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Harry had woken up in darkness. The only light he detected was the vague flickering from a candle somewhere in the room. The smell alone told him that he was in the infirmary. Well… it only took him three years to end up here this time, new personal best.

"Fuck…" he growled. Sitting up was painful, a quick inspection of his own body revealed why. He wasn't covered in bandages, but the smell of ointment clung to him like a cloak. He felt weaker than he should, and from what he could feel, his core was trying to regrow itself from the stunt he pulled.

"Detection, Protection, Disabling, Nullifying, Anti-Apparation, Anti-Portkey and finally Intent. Those last four might have been overdoing it." He muttered to himself. All seven wards, combined together, formed the strongest protection he could perform. No one would enter the Mansion without him knowing, and no one was leaving without his say so either. Right now, all but the Detection and Intent wards were disabled; he would only activate the rest once his pray had entered the trap.

Moving himself so he was sitting against the bedhead, Harry looked around and found himself smiling. Vanessa was sitting in a chair next to his bed, sleeping, and the faint trace of Dumbledore's magic was in the air.

"Tempus" he whispered and watched as the numbers floated above his finger, "Wandless Magic, gotta love it." He muttered until he saw the date displayed, "Shit… I've been out five days?"

Sneaking out of the Medical Wing was a feat in and of itself, but doing it without alert Vanessa as well? Damn, he should be getting a medal for this. Opting for silent apparition (little known fact, one cannot apparate out of or into Hogwarts wards, but apparating around inside the ward? Perfectly possible.), rather than violent emerald lighting, Harry appeared at the roof of Hogwarts and sucked in a huge breath.

"My Goddess, your humble servant asks for your wisdom."

"You don't need to pray, Harry. I'm never far from you." The voice entered his mind and Harry smiled.

"I wanted to thank you. You called Fawkes to me after I exhausted myself with the warding, didn't you?"

"You shouldn't have strained your core so far," to Harry's surprise, she did actually sound quite disappointed, "You are strong, and having Thymea and being my Herald does make you stronger… You are still only human, Harry. Never mind that you used an ancient Incantation to produce that Protection Ward, but six wards more on top of that? If I hadn't stepped in, you would have ended up in a coma."

"I think I knew that… but standing there, realizing that if this failed, I would have to use even more time finding him? I couldn't do it, I had to make sure I got him this time."

"You will, but for my sake, Harry, don't do something so foolish again. Next time, Fawkes might not make it in time to save you."

"I promise. Thank you again for saving me."

"You are my Herald, I will never let harm come upon you if I can stop it. Now go sleep, Harry. Your love wants words with you when you wake up."

"She's going to kill me."

All he heard was a faint laughing in the night and for a moment the stars flickered in tune with it. Shaking his head, Harry apparated back into the infirmary and went back to bed.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Vanessa sure did have words for him. She was absolutely furious with him for doing something so reckless. If it hadn't been for her constant fussing to make sure that he was, as he kept saying, fine then she would likely have sounded much more threatening. Dumbledore had come in later in the morning, an air of worry surrounding the man. Much of it had dispelled as he spoke with Harry and learned what he had done, but he too hadn't approved of straining his core to such an extreme.

"Well, at least the warding was successful." Dumbledore mused with a sigh.

"Taken a little peek, have you?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Yes, I couldn't help myself. Some powerful Wards indeed. If I may be so bold, are you sure that they will not be detected by Tom? The area is quite latent with your magic." Dumbledore replied with a slight frown.

"The last ward I cast was a ward of Intent. If I don't consider you an ally, then you won't be able to detect any of the other wards. Aside from that, I've deactivated the rest of the wards but the Detection ward. Once the trap is sprung, I'll activate the rest and make sure Tommy boy won't be able to get away." Harry explained with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Very well, I shall trust your expertise on the matter. With regards to the school, I have gotten your exams delayed for the week. We can't have you going into the exams with a still recuperating core."

"Thank you, Sir. As for your offer, both of them, I accept sir. My little… nap… gave me time to think."

Dumbledore's smile grew and for the first time since he had met him, both times, Harry saw a glimpse of the man Dumbledore must have been in his prime. The wisdom and power the flowed off his magic was simply astounding.

"Marvelous, Harry! I'll set up a schedule for this summer, we have much to introduce you to over the break. I dare say by the time your fourth year begins, you shall be leagues and scores above the rest."

"Sir," Harry began with a grin, "I already am."

"I'm doing better than you in Charms, Potions and Ancient Runes." Vanessa remarked from her position next to Harry on the bed.

"Okay… over anyone else then." Harry amended.

"Daphne Greengrass is doing better than you in Arithmancy as well as Herbology, and Neville Longbottom is doing even better than her at Herbology. To be fair, the only two classes you are "leagues and scores" ahead in are Transfiguration and DADA." Vanessa continued as she counted off on her fingers.

"Okay fine, I get it!" Harry half-yelled, "I'm slacking off because my focus is too much on Voldemort. You give me until the end of fourth year. Once I've beat that bastard, I'll trounce every old school record we have for grades…" he finished in a slight mutter.

"That's quite the declaration, Harry. I myself hold the record for Transfiguration, your father made quite the bid for it, but he fell a little short." Dumbledore mused as he stroked his long white beard with a challenging grin.

"Oh just you wait and see, Sir. I'll get my name on every plaque in that stupid display." Harry vowed.

"Well, my boy. You have a challenge ahead of you. The last person to produce such a feat was… well, I think I'll leave that as a surprise of you succeed."

Then life moved on. Harry was released from the dungeon, er Infirmary, and allowed back to his studies. A week later and he was going through his exams like butter, finding no challenge in the old material. Honestly he was mostly just going through the motions, a lot more interested in getting started on his summer and the training he would be doing under Dumbledore's tutelage.

The leaving feast was as grand as usual. Vanessa and Harry both found themselves looking forward to their turn walking down the great hall to the applause of their fellow students. Harry himself looked on the graduates with a fair bit of pride and envy. He'd never been given that chance, the war had seen to that, but now he could experience it for himself, with Vanessa at his side for an added bonus.

The night felt longer than normal, maybe it was because they were leaving come the first morning light, or maybe it was because he felt like they were running into the home stretch now. With a little luck, a no small amount of skill, they would have Voldemort dead and permanently erased before the year ends. Of course that counts on them not having any… accidents along the way.

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Summer came and with it a time of peace for Harry. He'd said goodbye to Vanessa at King's Cross, promised to see her sometime during the vacation and then he had turned on his heel and apparated to Grimmauld place. Sirius had greeted him warmly, Remus had been visiting at the time so the three wizards spent a great deal of time just talking. Mostly about his parents and the two older wizards lives.

Sirius had gotten some headway with Harry's idea about getting Bellatrix out of Azkaban, legally, at least. It had taken some grease, but Fudge would bring up the idea of a parole solution for certain inmates in Azkaban. Sirius had even given the extra push by reminded the dear Minister that he would be seen, at least among the purebloods, as the one to give them a chance to see some of their family members again.

Remus was keeping himself busy, working where he could and else he was just studying what he could find. When Harry mentioned that the position of DADA teacher would open up again in the future, Remus promised to ask Dumbledore for a second chance, regardless of what everyone was saying about him.

As it were, Harry kept an ear to the ground most the summer. Staying constantly connected to his wards so he would be alerted the instant that Voldemort found his way into the Riddle Mansion. However, to his great annoyance, throughout the summer the wards were not activated even once.

Halfway through the summer, Harry returned to Hogwarts and began his studies as Dumbledore's apprentice. There were tons of books they would look through, countless spells that Harry were to learn, and some paperwork techniques that would be his saving grace when he became Headmaster. Hell, Harry even convinced Dumbledore to let Vanessa back to Hogwarts for most of the summer. They let Filius in on their little plan and he whole-heartedly supported young Vanessa's bid for Ravenclaw Head of House, he even went as far as to offer her apprentice ship with him once she finished Hogwarts.

So this summer was perhaps one of the greatest Harry had ever experienced, and hopefully there would be many more like it in the end.

But everything comes to an end and soon enough, Harry stood with Vanessa on King's Cross once again as they waited to board the train and head off for their fourth year of Hogwarts. As the train barreled across the tracks, Harry talked about the Tournament and how he participated last time. Vanessa joked about entering herself, then showing all these wizards some real tricks. Once she heard about the Wyvern she had to fight… it curbed her enthusiasm for the idea a little.

The Sorting went as expected, a few new students for each house. Then Dumbledore rose and announced the Tournament, and the age restriction which would be placed upon it. He explained how they would be joined by Durmstrang and Boubaxtons later in the year and then they would see who would be the champions of each school.

After that… the year became awfully dull. Harry was just going through the motions, his training with Dumbledore truly putting further than his peers in terms of both practical and theoretical knowledge. The teachers, having all been informed of young Mr. Potter's apprenticeship with Dumbledore, knew that he wouldn't be paying much attention in classes. Though a few teachers, namely Filius and Minerva, took a bit of smug pride in knowing that he still listened when the two were teaching.

As the day for the two schools to arrive finally came upon them, the school was buzzing with activity. Everyone was waiting anxiously to see the two different magical schools from Europe and were wondering how they would be. Then it happened, the first few students saw the Baubaxtons carriage arrive in the sky and there was a stampede to get the "good seats" in the courtyard to witness their arrival. The Durmstrang contingent were long behind their French counterparts as their shop broke the surface of the water and docked near the school.

All of Hogwarts students were herded back into the Great Hall so they could witness the "fantastical" entrance of the other schools. Durmstrang did their dancing routine, and both Karkaroff and Krom tried their best to look intimidating. The Quidditch Cup held no interesting to Harry this year, he did know that Ireland had won again, but other than that? It had been attacked once again and it mattered so very little to Harry.

Boubaxtons had entered in their flurry of dresses, doves and feathers. Looking every bit the sophisticated school they liked to pretend they were. Harry did keep notice of Fleur, as well as some of the other students from the school. Just from looking at the oncoming students, it was clear to him that there were at least four other Veela with them on this trip.

Everyone was seated and the food appeared, it took naught more but a second after Dumbledore had announced "dig in" before everyone had full plates and were wolfing down the meal. Chatter and merrymaking rose up amongst the different tables. The Ravenclaw's were asking their part of the Boubaxton group all the questions they could think of. The two schools had been divided in half so the Boubaxton's students were split between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and Durmstrang was split between Slytherin and Gryffindor, thus giving everyone a chance to "mingle".

Harry was enjoying the meal when he felt a prick at the back of his neck. At first he only assumed it a light buzz, or perhaps his neck was hurting, but when a second prick came, even stronger than the first, he reached out and felt against the wards on Riddle Manor. Someone, or rather three someones, had triggered them.

Before anyone had a chance to react, Harry vanished in emerald lightning and the sound of thunder rocked through the great hall as the magic pushed against the walls.

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The emerald thunderbolt slammed into the ground before the Riddle Mansion. The wards screeched and bent as the magic pushed against them and Harry swung Thymea, activating the latent wards. Voldemort was trapped. Blasting the door off its hinges, he heard the sound of someone running around upstairs, and the sound of a snake slithering on the floor.

$Nagini, Nagini, Nagini… where are you$ Harry sang in parseltongue, hoping to lure out the beast so he could blast it to high heaven.

$Harry Potter…$ the hoarse voice of Lord Voldemort sounded through the ancient mansion, beaconing Harry towards the upper floor.

The wood creaked and complained under the young wizards weight. It would not be many years until this place would come crumbling apart, whatever it be by the hands of men or time. The faint trace of another magical presence lingered in the air, alerting Harry to their presence.

'Crouch Jr…' he summarized as he held up Thymea, ready to dispatch the annoying wizard as soon as he saw him.

The memory of his fourth year guiding him, Harry soon came upon the room which he remembered. The door stood ajar, and through it he saw the chair in which the small form of Voldemorts homunculi body would sit. He would imagine that Crouch jr. couldn't be far behind.

$Come in, Harry… we have so much to discuss…$

Scoffing to himself, Harry waved his wand and the door to the room exploded off its hinges and flew to the side of the room. He heard the sound of someone screaming and then going silent. Carefully entering the room, Harry saw the still form of Bartemius Crouch Jr. lying underneath the door, neck at a funny angle and quite clearly dead.

"Pity…" Harry drawled as he gestured towards the still form.

Finally, he saw it once more, the disgusting charred body of Voldemort. It wasn't bigger than an infant, but still horribly disfigured, had it not been for the red gleaming eyes, Harry wouldn't even have believed that this little thing could be Voldemort. And those red eyes were shining with hatred.

$Crouch was a faithful servant… you shall pay for this, Potter!$ Voldemort roared and just as he finished, Nagini sprang from behind the large chair.

Harry dodged almost effortlessly to the side and lifted Thymea for all but a second before slamming it back down, impaling it upon the tip of Nagini's body, making the huge snake hiss in pain. Twisting himself slightly, Harry pushed Thymea deeper into the floor and then leveled the head of the staff towards Nagini's own.

"Interitum… Anima!" Harry yelled and just for a second all sound vanished inside the old mansion. The only sound to be heard was a horrifying screech, as if the dead were being forced out of the underworld. A deep black orb flew from the staff and traveled, almost painfully slow, towards the still snake. Just a few inches from the beast, the orb opened up and seemingly swallowed the beast entirely.

A thump sounded through the room as the orb vanished, leaving only the small portion of the tail that Thymea had been stuck in lying helplessly on the floor.

Interitum Anima, the spell to destroy a soul. The last spell in the book of the Dark Elven Queens, the spell that was only to be used as an absolute last resort. It tore the target's very being apart, twisting and turning it until it was sent, screaming and kicking, to endless oblivion.

$Nagini! NO!$ Voldemort roared as his tiny form attempted to move.

"Shut up." Harry commanded as he rounded upon the homunculi form. "You have been such a pain, Voldemort, for these past four years. Now I finally have you where I want you, and wouldn't you know it… I want to gloat a little."

$Do what you will. I have achieved Immortality. Strike me down, Potter, and I shall rise again$

"You mean your Horcruxes, like Nagini there was?" The extreme way the homunculi body's eyes widened was almost comical, "Oh yes, Tommy boy. I know about them. They are all gone, Nagini was the last piece of the puzzle."

$Impossible!$

"Not quite…" Harry stated with a shrug, "But you really were the annoyance that just wouldn't go away. Even when I died, you were still a problem for me."

Voldemort looked confused at Harry, and the younger wizard chuckled darkly.

"I die, only to wake up within the Afterlife and get told that because I didn't kill you entirely, but rather condemned you to forever have your soul locked within a rock at the bottom of the ocean, I was being sent back… back to correct my mistake. You." Harry's features darkened as he stalked closer to the chair and kicked it over, sending Voldemort tumbling to the ground.

"I can't even begin to tell you how much shit I have had to endure on this little second trip around the bend. I have had to deal with Gods, psychopathic Queens, changed events and what else would you know. You know what? I'm sick of it." Lifting up Thymea, Harry waved it in front of him and a purple lightning bolt arched forward and struck Voldemort's homunculi form, forcing a scream from the small thing.

"I've waited three years to do this. Three years to finish my job and get to live my life again… but honestly? I have been waiting more to be able to tell you all of this. To reveal to you that no matter what you would have done this time, no matter how many plans you would have made… I would always have come out on top." Harry took a deep breath and seemed to relax a little, "So here we stand… just you and me. I'm sure you had imagined it all differently, that perhaps we were destined to meet in some great battle, to trade spells for hours as we tried to one-up one another and you would prove that you were the superior wizard. But that didn't happened, did it? No grand build up, no exciting schemes or great battles leading to our fate. No… just you, a weak little thing, and me… your superior in every form. Somehow it feels… anti-climatic… even for me."

$How… how can you be so strong$ Voldemort growled from the floor.

"I already told you… I was sent back. I'm a fourteen year old with the power and experience of a thirty-two year old wizard. I knew of your schemes and plans before you even thought them up." Harry's eyes suddenly seemed to shine a little, "Oh I have to know this!" he exclaimed, "Did you know that Bellatrix betrayed you? That she constantly worked against you from the inside? That she had planned, all along, that in case of her death, the Horcrux you had her guard in her vault would be passed on to Sirius and inform him to find and destroy the rest?"

Voldemort's eyes widened and Harry could see that he wanted nothing more than to explode with rage, but there was so little magic in that small form, just barely enough to keep him alive.

"Oh you didn't know? GREAT!" Harry roared with laughter.

"So… any last words, requests, or something? Before I end your miserable existence." Harry growled when his laughter died down.

$The prophecy…$ the homunculi tried weakly.

"Ahh yes," Harry said slowly, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have the power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…" Harry recited from memory before looking down at the small shaking form, Harry sneered, "Tripe, isn't it? "Power the Dark Lord knows not…" oh spare me. If I hadn't been explained what a Prophecy actually is… who knows what I might have taken it as."

$No… I cannot be destroyed, I am Lord Voldemort! Greatest Wizard to have ever lived!$

"No…" Harry said in a slightly morose tone, "You are Tom Marvolo Riddle, the son of Tom Marvolo Sr. and Merope Gaunt. A sad story about a child with potential for greatness, but fear of death turned him into a sniveling coward that tried his best to outrun that which can't be outrun. In the end, you are nothing more but a Half-Blood with delusions of grandeur." Harry looked upon the small form of Vold… Tom, and sighed deeply before transforming Thymea to wand form and pointing it between the eyes of the homunculi.

"And I'm tired of wasting time on you…"

$No! I am Lord Voldemort, I am Imm..$

"Avada Kedavra." The green beam flew forward and impacted the homunculi body, making it completely still. It just laid there, motionless, until suddenly it began dissolving into dust. Without any magic to sustain the form, of course it would crumble back into its baser ingredients.

Harry stood still for a moment, just soaking up the feeling of finally being free. It felt amazing, as if the world was finally opening up to him an allowing him to view it in all its glory. No longer would have to worry about a mad dark lord out for his blood, nor would he have to concern himself with Death Eaters and their mad plans to bring back their now dead lord.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" he laughed, as if it was the only thing he could do. He laughed long and hard, until his lungs gave out and he was left starving for breath.

With a little spring in his step, Harry walked outside the old Riddle Mansion and stared at it for a moment before leveling his want at the offending structure.

"Finite!" he intoned and the wards around the entire property collapsed in on themselves. Yes indeed, the greatest wards ever created could be removed with a simple Finite spell. Of course it had to be Harry to cast it, but that was just a minor detail..

"FIENDFYRE!" The orange-black frame sprung from his wand and in moments had engulfed the entire house in its hellish inferno. He stood motionless and watched as the structure burned to the ground. When all there was left were ash, he smothered the Fiendfyre and watched as all there remained were burned ashes and embers.

Moments later an emerald lightning bolt streaked across the sky.

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The great hall was buzzing with activity, everyone had seen how one of Hogwarts students had vanished in a bolt of emerald lightning and many from the two visiting schools had begun asking questions. Vanessa had run to the staff table and looked worriedly at Dumbledore, barely able to form a sentence. The old Headmaster was equally worried, trying to reach out he realized that he couldn't apparate to the manor… Harry had already begun his assault.

So all they could do was calm down everyone and then wait, wait and see what was going to happen. Something did indeed happen, Snape and Karkaroff both fell to the floor, screaming and grabbing their left arms in an attempt to stifle the burning sensation their Dark Marks were giving them. In fact, all over Wizarding Britain former Death Eaters were dropping and screaming as their Dark Marks began burning off their bodies.

The two wounded Wizards had been carried to the Infirmary as everyone was waiting in trepidation. Dumbledore had retreated to the small back room where he was pacing frantically. The sound of lighting had him running outside and back into the great hall just in time to see Harry appear, looking so peaceful that Dumbledore could have mistaken him for dead.

"Harry?" He said beneath a breath as he approached his young apprentice.

"It's done, Albus. He's gone, for good." Harry declared with a wide grin as he looked around for Vanessa. When he saw her, he ran up to her and grabbed her and pulled her in for a kiss.

"Gone?" Dumbledore muttered for a moment, as if the thought seemed alien… "Gone… He's gone! Hahaha!" Dumbledore roared with laughter and looked like he was ready to dance a jig.

"Albus! What is going on?!" Minerva yelled, effectively stopping all celebration from the three magicals.

"Ahem… well… perhaps this is a matter best brought up at the next staff meeting. For now, let us all get back to the feast!"

No one wanted to argue against that. Harry and Vanessa took their seats at the Ravenclaw table and enjoyed the feast, big smiles on their faces. Though Vanessa did get a little passive-aggressive whenever she spoke about how someone had decided to go alone to deal with their shared problem. Over the course of the feast, Harry and Vanessa got some time to meet Fleur. She was… different, not much, but rather than seemingly being permanently stuck to a high horse, she was a decent person and a good conversationalist.

As the feast came to an end, Harry and Vanessa joined Dumbledore in his office where the three celebrated quietly. Harry told them what had happened, even showed them the memory. Dumbledore was a little disappointed in him for not being more careful, but it was easily overshadowed by his relief over Tom's end. Vanessa was, in honesty, just a little miffed that she didn't get to go as she had hoped. Finally, as the two youngest magicals were preparing to head off for bed, Harry declared his intention to find a way into the afterlife one last time, if anything simply just so he could say "mission accomplished."

So the day after, Harry stood in front of the wall on the seventh floor once more. On the third pass, a white wooden door appeared and he stepped through without hesitation.

"Harry, welcome." The voice of John greeted him. He was in John's office, the exact same one he had been in when all of this began.

"Thank you, John. I'm guessing you know why I'm here?" Harry replied with a court nod as he took a seat in front of the desk.

"Of course. Voldemort is dead, his soul has returned to the afterlife, and I can, with good consciences, tell my boss that he can stop worrying about it."

"So… I'm free now, right? No more hunting souls, no more of your co-workers appearing in closets?"

"You're free, Mr. Potter. You have done your duty, and I will uphold my end of the bargain. When you leave this room, your life is your own and when you die… well… I'm sure your Goddess will tell you once that arrives."

"Oh… that's great." Harry looked a little curious as he spoke, "Say, John. Rose told me something when I met her, or rather I overheard her, she said that you fucked up when she found out that I was the Herald of my Goddess. What was that about?"

John gave a friendly smile, but Harry could see the twitch of his lip that signaled annoyance.

"Nothing for you to worry about. Merely a small bet going around and I might have opened my mouth a minute too soon."

"Ouch, what's the punishment for the loser?"

"I'd rather not say, Mr. Potter. But please, I'm sure you are anxious to get back to your life. If I may be so bold, what is your plan for the future?"

Harry looked a little puzzled at the question but smiled as he approached the door, as he grabbed the handle and opened it, he turned his head and said over his shoulder, "Living, long and well." With those words he vanished through the doors to live his life.

Fully, this time.