremony I used to bond them invoked magic, and blood. It was unbreakable unless they broke it themselves or death separated them. Remember, it wasn't just marriage and bonding, they were blessed as soulmates. If Severus cannot feel the bond any longer, something has happened." Lucius revealed.

"I-Ivy…C-Can you sense Harry?" Severus managed to ask the snake who was about the size of Nagini right now, and curled close to Severus. The snake shook her head sadly, closing her eyes.

"Oh, God…Oh, God no…Please don't let it be true…" Severus begged.

"Next wave!" Someone warned. "From the forest, they're on the bridge!"

No one wasted time, both ready to fight and wanting to know where Harry was. Everyone was surveying the situation. There was no yelling or screaming. No spells being fired and no rush. The next wave, as it were, just walked across the stone bridge to the entryway of the great hall. Voldemort was in front, Bellatrix on his right. Nagini slithered aside her lord. But on the left, was Hagrid, carrying a body. Severus's heart clenched.

"R-Ron…Ron, who is that Hagrid is carrying?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Harry Potter…Is DEAD!" Voldemort announced proudly.

"No…NO!" Severus grabbed his wand to charge forward. Remus and Sirius, surprisingly, shocked and shook at the news, were the ones to hold Severus back. No, it couldn't be. Harry promised it would be alright and that he'd be okay. That they'd…Have the life they planned. No, Harry couldn't be dead.

"You fool, Severus…Harry Potter is dead. I killed him myself. Your hero, your savior…Your only hope is gone." Voldemort informed as the Death Eaters moved Hagrid back, Harry's body going out of sight. "Ah, and there are my traitorous followers…" He rejoiced.

"No matter, no matter…I can let bygones be bygones. I can be a forgiving lord…" He paused. "The time has come to put your faith in me. Declare yourselves, join us…Or die." He waited. "Come, Severus…My most trusted follower and spy. You've always chosen the winning side, haven't you…Return to where you belong, my boy…"

Severus jerked out of Sirius and Remus's grips, lowering his wand before starting to walk. "Severus…Y-You can't be serious?" Draco scolded. "Harry died to protect you from him!"

"And Harry is dead…Who is he protecting now? If you were smart, you'd realize the same." Severus crossed the field over to Voldemort.

"Welcome back," Voldemort said.

Neville stepped forward. "Stand down, Neville." Seamus told him.

"What's your name, young man?" Voldemort asked.

"Neville Longbottom."

"Well, I'd hoped for better, but still. You've chosen to live so I'm sure we can find a place for you somewhere." Voldemort smirked.

"I'd like to say something…" Neville began. "It doesn't matter that Harry is gone. People die every day, from anything…" He went on. "Yeah…We lost Harry, but he's still here…And I won't let his death go in vain! Harry told us before the battle that we did this together. Let's finish it together." In Neville's hands, the sword of Gryffindor appeared. "It's not over!"

"Ah, well…" Voldemort informed. "That was really touching, but unfortunately…The wrong answer." He put his hands on Severus's shoulders. "Be a good follower and reaffirm yourself to me, Severus…" The man stood behind him. "Kill the boy. And I shall reward you with anything…Even some time with me. I'm sure I can make you forget all about Harry Potter…"

Just like that, Harry's eyes opened. Severus put a hand to his chest. "Harry…" He could feel him again. Harry threw himself out of Hagrid's arms. Voldemort hissed when his hand had touched Severus's face, pulling back his hand.

"What is this magic?" Voldemort asked, confused.

"Hey Tom!" Harry shouted as the Death Eaters moved aside and Voldemort turned to see who yelled. It happened in a flash, him seeing Harry Potter standing there and then the boy who had died was standing between him and Severus. "Get your hands off my husband. Nobody touches him that way except me…" Harry thrust the wand forward and sent the dark lord flying back.

Everyone on the light side cheered with joy and laughter. Harry was alive! "Harry? Harry, is that really you?" Severus asked, on the verge of tears.

Harry touched his cheek with a smile. "It's me, love." Harry leaned up to give him a kiss.

Severus accepted it and kissed him back. "You have some serious explaining to do!" Severus yelled.

Harry turned to block an attack from Voldemort. "I don't really think this is the best time, Sev." Harry remarked. "Promise you one later, though, when it's all over. You know what to do!" Harry gave him a quick kiss and rushed off with Voldemort not only sending curses his way, but running after him.

"So, uh…" Blaise began to ask.

The Death Eaters were in shock. Voldemort failed, again, to kill Harry Potter. The other side of the field were shocked that Harry was even alive. Severus faced them. "You heard him…" Severus drew his wand to fight. "When he returned with Voldemort, we finish this war! Fight on!" Severus called.

Just like that, the fight picked up once more. Severus ended up grouped with the people he'd been spending more time with during holidays and parties. "What do we do?" Lucius asked.

"We have to kill the snake, it's the only way Harry can finish Voldemort off." Severus reminded them.

"Sev, you okay?" Draco asked.

"I'm…I'm fine…I just…God, I-," Severus tried to speak.

"Hey," Remus put a hand on his shoulder.

"We get it. We all thought the same thing…" Sirius offered.

"What's important is that by whatever miracle, Harry is alive and he's fighting to end Voldemort. We need to do our part, and find Nagini." Lucius added.

"Nagini will be with Voldemort, we need to follow them…Separate the two." Narcissa stated.

"We need to deal with this first…" Hermione motioned to the Death Eaters.

"Ivy!" Severus called as the snake slithered up to her master's mate. "Remember what Harry told you to do?" Ivy nodded. "It's time. Full form, stun 'em."

There in the courtyard, Ivy grew to fifty feet long, eyes closed. The Death Eaters began to stop and back away under the large serpent. "What in the hell is that?!" Bellatrix screeched.

"That would be a Basilisk, dear older sister…She belongs to Harry," Narcissa giggled.

"And she really doesn't like when people hurt her master." Severus added.

"Oh, shiiit!…" Some of them were backing away and tried to run. Ivy was on top of it. Blocking their paths, using her eyes to petrify them in place. It really didn't take long and then she eventually went about the size of Nagini again.

"Ivy, can you track down Harry and Voldemort?" Ron asked.

The snake nodded as she began to track them, and they followed. Voldemort and Harry were dueling on the stairs, Nagini and Voldemort trying to corner Harry by having her attack from behind.

"Master, behind you!" Ivy warned quickly.

Harry blocked a spell from Voldemort, jerking the blast upward to collapse the wall beside them, cutting Nagini off from Voldemort. But also cutting Harry and Voldemort off from the group. Nagini hissed at the group and they all went right into trying to blast and catch her, but she was fast and seemingly resistant to magic. Just like the other horcruxes had been.

"This is pointless, she's just like the others. The only thing that could destroy them was a Basilisk fang or the sword." Hermione commented.

"I've got the sword, we just have to corner her." Neville raised it.

Meanwhile, with Harry and Voldemort, the two were firing back and forth. But Voldemort was stronger with the Elder Wand. Harry knew his only chance was the others getting Nagini. For now, he had Tom's attention and had to keep it. Voldemort smacked him hard and he fell.

"You were right…When you told Pettigrew that wand was failing you. It will always fail you." Harry told him.

"I killed Pettigrew!" Voldemort glared.

"Yeah, but what if the wand never belonged to Pettigrew?" Harry mentioned as Tom stared at him. "Even with that wand, you still can't kill me. And I can still hold you off. The same problem we had with our wands. Have you ever thought maybe you were the problem?" Harry sassed. He probably shouldn't, but it was making Tom let his guard down.

"You tell me who owns the wand!" Tom demanded.

"You know…You know deep down, Tom." Harry grinned. "Now…How about we finish this the way we started it?..." He paused as he wrapped his arms around Tom's neck. "Together!" Harry threw them over the edge and sent them falling towards the ground.

The two smacked down, rolling away from one another and losing their wands. "Nagini is moving outside to get to Voldemort!" Ron informed. "He and Harry just crashed there from…Somewhere."

A lot of people had been outside and more were coming to watch Harry and Voldemort duel it out. At the moment, both were dragging their bodies towards their wands. At the same time, they grabbed on and stood. Non-verbally, both cast in a display of red and green crashing together in the middle.

It shouldn't be possible without them wielding their Phoenix feather core wands. Harry's was broken and Harry was actually using Tom's against the Elder Wand. Nagini raced up behind Harry, but Ivy slipped in, and made Nagini halt fast. It was just enough time for the group to surround her and Neville swung the sword and cut Nagini's head off.

The snake burst into black smoke and faded out with the wind. At that moment, everyone turned to Voldemort, whose spell had stopped and he just stood there, realizing what happened. Harry gripped the Yew wand in hand.

"End of the line, Tom." Harry told him. "As long as I'm alive, you can't hurt them. And we both know the truth…Why that wand is refusing to work for you. It's why the blasts keep meeting in the middle, just like before."

Not saying a word, Tom fired the green curse at Harry once more, but Harry was able to hold it off. The two blasts battled for power, but this time, Harry's was pushing Tom's back towards him. Voldemort's eyes shifted towards the wand in his hand as the green blast hit the tip and canceled his spell.

Harry's blast touched the top of the Elder Wand, forcing it out of Tom's hand and flying over into Harry's. Everyone just stood there, watching as Voldemort's body broke apart in flakes of ash, into nothing but dust. It was over. The war was over. Voldemort was destroyed and gone.

"Harry? Is it…Is it really over?" Hermione asked.

"It's over. He's gone for good…We've won." Harry confirmed.

"I-I don't know if I want to cry or cheer." Ron admitted.

"We could do both, but it won't change what's happened. Voldemort is gone, and he's never coming back. No one's gonna hold it against you if you cry that it's finally over." Harry chuckled. "Woah…" Harry nearly lost his footing and Severus made sure to brace his husband.

"Easy…You lost a lot of power, love…" Severus warned.

"Take him home, Severus." Minerva ordered. "He's more than earned time to rest, as have you all who spent months hunting down those horcruxes. Harry, if you could just manage to bring the other students back from…Wherever they are, without draining yourself, please?" She requested.

Harry pulled the portkey from his pocket and opened it with the Yew wand. "S-Serpens Caverna…" Harry winced as the portal formed and a teacher poked their head through. "I-It's safe, come on through…" Harry told them.

It took a bit, but when everyone was through, Harry closed it up and Severus had to, this time, lift Harry in his arms. The poor teenager was barely awake. "Take him home to rest and don't you dare hound him for answers either, Severus Snape. Do you hear me?" Minerva remarked.

"Of course, Minerva." Severus bowed his head respectfully. "Ivy!" He called as the basilisk had shrunk back to garden snake size and crawled up Severus's leg, then shoulders to get into Harry's lap, booping her snout to his cheek.

"Rest, Master…" Ivy told Harry.

The teenager couldn't fight it anymore, he knocked out against Severus's shoulder. "I'll take him to our house and we'll let you know when he's up and recovered." Just seconds later, Severus apparated away, carrying Harry and Ivy.

. . .

Once Severus reached Spinner's End, he went right inside to get Harry up to their room. Severus used the wave of his wand to get Harry changed into nightwear and then had Ivy stand guard over Harry while he got things set in the house. After all, they hadn't been home since August 1st, 1997.

Today was May 2nd, 1998. Still morning, well, late morning. They'd been up all night and then the battle. Harry did use a lot of magic and for all intents and purposes, had died.

Severus was sure that took a lot out of Harry and the teenager needed time to recuperate. Severus got their bags unpacked and everything put away where it belonged, Winky took all the clothes to get them clean, along with dishes too. Sure, they'd had spells while on the run, but it wasn't as good as actual cleaning.

By dinner time, Severus had showered and crawled into bed with his husband. The potions master held him close, making sure he was in front of Harry still and finally, sleep took him too.

Four days passed by and Harry was unconscious for it all. Severus still woke each day and made sure to take care of Harry by giving him potions for nutrition and also replenishers to restore his magic. Severus had scanned Harry with a spell on the 3rd of May and as he suspected, Harry's stores were extremely low, but thankfully restoring at a decent rate. It reminded Severus of Harry's fourth year after the battle with Voldemort, when he had come back to a body.

However, all that nightmare was over. Voldemort was gone for good thanks to Harry. No matter what anyone said about it being together; Harry dealt the final blow and he had been the child of the prophecy who would have the power to defeat the dark lord and so it had come full circle. Severus got updated on everyone while he remained home to tend to his husband.

The Malfoys were back home, and housing the people who had been staying in Harry and Sirius's properties to hide from Voldemort, originally. This was because the Death Eaters, in their search for the traitors, destroyed everything of the former homes belonging to the Zabinis, Crabbes, Goyles, Parkinsons, and Notts.

The Weasleys were back home, spending time together and Hermione had been with them for a day or two longer before she returned home to her muggle parents. The teachers at the school had been working to get it rebuilt where it was broken and back to its former glory.

The plan was to get it restored to begin a new school year for September. In all this, there was informing families of who passed in the battle. The ministry was handling that under the new minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Minerva had told Severus by a fire call that while the families were having private funerals, the ministry was going to be doing a large-scale memorial for all those who had lost their lives because of Voldemort. However, Kingsley also made it clear that the wizarding world was calling Harry forward to receive an award for his service to everyone.

This in addition to others who personally aided Harry in the quest. Severus told her that with the danger over, Harry might not be up for it all because Severus had made Harry agree to let himself be selfish when the war was over. This meant it would be time for Harry to finally focus on his depression and work through the bad things of his life.

Plus, everyone knew how much Harry hated the whole famous image. Minerva told him she tried, but Kingsley was being overrun with demands that Harry be recognized as a hero, their savior. Severus said he would try, but not to be surprised if Harry refused and he wouldn't force him either.

Currently, it was May 6th, about 5:45 pm and Severus was preparing to go get Harry his potions, then have dinner himself. The potions master got upstairs, and was surprised to see Harry sitting upright.

"Harry…Thank Merlin," Severus sighed in relief, going to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Hey, Sev…" Harry greeted. "I've been out for a few days, huh?"

"Yes," Severus confirmed.

"How many?" Harry asked.

"Four. It's the 6th," Severus didn't want to sugar-coat it. "You suffered serious magic drain, and probably overall exhaustion of our nine months on the run. Stress and all."

"Sounds right," Harry nodded and agreed.

"How do you feel?" Severus inquired.

"Sore, maybe still a little tired…But hungry, really want a shower and to use the bathroom." Harry admitted.

Severus smiled and leaned over to kiss his forehead. "Well, you go grab a shower and use the loo. I'll have Winky prepare us dinner, complete with a pain relief potion for that soreness."

"You still want that explanation, don't you?" Harry wondered.

"Of course I do. But so does everyone else, so we might as well wait a bit longer to get together for it. Also, over dinner…I've got updates you're going to half like and half hate. Just for the warning." Severus said.

"Oh, well appreciate the warning. I'll be quick coming down to join you then." Harry promised. Severus nodded as he kissed Harry's forehead again, then pulled back to stare at it for a moment. "Something you find interesting?"

"Your scar…" Severus stated. "It's…Faded quite a bit since Voldemort died."

"Really?" Harry got out of the bed and went over to the bathroom, flipping on the lights to check the mirror. "Wow…You can hardly see it." Harry examined. "No more visions. No more pain…"

Severus hugged Harry from behind and kissed his cheek. "Do you know what that tells me, Harry?" The teenager glanced at him through the mirror's reflection. "You can put your past to rest, and focus on the future."

Harry leaned into his husband's arms, sighing out and then crying. Severus thought he'd said something wrong, but Harry smiled. "I-I thought I'd never have one. I thought I wouldn't survive the battle…And I nearly didn't. Oh, God…I-I'm still alive. Alive and…Free…"

Severus closed his eyes and held his husband, hoping it would console him. But Harry wasn't sad. These were happy tears and that's what made Severus happy. His husband was okay, alive…Everything was going to be alright. Finally.