Harry Potter sat behind his desk in the study of No. 12 Grimmuald Place. He contemplated the decision he made early this morning. It could have been one of the stupidest things he had ever done, but so far it appeared to have been the right choice. Not only that, but it looked like things were going to be much easier now.

He felt the stress melt away as he took a sip of the fire whiskey that Dobby had delivered a few minutes ago. Taking a moment to savor the taste he thought back about how he came to find himself in his current position.

Harry had always been a smart child and learned early on that it was better to hide his intelligence. That particular lesson was beat into from an early age when his grades in school were better than his cousins.

But things were different now, he no longer needed to hold back, that was something he had slowly learned over his years at Hogwarts.

It was only once Voldemort was dealt with the he no longer fully hid his intelligence.

In his early years at school, he found a love for enchanting. That led to an in-depth study of Runes, Arithmancy, and Charms.

Due to his nature of wanting to hide what was important to him, he did not take Runes or Arithmancy in school and self-studied during the summer.

Once he was out of school, he sat for a few extra OWLS and NEWTS and recently he had earned a Mastery in Charms, Runes, and a honorary Mastery in Defense Against the Dark Arts. The reason it was honorary was because he didn't submit any articles or even sit for the Mastery test. But after the expose about his life story came out, the Ministry of Magic decided to grant him an honorary Mastery.

Tomorrow he would have the results for his fourth Mastery, the only one he was really interested in. His Mastery in Enchanting. But after that he didn't know what he was going to do. He took his schooling to its limit in the subjects that interested him.

Research was always an option. Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to spend the rest of his days in a lab though.

He had grown up fighting just to survive and today he had finally been given peace and a promise to be left alone. No more Ministry asking for his help with this, or the ICW asking for help with that.

Harry didn't mind helping out where he could, but it ruffled his feathers when they couldn't be bothered trying to do something themselves first. They would go running for the Man-Who-Won and demand that he solve there problems.

It was the same mentality that led to Voldemort's second rise, and probably his first. But he couldn't comment on that since he was around back then.

While he may have been the prophesized Chosen One, nobody knew that and were still doing nothing except yelling for him to take care of it.

In his second year at Hogwarts, Harry realized that his whole life he had been set up and he was used as a pawn by Dumbledore. He was still torn about the man. Some days he thought back about Dumbledore fondly, remembering him as the kind mentor that taught him so many things. Then other days he cursed the man's name for his inaction that resulted in so many deaths along with his desire for secrecy and the way he used people like chess pieces.

With honest reflection, Harry was sure he would hate the man if he was still alive. But he wasn't, he was dead and gone, and it did no one good to hold onto anger. Otherwise, he might end up like Snape or Filch.

Snape was still the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and Harry had to admit that the dour potions master thrived in that position. He no longer needed to deal with a classroom of 'insufferable dunderheads'. The man had plenty of time research potions and was able to spend his remaining time making sure Hogwarts standards were brought back up to the peaks where they once resided.

Harry still mourned his Godfather Sirius, but more than that he mourned the freedom that the man represented. In all honesty, he barely knew his godfather but that didn't make it hurt any less when he was killed in the Department of Mysteries.

What hurt Harry the most was the loss of his first friend. That day marked the beginning of the war for Harry. Yes he had fought Death Eaters and Voldemort before that, but after Hedwig died he was out for blood.

Harry began by enchanting a map to track horcrux's and was surprised to find that he was one.

It was then that the last piece of the puzzle clicked into place. He had known that Dumbledore was using him but had just assumed it was the prophecy. But he realized the headmaster had been planning his death since he was placed with his aunt and uncle.

Finding one in Gringotts led him to a meeting with the goblins. Although he was Lord Black, they wouldn't give him access to the Lestrange vault. No matter how much the goblins despised the evil magic that Harry wished to destroy, they signed a contract and didn't want to violate it.

He was able to eventually strike a deal with them.

He would enchant an object for them. They were skeptical at first but soon recognized his genius in his chosen field.

A week later the enchanted directory was completed. The goblins were now able to track every goblin made item. The directory was a record of when each piece was made, who made it, who it was passed to and where it was now. It was self-updating, and if not damaged, would last for hundreds of years. While the Ministry would never help the goblins recover their items, they were pleased with the ability to track everything that was rightfully theirs.

In thanks, Harry's account manager Bone Crusher 'broke into' the Lestrange vault and retrieved the Horcrux for him. When the Goblin King found out, he was loud and furious and ordered for Bone Crushers execution. But in light of the evilness of the object that was removed from the bank, he spared the account managers family and clan.

That day, for the first time in the Goblin Kings life, he made a clumsy mistake. He put the execution order in the wrong file. The file he put it into was a list of things that were being compiled and placed into a time capsule that wouldn't be opened for 500 years.

When the mistake was discovered, the Goblin King shrugged and said 'oops'. When the more traditional clans found out, they demanded another writ of execution be drawn up.

The Goblin king said it would only be possible if they had proof of the objects theft. But the Horcrux was destroyed and gone, while the original proof ended up in the time capsule. The goblin king informed them that Bone Crusher would be executed the moment the capsule opened 500 years later.

The king grumbled that it was too bad that Bone Crusher was already over 200 years old and goblins normally only live to be 300. And it was a shame that he had ordered the mans clan and family off limits.

The traditional goblins got over themselves and the rest were excited about the directory and pleased to have the evil out of their bank.

Harry gave the goblins access to all his vaults so that they could remove any goblin forged artifacts.

They were pleased enough that they used the directory to grant him ownership of the Sword of Gryffindor, even going as far to show him how to use all the features of the magnificent weapon and he was declared a Friend of the Goblin Nation.

From there Harry followed his map back to Grimmuald Place and found the locket. He next retrieved Ravenclaw's diadem from Hogwarts. That was where his newest problem started.

He visited Dumbledor's grave for the first time. The damn Elder Wand appeared in his hand. With the wand in hand and while he was wearing his invisibility cloak to sneak through Hogwarts, he felt something calling towards him.

He sighed and followed the call.

The goblins had already informed him that he was not only Lord Potter and Lord Black. He was also Lord to the Peverell line and Lord of both Gryffindor and Slytherin. With the latter by conquest. Hogwarts opened the way for him and after stepping foot into Snape's office, the Resurrection stone shot out from its hiding place in a secret floor compartment. The moment the stone touched his flesh, it fused into his being along with the wand and cloak.

Harry passed out and only woke a few hours later.

He cursed at the influx of information in his mind. He was now the Master of Death. His body would age until he was 25 and then no more. His magic core swelled to be several times larger than its already substantial size and he would now recover from injury much faster. On top of that, death was now optional for him. At least he wasn't cursed with true immortality.

It was lucky that Snape hadn't returned while he was passed out, but the new Headmaster and the rest of the Order were to busy looking for him most likely.

Harry checked his map and found that both Voldemort and Nagini were at Malfoy manor. Tired of all the bullshit Harry went straight there.

He used a device he created called a Ward-Breaker, once he got to the property.

He drew his wand and sword before triggering it.

With a grin, the wards shattered in an explosion. Magic was thick in the air while Harry marched into the enemy stronghold. Anything that attacked him got put down while he progressed to Voldemort's inner sanctum. The Sword of Gryffindor met no resistance when separating Nagini's head from her body.

Like always, Tom began to monologue. A reductor curse to the face got him in the fighting mode.

When the green killing curse came his way, Harry banished his sword straight into the Dark Lord's chest.

They both went down, but it was Harry who got back up. He used his sword to remove the man's head for good measure and then walked out.

Aurors were ushing towards the place as he stepped out. The destruction of the Wards had caused the largest magical event in recent history and attracted all kinds of attention.

Harry had to answer many questions, but he was eventually able to leave.

A few days later he went off to finish his last year of school. It turned out to be the most pleasant one yet. For once nothing crazy happened. Barring pranks from magical children.

After he graduated, he began his journey towards an Enchanting Mastery while occasionally fending off attacks from remnant Death Eaters and other who were trying to put him down to make a name for themselves.

They were unfortunate to find he was no longer a stun and petrify wizard. Not many survived.

A few in the Wizengamot tried to kick up a fuss, but he acted in self-defense and was Lorded 5 times. There were never enough votes for it to amount to anything.

Harry worked towards his goal and answered the call when others needed help. And was often pressured into doing more than what was necessary. But no more.

This morning he Reported to the ICW where they asked him to take on a budding Dark Lord in Spain. The way they asked had pissed him off. They hadn't even sent a single hit wizard or done anything. Their first instinct was to call Harry. He deserved a life of his own and he let them know it with a loud and rambling rant.

It was at that point he inadvertently mentioned that he was the Master of Death while he was rambling, and it brought the meeting to a halt as everyone was sworn to extremely strict secrecy oaths.

With all the studying and fighting, Harry was burnt out.

He consented to letting them investigate a few things and the sitting members tried a few experiments.

One greedy asshole even disarmed Harry of the Elder Wand and then drove a transfigured spear through his heart.

The man paled when Harry sat back up and pulled the spear from his chest. Those who weren't convinced by that were convinced when the Elder Wand refused to operate for the man and the jumped back into Harry's hand.

Needless to say, he quickly resigned and took an unbreakable vow to keep quiet about today and retire peacefully.

ICW finally recognized Harry as more than a weapon to point when they needed, and promised to not ask for help unless it was actually required. That was all Harry wanted.

Now he was sitting at his desk waiting for his final Mastery result and a future that was wide open.

"What should I do now?" Harry mused to himself.

*Peck* *Peck* *Peck*

He turned and saw 2 owls at the window. With a wave of his hand, the window opened. 2 envelopes were deposited in his letter box and the owls were gone.

His results had come early.

Quickly skimming the letter, he smiled when he found that he was now an Enchanting Master.

The second letter was from Gringotts and didn't come as a surprise. Tomorrow was his twentieth birthday and he would now be able to access the Potter legacy vault.

That made him smile. And it would give him something to do tomorrow.

He and Nevile celebrated their birthdays this past weekend since everyone else was busy today and tomorrow.

But that was fine with Harry. He was happy enough to celebrate with his friends and those he cared about. Having it on the correct day meant nothing.

He thought about mirror calling his friends to share the news about his latest Mastery but decided not to.

Hermione was in Italy attending a conference on creature rights for the next few days. She had gotten a job at a law firm and was on her way to getting a license to practice.

Ron had an early game against the Arrows tomorrow. Ever since he joined the Chudley Cannons they were actually now winning a good number of games. The team still wasn't good, but they were no longer in last place. In fact, they were now fourth from last and if they won tomorrows match they would be fifth from last. Their coach had strict rules about what they could do the night before a match. He didn't want to get Ron in trouble for something they could talk about tomorrow. If he called tonight, it was guaranteed that his friend would badger him into going out to a bar tonight to celebrate.

Nevile had recently crossbred a Devil's Snare with a Moon Lily and was on a weird and messed up sleep schedule while he nursed the thing through its infancy. He had no clue if the budding botanist was awake or asleep and didn't want to find out.

Ginny was on her honeymoon. She had gotten married a few weeks ago, but her and her husband put off their trip until after the birthday party. He definitely wasn't going to call his ex-girlfriend while she was on her honeymoon. They were good friends and there was no weirdness between Ex's but he still wasn't going to do that.

And Luna, lovely, lovely Luna, his shimmering Moonbeam was off on a trip to Sweden in search of Crumple Horned Snorkack's. It would be very early in the morning for her and he wasn't going to wake her up. He and Luna had started dating last year. They had a strange relationship, but it worked for the two of them. Sometimes she would be gone for months on her adventures, other times he would join her.

Luna was the only one of his friends that knew he was the Master of Death. One of the things that made their relationship work was that they both could talk to each other about anything with zero judgment. The pair just worked.

He contemplated calling his business partners, Fred and George, but decided that he would just swing by the shop tomorrow after the bank.

But there was one person he would tell tonight.

"Dobby"

*Pop*

"What can Dobby be doing for the Greatest and most Fantastic Master Harry Potter?"

Harry chuckled at the exuberant elf.

"O Great Efficient and Masterful Dob'Meister. What did we agree upon in regard to long titles?"

Dobby pouted at his introduction. "If Dobby uses one then Master Harry will use one."

Harry just smiled. "I called you to let you know that I just received my Enchanting Mastery."

Dobby's ears started to flap in excitement while he bounced on his feet.

"Great! Great! Master Harry is the best. Dobby knew you would be's doing it."

"Go get the special chocolate cake and two plates, then let's celebrate."

Dobby's eyes went wide. "The one with the little tiny nutty pieces on top?" He asked with a bit of drool on his lips.

"That's the one."

*Snap*

The cake, utensils and two plates appeared on the coffee table in the study. Harry moved over to the couch while Dobby plated two pieces and then joined him.